RELATIONS OF DOMINANCE AND EQUALITY IN D. H. LAWRENCE

252
turning suddenly to catch hold of Birkin's arm, to make sure of
him" (p.389).
Gudrun and Gerald, on the other hand, are walking
not towards each other but each getting away from the other:
"He and she were separate, like opposite poles of one fierce
energy" (ibid).
One may also add that it is Gudrun who is
walking away from Gerald and that he realizes this:
"he watched
her: she seemed to rushing towards her fate, and leaving him
behind.
He let her get some distance, then, loosening his limbs,
he went after her" (p.388).
When they go to the Tyrolese Alps, to the "cradle of snow",
they meet an apparently end-of-world scenery.
This cold place
seems to be like a blow in one's face, leading him/her to a dead
end.
This place seems to convey a great Lawrencian irony due to
the fact that two couples go there looking for fun and
amusement and find death instead.
It is indeed a strange place
for Ursula and Birkin to start a new life in.
It is better
fitted to the mutual, destruction of Gerald and Gudrun.
The two
couples then go through an experience of knowledge in
destruction.
The difference may be that one couple - Birkin and
Ursula - tries to escape from it whereas the other seems to be
swallowed by the cold atmosphere of the place and this leads
them to a fierce wish to destroy each other which culminates in
Gerald's murder/suicide.
In the Tyrolese Alps both couples meet several foreigners.
One of these has a particular importance.
He is Loerke, a
corrupt artist.
Loerke seems to be the inside-out of Birkin.
He represents some of Birkin's inner yearnings.
Perhaps due to
this Birkin rejects Loerke.
This artist may also be seen as
Gudrun's masculine side, since she has an unconscious tendency
for homosexuality.
The difference between these two projections