Meaning of "kiss" in 1910

[woofwoofwoof]

Just started "Howards End" by Forster. Early on, there is a kiss between two characters which is both scandalous and assumed to be a prelude to marriage. I'm never sure of writing from this time whether "kiss" is a euphemism for sex of if the times were such that a kiss meant more in 1910 than now.

What's the consensus of the meaning?

[ennison]

A kiss is just a kiss on that you can rely

[tailor STATELY]

Shelley said it well: "Soul meets soul on lover's lips."

1910 was shortly after the Victorian era and the conventions of that era possibly continued to be embraced. In a quick search at http://victorian-era.org/victorian-e...-marriage.html I found this:

4. There was no physical contact between the woman and the gentleman until marriage.
5. Victorian etiquette for men courting dictated that a man could offer the girl his hand if the road was uneven. That was the only touch, which was accepted between a man and a woman, who was not engaged to him.

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

[woofwoofwoof]

Thanks, I appreciate the responses. The last few books I read included Portnoy's Complaint, Tropic of Cancer, and A Clockwork Orange, so maybe my judgement has been affected....