j***@m5.chi.il.us
2007-04-15 16:34:47 UTC
This is a question that has puzzled me for more than 30 years, and, as
I am
now of an age when one wants to begin crossing things off of one's "to-
do" list,
it is time for me to get this question answered.
In 'Brave New World", Huxley uses the word "pneumatic" in a clearly
erotic sense,
but his meaning is a mystery to me. From Chapter 3 of Brave New
World:
"Oh, she's a splendid girl. Wonderfully pneumatic."
Chapter 5:
But she was really too pneumatic. Whereas Fifi and Joanna were
absolutely right. Plump, blonde, not too large...
Chapter 6:
"I think she had yellow hair. Anyhow she was pneumatic,
particularly pneumatic;"
and so throughout the entire book.
This usage is not idiosyncratic to Huxley. From T. S. Eliot's poem,
"Whispers of Immortality":
Grishkin is nice; her Russian eye
Is underlined for emphasis;
Uncorseted, her friendly bust
Gives promise of pneumatic bliss.
where the erotic meaning is even clearer than in Huxley.
According to the dictionary definition, "pneumatic" means having to do
with air, or gas. E.g.,
a pneumatic drill, or pneumatic tires. I do not discern the
connection between gas and a
woman's charms (the term seems to be applied only to women, but that
may perhaps be
only because all the writers are men). I have formed two theories.
Theory 1: The Brits are sexually aroused by flatulent women.
The problem with this theory is that it implies that the Brits are
different from you and me.
I have always believed, and so far my belief has not been
disconfirmed by experience,
that people are pretty much the same all over the world. I know
about James Joyce and
Nora, but I always figured that Joyce was a pervert, and not
characteristic of Brits in general
(besides, Joyce was an Irishman, not a Brit, and if he left Ireland
and never returned to it
that was only in order better to be able to forge in the smithy of
his soul the uncreated
conscience of his race). Now, it could be that Huxley and Eliot
were also abnormal, and
in the same way that Joyce was, but the flaw in this hypothesis is
that they use the word
"pneumatic" expecting their readers to know what they are talking
about and to sympathize
with it, whereas, even if Huxley and Eliot were both statistical
outliers, which is conceivable,
they would nonetheless know that they were statistical outliers, and
not expect their readers
to share the same tastes.
Theory 2: The term is derived from "pneumatic tires", which were
perhaps recent novelties
during the time that Huxley and Eliot were writing, and, by
extension, describes a firm but
yielding tactile sensation which is characteristic of pneumatic
tires, and is considered to be
a desirable quality in the feel of a woman's breasts.
The problem with this theory is that a woman's breasts do not feel
like pneumatic tires (it is
well known that they feel more like two bags of sand). Perhaps, it
may be argued, this
sensation may be obtained only from the healthiest, fittest, and
most desirable of women,
and consequently many men have never experienced it. However, I
have held pneumatic
tires in my hand, and the sensation has brought be no erotic
pleasure. And there is a sound
epidemiological basis for my belief that these tastes are typical of
my sex -- because if
pneumatic tires felt good to most (or even many) men, you would see
men employing them
for erotic purposes, and you do not.
Both these theories, then, have flaws which render them implausible,
and I am left with an
unanswered question: What is the erotic meaning of "pneumatic" in
Huxley and Eliot? If you
prefor to answer me directly, and not post a message of limited
interest to the entire discussion
group, you may contact me using any of the methods indicated below. I
thank you in advance
for your replies.
Jay F. Shachter
6424 North Whipple Street
Chicago IL 60645-4111
United States
(1-773) 7613784
***@m5.chi.il.us (jay "at" m5 "dot" chi
"dot" il "dot" us)
I am
now of an age when one wants to begin crossing things off of one's "to-
do" list,
it is time for me to get this question answered.
In 'Brave New World", Huxley uses the word "pneumatic" in a clearly
erotic sense,
but his meaning is a mystery to me. From Chapter 3 of Brave New
World:
"Oh, she's a splendid girl. Wonderfully pneumatic."
Chapter 5:
But she was really too pneumatic. Whereas Fifi and Joanna were
absolutely right. Plump, blonde, not too large...
Chapter 6:
"I think she had yellow hair. Anyhow she was pneumatic,
particularly pneumatic;"
and so throughout the entire book.
This usage is not idiosyncratic to Huxley. From T. S. Eliot's poem,
"Whispers of Immortality":
Grishkin is nice; her Russian eye
Is underlined for emphasis;
Uncorseted, her friendly bust
Gives promise of pneumatic bliss.
where the erotic meaning is even clearer than in Huxley.
According to the dictionary definition, "pneumatic" means having to do
with air, or gas. E.g.,
a pneumatic drill, or pneumatic tires. I do not discern the
connection between gas and a
woman's charms (the term seems to be applied only to women, but that
may perhaps be
only because all the writers are men). I have formed two theories.
Theory 1: The Brits are sexually aroused by flatulent women.
The problem with this theory is that it implies that the Brits are
different from you and me.
I have always believed, and so far my belief has not been
disconfirmed by experience,
that people are pretty much the same all over the world. I know
about James Joyce and
Nora, but I always figured that Joyce was a pervert, and not
characteristic of Brits in general
(besides, Joyce was an Irishman, not a Brit, and if he left Ireland
and never returned to it
that was only in order better to be able to forge in the smithy of
his soul the uncreated
conscience of his race). Now, it could be that Huxley and Eliot
were also abnormal, and
in the same way that Joyce was, but the flaw in this hypothesis is
that they use the word
"pneumatic" expecting their readers to know what they are talking
about and to sympathize
with it, whereas, even if Huxley and Eliot were both statistical
outliers, which is conceivable,
they would nonetheless know that they were statistical outliers, and
not expect their readers
to share the same tastes.
Theory 2: The term is derived from "pneumatic tires", which were
perhaps recent novelties
during the time that Huxley and Eliot were writing, and, by
extension, describes a firm but
yielding tactile sensation which is characteristic of pneumatic
tires, and is considered to be
a desirable quality in the feel of a woman's breasts.
The problem with this theory is that a woman's breasts do not feel
like pneumatic tires (it is
well known that they feel more like two bags of sand). Perhaps, it
may be argued, this
sensation may be obtained only from the healthiest, fittest, and
most desirable of women,
and consequently many men have never experienced it. However, I
have held pneumatic
tires in my hand, and the sensation has brought be no erotic
pleasure. And there is a sound
epidemiological basis for my belief that these tastes are typical of
my sex -- because if
pneumatic tires felt good to most (or even many) men, you would see
men employing them
for erotic purposes, and you do not.
Both these theories, then, have flaws which render them implausible,
and I am left with an
unanswered question: What is the erotic meaning of "pneumatic" in
Huxley and Eliot? If you
prefor to answer me directly, and not post a message of limited
interest to the entire discussion
group, you may contact me using any of the methods indicated below. I
thank you in advance
for your replies.
Jay F. Shachter
6424 North Whipple Street
Chicago IL 60645-4111
United States
(1-773) 7613784
***@m5.chi.il.us (jay "at" m5 "dot" chi
"dot" il "dot" us)