The English Vice refers to the many varieties of corporal punishment practised in the bedroom, from spanking to flagellation. It's nice to see the buttocks of a loved one glow red like a sunset and it can be pleasurable to feel the sharp sting of the lash oneself.
But as forms of sensual discipline such practices do more than simply give joy. For if carried out with genuine passion and erotic seriousness, then chastisement establishes a circuit of polarized communication which can result in a powerful flash of interchange between parties. Indeed, it might almost be regarded as a natural form of coition resulting in a violent readjustment between lovers and allowing, like a thunderstorm, for a sense of newness afterwards.
Although idealists may not like to admit the fact, corporal punishment is a vital necessity because we do not live by kindness, kisses and cuddles alone: As long as a man has a bottom, says Lawrence, he must surely be whipped.
