RELATIONS OF DOMINANCE AND EQUALITY IN D. H. LAWRENCE

191
new but they still have to fight against the seeds of destruction
till they achieve complete fulfilment.
Furthermore, there are
only two characters who fight against decadence and destruction:
Ursula and Birkin. Lawrence does not 'kill off' the
representatives of decadence: Halliday's group, Hermione, Gudrun
and Loerke.
Perhaps it is in their permanence in the book that
makes the novel more real.
It would be simply immoral if
Lawrence eliminated the decadent group just for the sake of
implying that the new life is stronger than the old one.
It is
in their continued existence that the contradiction of the
two worlds remains cohesive and real.
The main point of this analysis is to see how the two main
couples in the novel interact both in terms of creation and
destruction, and how they represent old and/or new values. These
relationships will be seen in terms of the characters' past
experiences, and in relation to their new ones.
1. Cycle of Destruction
1.1. Inter-destructive decadence of modern life
a. Birkin and Hermione
One of the main aspects that Lawrence seems to be
criticizing in 'modern' society is the fact that people have
become excessively mental on the one hand, and sexually sterile
or perverse, on the other.
They are either mental masturbators
or agents in sado-masochistic relations.
The main
representatives of this double standard are Hermione Roddice,
Halliday's group, Gerald Crich and Gudrun Brangwen.
These
people represent decadence, corruption and perversity.
Their