Free (1969) The Seven Minutes by Irving Wallace Page B

that’s Pete Lucas, who’s a specialist in pornography and a capable trial attorney to boot - both read the book in question with care. Well, let me see.’ He opened the folder and began scanning and turning the pages inside.
    Barrett remained silent and busied himself with refilling and lighting his pipe. Puffing steadily, he waited.
    When Duncan was through with the folder, he placed it on the
    desk, and rubbed his chin. ‘Well, now, what I’m going to tell you is off the record, but what I think it comes down to is this. Mrs Olivia St Clair, president of the STDL in Oakwood, filed the complaint. Pete Lucas, and then Victor Rodriguez, as I said, read the novel. There was no question in their minds but that it was pornographic. The question was whether it was legally obscene by contemporary community standards.’
    ‘Since the book has been seized, I wanted to make that point,’ said Barrett quickly. ‘One, in Flaubert’s time, Madame Bovary was considered obscene. Today it’s merely a mild and sad story about an unfaithful wife. Why, recently I read a respectably published memoir of an anonymous Victorian gentleman - it was called My Secret Life - in which the author explicitly recounts how he “fucked” - his word - twelve hundred women of twenty-seven countries and eighty nationalities. The only one he missed, I think, was a Laplander.’
    Duncan had been squirminguneasily, but now he forced a laugh.
    ‘That’s right,’ Barrett went on. ‘When that Victorian wrote his book, he couldn’t get it published. In our time it has been a best seller, and I don’t think it made-any reader’s hair turn white. Why ? Because times have changed. It’s a new ball game. As one professor pointed out, sexual activity is no longer contrary to the prevailing ethos. So why not write about sex as openly as it is being performed? I think it was Anatole France who said - of all sexual aberrations, chastity is the strangest.’
    Duncan gave the slightest smile, but did not speak. He waited.
    Since he still had the floor, Barrett decided to take advantage of it. ‘Nor do I think this openness about sex has hurt any of us in our country. Dr Steven Marcus once wrote about this new permissiveness. “It does not indicate to me moral laxness, or fatigue, or deterioration on the part of society. It suggests rather that pornography has lost its old danger, its old power.” I fully concur.’
    The District Attorney stirred. ‘Well, there is a good deal of truth in much of what you say, but I can’t agree with it entirely. Perhaps some pornography has lost its old danger, but not all of it, I’m afraid. We could spend a day, a week maybe, arguing this highly complicated problem.’
    ‘Forgive me,’ said Barrett. ‘I didn’t intend to go on the way I did. We all get carried away sometime. I meant to confine myself to the Jadway book. I’ll admit that in the thirties, forties, fifties, The Seven Minutes might have been regarded as obscene, but today - ? Mr Duncan, have you been to the movies lately ? Have you seen for yourself, on the screen, acted out, not only copulation, but female masturbation, homosexuality, well, you name it? 1 only contend that today, to the average person, by contemporary community standards, by modern standards, the Jadway book is no more or less explicit than other works of far less artistic merit. So why the arrest?’
    ‘Yes, well, yes, that was the debatable point. But our people finally came to the decision they did for two reasons. A large group of average and community-minded women had made the complaint, thereby reflecting that this book had exceeded what is acceptable by contemporary standards -‘
    ‘Do you consider the kind of women who form a decency club as average?’ said Barrett acidly.
    ‘Of course I do,’ said Duncan with surprise. “They’re no different from any other women. They marry, have children, do housework, cook, entertain, read books. Certainly they ‘re as average