On Masturbation: "Some Thoughts on the Science of Onanism"
Enriched edition.By Mark Twain
Length1h 30m
About this audiobook
In "Some Thoughts on the Science of Onanism," Mark Twain tackles a taboo subject with his characteristic wit and keen societal observation. This provocative essay, written in Twain's signature conversational style, presents a critical examination of the societal attitudes toward masturbation in the late 19th century. Twain engages with the prevailing moral and medical discourses of his time, combining humor with earnest inquiry, ultimately challenging the stigma surrounding the act and urging a more enlightened understanding of human sexuality. The work reflects both the literary depth and the cultural anxieties of the era, making it a compelling read for those interested in historical perspectives on sexual health. Mark Twain, a stalwart figure of American literature, often infused his writing with elements of personal experience and social commentary. His upbringing in a puritanical society, coupled with his extensive travels and exposure to diverse cultural norms, shaped his views on propriety and personal freedom. Twain's exploration of complex subjects, such as sexuality, was driven by his commitment to truth and his disdain for hypocrisy, lending his works a distinct authenticity and relatability. This book is recommended for readers seeking a nuanced exploration of a sensitive topic, framed within the context of Twain's sharp intellect and humor. Twain's insights encourage readers to confront societal taboos with curiosity and open-mindedness, making this essay a vital addition to the canon of American literature and a surprising yet enlightening investigation into human nature.
In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience:
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- An Author Biography reveals milestones in the author's life, illuminating the personal insights behind the text.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.7 (1.1K)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, Amazon, StoryGraph
GenreHumor
Length1 hr 30 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJun 12, 2022
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
6On Masturbation: "Some Thoughts on the Science of Onanism"
2Introduction
7Analysis
3Synopsis
8Reflection
4Historical Context
9Memorable Quotes
5Author Biography
Die schönsten Kinderbücher der WeltMark Twain, Johanna Spyri, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Selma Lagerlöf, Waldemar Bonsels, Lewis Carroll, Else Ury, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Gerdt von Bassewitz, Robert Louis Stevenson, David Friedrich Weinland, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Emmy von Rhoden, Agnes Sapper, Jack London286h 46m4.7 (12)$1 · $0.00
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry FinnMark Twain19h 15m4.1 (20.4K)$0.99 · $0.00
El príncipe y el mendigoMark Twain7h 48m4.1 (162.6K)$0.99 · $0.00
Sämtliche RomaneMark Twain108h 40m4.6 (33)$2 · $0.00
Las aventuras de Tom Sawyer (texto completo, con índice activo)Mark Twain8h 23m4.2 (2.3K)$4.99 · $0.00
The Golden Book of World's Greatest Mysteries – 60+ Whodunit Tales & Detective StoriesMark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, Guy de Maupassant, Thomas Hardy, William Archer, Brander Matthews, Ambrose Bierce, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Wilkie Collins, E. F. Benson, M. R. James, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Anton Chekhov, Anna Katherine Green, W. F. Harvey, Fitz-James O'Brien, Katherine Rickford, Pliny the Younger, Helena Blavatsky, A. Conan Doyle, Villiers Adam, C. Moffett, F. Marryat, Théopile Gautier, L. Hearn, C. B. Fernando, R. L. Stevenson, T. W. Hanshew, Sir R. Anderson, R. A. Cram, Joseph L. French48h 44m4.0 (18)$0.99 · $0.00
The Ultimate Western CollectionMark Twain, James Fenimore Cooper, Max Brand, James Oliver Curwood, B. M. Bower, Zane Grey, Jackson Gregory, Jack London, William MacLeod Raine, William Patterson White, Rex Beach, Emerson Hough, Will Lillibridge, Andy Adams, Bret Harte, Owen Wister, Washington Irving, Willa Cather, O. Henry, Grace Livingston Hill, Charles King, Charles Alden Seltzer, Stephen Crane, Dane Coolidge, Marah Ellis Ryan, Francis William Sullivan, Frederic Homer Balch, Frederic Remington, Robert W. Chambers, Forrestine C. Hooker, James B. Hendryx, Frank H. Spearman, J. Allan Dunn, Ann S. Stephens, Robert E. Howard, Clarence E. Mulford, R.M. Ballantyne, Charles Siringo, Isabel E. Ostrander, Frederic Logan Paxson1013h 32m4.3 (130)$0.99 · $0.00
