Crome Yellow · Chapter
XV explained
Mr.
What happens
Mr. Scogan and Mary debate the nature of sexual openness across centuries, with Mr. Scogan advocating for a jovial frankness and Mary insisting on seriousness. Anne spots Ivor's dramatic arrival, and Ivor joins the group, offering his own perspective on love as an endlessly engaging occupation.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Sexual Repression
The chapter centers on a debate about historical and contemporary attitudes toward sex, contrasting jovial frankness with scientific seriousness.
Intellectual vs. Physical Life
Mr. Scogan's intellectual analysis of sexual customs clashes with Mary's earnest, serious approach, while Ivor represents a purely physical and experiential perspective.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Scogan
Engages in a debate about historical attitudes toward sex, advocating for a return to jovial frankness over scientific seriousness.
- Anne
Observes Ivor's arrival from the terrace and points him out to the group.
- Mary
Passionately argues that sex is a serious matter, disagreeing with Mr. Scogan's lighthearted view.
- Ivor
Arrives dramatically with a cloud of dust and a horn, then joins the conversation, describing love as an endlessly engaging occupation.
Key passages
“In the time of the amiable Brantôme... every debutante at the French Court was invited to dine at the King’s table, where she was served with wine in a handsome silver cup of Italian workmanship. It was no ordinary cup... inside, it had been most curiously and ingeniously engraved with a series of very lively amorous scenes.”
Mr. Scogan recounts a 16th-century French custom where debutantes drank from cups engraved with erotic scenes, and the court watched to see if they blushed.
Illustrates historical frankness about sexuality.
“The reaction, when it came... was to a scientific openness, not to the jovial frankness of the past... The whole question of Amour became a terribly serious one.”
Mr. Scogan argues that the modern reaction against Victorian repression led to a scientific, serious approach to sex, lacking the humor of earlier eras.
Highlights the shift from jovial to scientific attitudes.
“One can occupy oneself with it... always and everywhere. Women are always wonderfully the same. Shapes vary a little, that’s all.”
Ivor describes love as a universally engaging activity, noting only superficial physical differences among women.
Ivor's casual, experiential view of love contrasts with the intellectual debate.