D. H. Lawrence Essay - 2837 Words

It is a divided issue whether D. H. Lawrence is to be considered a friend or a foe to the feminist movement. On one hand, he advocates an egalitarian man-woman relationship, on the other, his notion of equality seems rather subject to qualification. His reference to the ideal monogamous partnership as phallic marriage (Spilka 7) is certainly a cue that must be taken up. Why is marriage phallic unless the phallus is privileged in the expression of sexuality? (de Beauvoir 205) The idealisation of gender relationships leads to an essentialisation of gender, which is itself at the source of patriarchal domination. Is Lawrence really a liberator of sex, or only of patriarchal sex? Does he grant more independence to the†¦show more content†¦This is not because it is passionate or animalistic, it is because it is the meeting of two essentially opposed and alien forces-the two halves of human experience-the masculine and feminine. Sex is the balance of male and female in the universe, the attraction, the repulsion, always different, always new... Sex goes through the rhythm of the year, in man and woman, ceaselessly changing: the rhythm of the sun in his relation to the earth. Marriage is the clue to human life, ...[but] marriage is no marriage that is not basically and permanently phallic. (A Propos Lady Chatterly 40-42) He goes on to describe the phallus as the column of blood that fills the womans valley of blood without ever breaking through and commingling. This ultimate nearness which still respects individuality is the deepest mystery of science and religion, both of which are invoked in the elaboration of Lawrences theory. The problem, he feels with modern Europe is that sex is too egoistic and conscious; one has sex for and with oneself1[1] and not as part of the expression of natural forces. Only by abandoning the personal in sex can one hope to give rise to a new mystical state of experience. In the new superfine bliss, a peace superseding knowledge, there was no you and I, there was only the third, unrealised wonder, the wonder of existing not as oneself, but in a consummation ofShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of D H Lawrence s The White Peacock 1456 Words   |  6 PagesABSTRACT D H Lawrence, born in 1885, was regarded as a great novelist of early 20th Century. He was brought up in a tense atmosphere due to the constant discord between his parents.. He was much impressed by his mother whom he used to love and respect from the bottom of his heart. he also wrote short stories, essay travel books and criticism, yet he is most remembered for his great novels The White Peacock (1911), The Trespasser (1912) , and Sons and Lovers (1913). Sons and Lovers wasRead MoreEssay about D. H. Lawrence (Snake, Tortoise Shout, Humming-Bird)1955 Words   |  8 PagesD. H. LAWRENCE (1885 – 1930) Hardy and Yeats belong to the upper classes; however, D. H. Lawrence is a working class poet and novelist. Both Hardy and D.H. Lawrence write outstanding novels and they are famous in both of the literary forms. Hardy depicts nature in terms of pessimism like William Butler Yeats and D.H. Lawrence portrays pessimism through the sexuality that stands for the blood for himself. In Freudian psychology, the snake symbolizes the male sexual power. However, in D.H. Lawrence’sRead More Piano by D. H. Lawrence Essay892 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Piano† by D. H. Lawrence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The poem Piano, by D. H. Lawrence describes his memories of childhood. Hearing a woman singing takes him to the time when his mother played piano on Sunday evenings. In the present, this woman is singing and playing the piano with great passion. However, the passionate music is not affecting him, because he can only think about his childhood rather than the beauty of the music that exists in his actual space.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A woman is singing† softly to the speakerRead MoreSons And Lovers By D. H. Lawrence901 Words   |  4 Pages Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence is based on the life of a boy named Paul Morel, who is going through life fighting a battle between his mind and heart. Lawrence wrote Sons and Lovers during the late 1800s and early 1900s. During that time, the book was not like other books. It was explicit about topics such as sex and love. His books were ahead of time, and he was quite influenced by Sigmund Freud. I believe that Freud really influenced lawrence’s writing during Chapters 6 and 7 when PaulRead MoreThe Powerful Emotions Presented By D H Lawrence1231 Words   |  5 Pages The powerful emotions presented by D H Lawrence In ‘Piano’ are loss and nostalgia of his mother and childhood, which are brought up at a wrong moment by a memory. The poet, similarly to Sylvia Plath, wrote this poem when he was experiencing these emotions – after he lost his mother who he was very close with. The loss is first presented in the lines, ‘A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she Read MoreThe Rocking Horse Winner By D. H. Lawrence985 Words   |  4 Pages In â€Å"The Rocking-Horse Winner,† D. H. Lawrence divulges into the exploration of how greed and social status can affect individuals and to those who are significant to them. A social statue to an individual signifies their interpretation of where they belong in society. It may vary between politics, influence on the community, wealth, and even power. If looked from a broad perspective, what they all have in common is the greed to have more, similar to the mother who supposedly married for love. GreedRead MoreThe Rocking Horse Winner By D. H. Lawrence1165 Words   |  5 Pages In the short story â€Å"The Rocking-Horse Winner† written by D. H. Lawrence, Paul is a young boy who fails in his quest to obtain the love of his mother, Hester. Initially, Paul fails because Hester is controlled by the possession and admiration of material wealth. Paul has the inability to change his motherâ₠¬â„¢s values and in so cannot begin to attract her love. Secondly, Hester marries for love, but such love fades in time. Paul and his sisters are incapable of interacting with their mother withoutRead More`` Piano `` By D. H. Lawrence And Traveling Through The Dark1284 Words   |  6 Pages D. H. Lawrence, and English writer, and William Stafford, an American writer lived and wrote at different times but their subject matter is often similar. â€Å"Piano† written by D. H. Lawrence and â€Å"Traveling through the Dark† by William Stafford demonstrate remarkable similarity, each written about experiences that describe emotions, however in very different ways. Although Lawrence and Stafford are both respected poets, their writing styles, and expectations for readers differ significantly. WhileRead MoreEssay about D. H. Lawrences The Rocking-Horse Winner1535 Words   |  7 PagesD. H. Lawrences The Rocking-Horse Winner â€Å"The Rocking-Horse Winner† is a short story by D. H. Lawrence in which he creates a criticism of the modernized world’s admiration and desire for material objects. It was published in Harper’s Bazaar magazine in 1926 for the first time (E-Notes). The story’s main character, Hester, is a beautiful woman who is completely consumed by the idea of possession, and so she loses out on the love of family and the happiness of life. Her son, Paul, also learnsRead MoreDavid Herbert Lawrence s Moral And Mental Issues1438 Words   |  6 PagesDavid Herbert Lawrence was born on 11 September 1885 in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire(Becket 6). He lived in a poor family. His literary books generated mass contradictions and some of his books were banned because of offensive content.He was affected by the old traditions of the 19th century and the new ideals of the early 20th century.(Christinat iii). Lawrentian novels were full of poor dissenters and used these kinds of pe ople for taking ideas for his writings. Also, some critics assert that there