The Complete Novels of Mark Twain (Illustrated) (Annotated)Mark Twain154h 22m4.5 (4.3K)$2 · $0.00
Tom Sawyer als Detektiv (Von Huck Finn erzählt) (Kommentiert)Mark Twain4h 3m3.7 (7.8K)$1 · $0.00
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn (Illustrated Edition) (Annotated)Mark Twain20h 26m4.4 (7.5K)$2 · $0.00
On Masturbation: "Some Thoughts on the Science of Onanism" (Annotated)Mark Twain1h 49m3.8 (604)$2 · $0.00
Tom Sawyer & Huck Finn – The Great American Adventure (Illustrated) (Annotated)Mark Twain35h 5m4.4 (1.3K)$2 · $0.00
The Complete Speeches of Mark Twain (Annotated)Mark Twain8h 29m4.3 (23)$2 · $0.00
The Mysterious Stranger (Annotated)Mark Twain5h 41m$2 · $0.00
Die Abenteuer des Huckleberry Finn (Kommentiert)Mark Twain12h 44m$1 · $0.00
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Illustrated) (Annotated)Mark Twain9h 33m4.2 (48.4K)$2 · $0.00
Time Voyage - Boxed Set (Annotated)Mark Twain, Ayn Rand, Andre Norton, H. Beam Piper, Lester Del Rey, Frederik Pohl, Fritz Leiber, Philip K. Dick, August Derleth, H. G. Wells53h 21m$2 · $0.00
Meisterwerke der englischen Satire (Kommentiert)Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Jerome Klapka Jerome, Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, William Makepeace Thackeray, Jane Austen, Tobias Smollett, G. K. Chesterton, Lewis Carroll, Sinclair Lewis183h 50m$2 · $0.00
Pudd'nhead Wilson (Annotated)Mark Twain7h 31m4.0 (31.5K)$2 · $0.00
Die Tom Sawyer & Huck Finn Abenteuerreihe (Buch 1-4) (Kommentiert)Mark Twain27h 9m4.4 (121)$1.50 · $0.00
The Jeeves and Wooster Stories: The Complete Collection (33 Books)P. G. Wodehouse21h 57m4.7 (2.8K)$15 · $0.00
Birdie & HarlowTaylor Wolfe7h 50m4.6 (6.5K)$26 · $0.00
The Facts of MidlifeRobyn Peterman4h 49m4.5 (7.2K)$15
Chaos in a CoupeDivya Dugar9h 18m4.7 (177)$18 · $0.00
The Life of DaiDai Henwood, Jaquie Brown8h 2m4.6 (790)$26 · $0.00
What If? 10th Anniversary EditionRandall Munroe7h 29m4.5 (41.4K)$23
Welcome to PawneeJim O'Heir6h 24m4.5 (5.3K)$24 · $0.00
Going PostalTerry Pratchett13h 36m4.5 (163.8K)$33 · $0.00
Woman UninterruptedBrodie Kane7h 1m4.6 (562)$24 · $0.00
1984 & Animal Farm (Annotated)George Orwell15h 54m4.5 (220.8K)$1.99 · $0.00
Kingsblood Royal (Annotated)Sinclair Lewis14h 42m4.6 (264)$2 · $0.00
Hot Cowgirl Sh*tLacie Evans2h 15m4.7 (103)$15
This Is Going to HurtAdam Kay5h 47m4.4 (444.7K)$24 · $0.00
You Will Get Through This NightDaniel Howell6h 56m4.4 (11.8K)$24 · $0.00
Northanger Abbey (Annotated)Jane Austen10h 7m4.5 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
My Dear HamiltonStephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie23h 7m4.4 (63.6K)$46 · $0.00
THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS & SCREWTAPE PROPOSES A TOAST (Annotated)C. S. Lewis5h 6m4.4 (471K)$2 · $0.00
Jungle UpNick Pirog10h 8m4.4 (3.1K)$20
The 13½ Lives of Captain BluebearWalter Moers16h 10m4.4 (34.3K)$28
Damon Runyon OmnibusDamon Runyon27h4.5 (242)$2 · $0.00
You may also like
How to Be Successful without Hurting Men's FeelingsSarah Cooper1h 39m4.1 (5.7K)$15
The Devil's DictionaryAmbrose Bierce7h 59m4.1 (160.2K)$0.60 · $0.00
Is Sex Necessary? Or, Why You Feel the Way You DoJames Thurber, E. B. White3h 5m3.8 (1.1K)$20
The Toys of Peace and Other Papers (Annotated)Saki, H. H. Munro7h 15m4.1 (2.1K)$2 · $0.00
Blame It On Bianca Del RioBianca Del Rio4h 46m3.6 (2.8K)$20 · $0.00
The Praise of FollyErasmus3h 49m4.0 (26.4K)$1.20 · $0.00
Is sex necessary?E.B. White, James Thurber3h 15m3.7 (3.2K)$0.99 · $0.00
Domination and the Arts of ResistanceJames C. Scott10h 44m4.2 (819)$25
The Life and Opinions of Tristram ShandyLaurence Sterne19h 54m3.9 (98.4K)$3.50 · $0.00
Mark Twain: On MasturbationMark Twain1h 29m3.8 (54)$2 · $0.00
An Essay in Defence of the Female Sex (a feminist literature classic) (Annotated)Judith Drake4h 8m3.9 (162)$0.99 · $0.00
A Satire AnthologyCarolyn Wells9h 37m3.8 (77)$2.30
Cancel Culture DictionaryJimmy Failla6h 16m4.3 (247)$7 · $0.00
Comic History of EnglandBill Nye3h 45m$2 · $0.00
The Roycroft Dictionary, Concocted by Ali Baba and the Bunch on Rainy DaysElbert Hubbard1h 58m$2 · $0.00
Cutie: A Warm MammaBen Hecht, Maxwell Bodenheim53m$1 · $0.00
H. L. Mencken - Premium CollectionH. L. Mencken, George Jean Nathan51h 5m4.4 (11)$2 · $0.00
The Right to Be Lazy, and Other Studies (Annotated)Paul Lafargue4h 27m4.5 (12)$0.99 · $0.00
The Life-changing Magic of a Little Bit of MessKerri Sackville4h 29m3.6 (83)$20 · $0.00
Notes From the Bathroom LineAmy Solomon6h 44m3.8 (795)$24 · $0.00