T H E S I S
T H E S I S T H E S I S
Chapter 17 LAWRENCE IN TRANSITION (The Rainbow and Women in Love) The Rainbow and Women in Love together mark Lawrence’s apogee as a novelist. For most critics these are his two best novels, Bat for my purposes I classify this period of an outstanding literary production as ’transitional”, in the sense that it reveals Lawrence’s changes and his growing awareness of the significance of sexual relationships. From The White Peacock to Lady Chatterlev's Lover there is a great change in Lawrence's treatment of sex. In The White Peacock the author is a man seeing sex euphemistically, rather imresolvedly, and in an unconsciously puritanical manner. Cyril’s relationship with Emily is nothing more than platonic and is reduced to frustration. In The Rainbow and in Women in Love Lawrence deals with sex directly and openly and the characters regard it not as a dirty functional process but as a fulfilment, necessary for a perfect union of man and woman. Yet between The Rainbow and Women in Love there is a significant shift in the emphasis that Lawrence places on the ideal sexual relationship. In The Rainbow the ideal relationship for man and woman can be said to be the ’two in one”, that is symbolized by the
hi rainbow arch; it is the “togetherness in unison**, a quest for fulfilment in marriage, in Women in Love the relationship can best be described as a ’mutual unison in separateness"; "otherness”, “oneness“, and“singleness“ become more important, according to Lawrence's measure, a reflection of his dualism: separateness in the union of man and woman. This is a typical Lawrentian paradox reflected in Birkin (Lawrence in Women in Love) which H.M.Daleski observes: about “The sex act is the means by which 'the admixture of sex' is 'surpassed', is the means, that is to say, by which the complex union of male and female components in the individual man and woman is reduced to elemental singleness, the man becoming 'pure* man, the woman 'pure' woman«1’(T7F 165) Complex as this paradox is, it is taken for granted in Lady Chatterlev's Lover and the real basis of Lawrence's doctrine of sex in the last phase is this fulfilment, if it is possible, with tenderness. In 1912 Lawrence began a book at first called The Sisters and later on The Wedding Ring, In 1913 the final draft of the first part was ready, under the title The Rainbow, and in 191? it was published in London for the first time. As soon as he earned his definite place in the literary world, his happiness vanished rapidly and he was deceived and wearied by reviewers, critics, and “his England“, which he could not forget till the end of his life. Success became a trauma. It was Lawrence's first encounter with the censors. The Rainbow was suppressed, following press attacks upon it as “indecent“. Of course, the press, the critics, and the reviewers' standards were the standards of Victorian morality.
- Page 1 and 2: Mo ï»e THESIS D. H0 IAWBENGE: SEX
- Page 3 and 4: Esta Tese foi julgada adequada para
- Page 5 and 6: TABLE OF CONTENTS Abbreviations Mbs
- Page 7 and 8: vil PGB - Portrait of a Genius« Bu
- Page 9 and 10: R E S U M O D« H. Lawrence fez do
- Page 11 and 12: Chapter I INTRODUCTION A, A, Victor
- Page 13 and 14: 3 misunderstood sexual theme, is go
- Page 15 and 16: 5 identical reasoning: nThere can s
- Page 17 and 18: 7 attitudes. In this respect, it is
- Page 19 and 20: 9 rence ’s works in his book The
- Page 21 and 22: Chapter II PURITANISM DEFINED Histo
- Page 23 and 24: 33 The actual meaning we find in di
- Page 25 and 26: 15 and lie alone right. Having run
- Page 27 and 28: 17 presents the Freudian imbroglio
- Page 29 and 30: 19 it is perhaps worth noticing tha
- Page 31 and 32: 21 but in many other parts of the b
- Page 33 and 34: or inhibited action we are tempted
- Page 35 and 36: 25 And about Cyril (himself) he sai
- Page 37 and 38: 27 The tall meadow-sweet was in bud
- Page 39 and 40: 29 genitals. Certainly Lawrence's p
- Page 41 and 42: 31 Of course, one can imagine how i
- Page 43 and 44: 33 'Good Lord, Emily! But he is dea
- Page 45 and 46: 35 cock just quoted in the two prev
- Page 47 and 48: 37 frustrated: Mr, and Mrs. Beardsa
- Page 49: 39 So far, Lawrence’s early views
- Page 53 and 54: ^3 Lawrence said in his defence: "T
- Page 55 and 56: ubbing passage of The White Peacock
- Page 57 and 58: eautiful."(TRB 238) Why afraid? Bec
- Page 59 and 60: Chapter V LAURENCE AND PORNOGRAPHY
- Page 61 and 62: 51 sions then is Freud’s theory o
- Page 63 and 64: 53 male, in a negative or sundering
- Page 65 and 66: 55 he directly faced the censors an
- Page 67 and 68: 57 "the whole question of pornograp
- Page 69 and 70: 59 Girordias, (11) famous editor an
- Page 71 and 72: 61 secret".; Neither can be of any
- Page 73 and 74: 63 by January 1928 and is now widel
- Page 75 and 76: 65 So the general subject matter of
- Page 77 and 78: 67 The real theme, which recurs in
- Page 79 and 80: 69 built of rusticated sandstone an
- Page 81 and 82: 71 who want to dominate them, Mello
- Page 83 and 84: 73 question Lawrence puts to himsel
- Page 85 and 86: 75 the mechanical images are deflec
- Page 87 and 88: 77 lies, navels, and breasts* (It h
- Page 89 and 90: 79 Maybe they are the truth some cr
- Page 91 and 92: 81 heave her loins, and throw the m
- Page 93 and 94: 83 ’'darkness” is present in M
- Page 95 and 96: 85 11ty shook her to her foundation
- Page 97 and 98: 87 some kind of ’'arrest'** In al
- Page 99 and 100: Chapter ¥11 CONCLUSIONS Host of th
Chapter 17<br />
LAWRENCE IN TRANSITION<br />
(The Rainbow and Women in Love)<br />
The Rainbow and Women in Love together mark Lawrence’s apogee<br />
as a novelist. For most critics these are his two best novels,<br />
Bat for my purposes I classify this period of an outstanding<br />
literary production as ’transitional”, in the sense that it<br />
reveals Lawrence’s changes and his growing awareness of the significance<br />
of sexual relationships. From The White Peacock to<br />
Lady Chatterlev's Lover there is a great change in Lawrence's<br />
treatment of sex.<br />
In The White Peacock the author is a man seeing sex euphemistically,<br />
rather imresolvedly, and in an unconsciously puritanical<br />
manner. Cyril’s relationship with Emily is nothing more<br />
than platonic and is reduced to frustration. In The Rainbow and<br />
in Women in Love Lawrence deals with sex directly and openly and<br />
the characters regard it not as a dirty functional process but as<br />
a fulfilment, necessary for a perfect union of man and woman.<br />
Yet between The Rainbow and Women in Love there is a significant<br />
shift in the emphasis that Lawrence places on the ideal sexual<br />
relationship.<br />
In The Rainbow the ideal relationship for man and woman<br />
can be said to be the ’two in one”, that is symbolized by the
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