Re: Infant Kiss

[chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu (Chris Williams)]

>I've been researching Victorian sexuality lately for a class, and I have 
>been wondering about this song.  Does anybody know Kate's story behind 
>it?  I'm struck by a thematic similarity to Henry James' "Turn of the 
>Screw," where the governess has a very erotically charged relationship 
>with her young male ward (even comparing their feelings to those of 
>newlyweds in the final scene).  Knowing Kate's proclivity for writing 
>songs related to books, I wondered if there was any connection.

   Exactly! Kate's inspiration for the song is the film based on _The
Turn of the Screw_ called _The Innocents_. The film is by Jack Clayton,
from a screenplay by Truman Capote starring Deborah Kerr. Kate based
the song specifically on the scene in the film when the governess
finds the little boy out in the garden. She takes him up to bed and
tucks him in. He requests a good-night kiss. Instead of the little
boy peck on the cheek she was expecting, he kisses her full on the
mouth, like a grown man. She is very conflicted about her feelings,
and Kate wrote about her feelings at that moment.

   You need a copy of the Love-Hounds Video Collection featuring
(at the very end) the video I made to this _The Infant Kiss_.
It is a compliation of scenes from the film. The collection is
copyleft, and someone will probably offer to make you a copy.

                          Chris Williams of
                             Chris'n'Vickie of Chicago
                               chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu (his)
                                 vickie@njin.rutgers.edu      (hers)