RELATIONS OF DOMINANCE AND EQUALITY IN D. H. LAWRENCE
RELATIONS OF DOMINANCE AND EQUALITY IN D. H. LAWRENCE RELATIONS OF DOMINANCE AND EQUALITY IN D. H. LAWRENCE
169 She laid hold of him at once in her dreams. Here was one such as those Sons of God who saw the daughters of men, that they were fair. He was no son of Adam. Adam was servile. Had not Adam been driven cringing out of his native place, had not the human race been a beggar ever since, seeking its own being? But Anton Skrebensky could not beg. He was in possession of himself, of that, and no more. Other people could not really give him anything nor take anything from him. His soul stood alone (p.292). This 'son of God' soon starts to show his potential for corruption and Ursula notices this when they are talking about being poor. Skrebensky tells her that he does not care about money but, he says, "'People — the officers are good to me. Colonel Hepburn has a sort of fancy for me — he is a rich man, I suppose'" (p.294). His saying makes Ursula wonder whether he is going to sell himself in some way. Her speculation is confirmed later on when Skrebensky and Ursula break off their affair and he soon after marries his rich Colonel's daughter. When Ursula and Skrebensky start their affair the first impression one has is that they are only exercising their strength each over the other or that they are defying conventions. They seem to be playing in a game of forces in which "each [was] playing with fire, not with love" (p.302). It is the discovery of a sensuous game in which Skrebensky wants to assert his will over Ursula and "she would kiss him just because she wanted to" (ibid). Lawrence summarizes their game: It was a magnificent self-assertion on the part of both of them, he asserted himself infinitely male and infinitely irrestible, she asserted herself before him, she knew herself infinitely desirable, and hence infinitely strong. And after all,,what could either of them get from such a passion but a sense of his or her maximum self, in contradistinction to all rest of life? (p.303). The interesting point in this passage is that Lawrence expresses the lovers' separateness with a critical eye: when this same
170 'separateness' is seen in Women in Love through the author's spokesman Birkin, there Lawrence does not overtly criticize Birkin. Birkin's doctrine (which Ursula criticizes so pertinently) about 'singling into purity' or 'star polarity' almost seems like a mask for perversity, or at least an excuse for withholding himself from women, from involvement, even as he appears to be "giving" himself. Here is one of Birkin's attempt to describe his theory to Ursula: 'There is,' he said, in a voice of pure abstraction, 'a final me Which is stark and impersonal and beyond responsiblity. So there is a final you. And it is there I would want to meet you — not in the emotional, loving plane — but there beyond, where there is no speech and no terms of agreement. There we are two stark, unknown beings, two utterly strange creatures, I would want to approach you, and you m e . And there could be no obligation, because there is no standard for action there, because no understanding has been reaped from that plane. It is quite inhuman — so there can be no calling to book, in any form whatsoever — because one is outside the pale of all that is accepted, and nothing known applies. One can only follow the impulse, taking that which lies m front, and responsible for nothing, asked for nothing, giving nothing, only each taking according to the primal desire' (pp.137-8 - My underlining). The underlined sentences are quite similar to what Lawrence says about Skrebensky and Ursula. It seems quite clear that what Ursula and Skrebensky want is to assert him/herself over the other. It is as if the man were looking for an image of himself in the woman, of his maleness. The same is true for Ursula too. It is almost as if they were in love with themselves. They have no feeling for each other. Each one feels him/herself "according to [their] primal desire". They are separate, single. Lawrence's evaluation of the lovers may be an anticipation of the moon scene in Which Ursula exerts her 'maximum' self over Skrebensky and transforms him into his 'minimum' self, 'destroying' him symbolically.
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169<br />
She laid hold of him at once in her dreams.<br />
Here was one such as those Sons of God who saw the<br />
daughters of men, that they were fair. He was no<br />
son of Adam. Adam was servile. Had not Adam been<br />
driven cringing out of his native place, had not<br />
the human race been a beggar ever since, seeking<br />
its own being? But Anton Skrebensky could not beg.<br />
He was in possession of himself, of that, and no<br />
more. Other people could not really give him<br />
anything nor take anything from him. His soul<br />
stood alone (p.292).<br />
This 'son of God' soon starts to show his potential for<br />
corruption and Ursula notices this when they are talking about<br />
being poor.<br />
Skrebensky tells her that he does not care about<br />
money but, he says, "'People — the officers are good to me.<br />
Colonel Hepburn has a sort of fancy for me — he is a rich man,<br />
I suppose'" (p.294).<br />
His saying makes Ursula wonder whether he<br />
is going to sell himself in some way.<br />
Her speculation is<br />
confirmed later on when Skrebensky and Ursula break off their<br />
affair and he soon after marries his rich Colonel's daughter.<br />
When Ursula and Skrebensky start their affair the first<br />
impression one has is that they are only exercising their strength<br />
each over the other or that they are defying conventions.<br />
They<br />
seem to be playing in a game of forces in which "each [was]<br />
playing with fire, not with love" (p.302).<br />
It is the discovery<br />
of a sensuous game in which Skrebensky wants to assert his will<br />
over Ursula and "she would kiss him just because she wanted to"<br />
(ibid). Lawrence summarizes their game:<br />
It was a magnificent self-assertion on the part of<br />
both of them, he asserted himself infinitely male<br />
and infinitely irrestible, she asserted herself<br />
before him, she knew herself infinitely desirable,<br />
and hence infinitely strong. And after all,,what<br />
could either of them get from such a passion but a<br />
sense of his or her maximum self, in<br />
contradistinction to all rest of life? (p.303).<br />
The interesting point in this passage is that Lawrence expresses<br />
the lovers' separateness with a critical eye: when this same
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