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Poetry · Chapter
LXXII explained
A single aphoristic statement defining a prude as someone who blushes at their own thoughts and flees from their desires.
What happens
A single aphoristic statement defining a prude as someone who blushes at their own thoughts and flees from their desires.
Themes in this chapter
Hypocrisy and Corruption
The definition of a prude highlights the hypocrisy of feigning modesty while harboring impure thoughts.
Deception and Self-Deception
The prude's virtuous flight from temptation is a form of self-deception about their own desires.
Key passages
“A prude is one who blushes modestly at the indelicacy of her thoughts and virtuously flies from the temptation of her desires.”
A prude is someone who is embarrassed by their own improper thoughts and pretends to be morally upright by avoiding what they actually want.
This aphorism satirizes prudish behavior as a form of hypocrisy.