T H E S I S

Chapter III
THE EARLY LAWRENCE
(The White Peacock)
Freud says that the period of adolescent voyeurism can be
indefinitely prolonged due to an inhibition of the libido-func-
tion and thisis c m ofthe stages which precede the final phase of
maturity, when "the impulses of skoptophilia (gazing) and curiosity
are powerfully active.”(GIP 336)
It is possible that Lawrence did not know that ” voyeur ism'*
a sexual trait often displayed in his first novel, The White Peacock.
belongs to the primitive stage of the libido-development,
but it is clear that he knew that only a 11 primitive” (natural,
direct, physical) man would look only at a woman’s external features.
Lettie talks to George(they are central characters in
the novel);
"Some look at my hair, some watch the rise and fall of my
breathing, some look at my neck, and a few - not you among
them - look me in the eyes for my thoughts. To you, I'm
a fine specimen, strong! Pretty strong! You primitive
man!"(TWP kO)
Gazing as a sexual trait is one of the ‘’abnormal” impulses
which Freud calls ”polymorphously perverse”, defined in this
manner;
Mto look for gratification not in the sexual organs only