勞倫斯作品中女性的自我完善Women’s Self-Fulfillment in Lawrence’s Works

摘 要：在英國現(xiàn)代文明社會，男人是世界的救世主并以自我為中心。因此，他們施展能力操作機器，操控婦女。而女人們只能在生活中面臨生與死的挑戰(zhàn)，她們不得不兼受身體和精神的雙重折磨。一開始，她們就錯誤地將自己的一生歸結(jié)為命里注定，于是向命運屈服。面對男人的折磨和社會的無視，她們?nèi)倘柝?fù)重，飽受痛苦。然而，她們漸漸地意識到如果她們有勇氣與男人抗?fàn)帲瑪[脫工業(yè)主義的枷鎖就有機會過上不同的生活。本文重在剖析女性在備受折磨和壓迫下所發(fā)出的呼聲和自我醒悟。

Abstract： In the British modern civilized society， men become the saviors in the world and they are ego-centered. As a result， they display their abilities to operate machines and manipulate women as well. So women have to face life or death challenges in their life， from which， they suffer much both physically and mentally. In the beginning， they mistakenly consider life is fated so that they submit to their fate. Confronted with men’s tortures and the society’s neglect， they swallow the insult and endure the agony. However， they gradually start to realize it is possible for them to live differently if they have the courage to struggle against men and shake off the yoke of the industrialism. This essay mainly analyzes women’s self-awakening and self-fulfillment under men’s tortures and the social pressures.

關(guān)鍵詞：勞倫斯，婦女，自我醒悟，自我完善

Key Words： Lawrence， women， self-awakening， self-fulfillment

[中圖分類號]：I206 [文獻(xiàn)標(biāo)識碼]：A [文章編號]：1002-2139(2011)-15-0210-05

Ⅰ. Self-Awakening

In Lady Chatterley’s Lover， Connie revels in Clifford’s writing and she even helps him as possible as she can. Clifford talks everything over with her monotonously， insistently， persistently， and she has to respond with her might. It is as if her whole soul and sex had to rouse up and pass into theme stories of his. This thrills her and absorbs her. She and Clifford live in their ideas and his books. She entertains herself because there are always people flattering her husband in the house. Whereas， her father’s comments on Clifford’s writing makes her puzzled. “ It’s smart， but there’s nothing in it. It won’t last!” Connie looks at the burly Scottish Knight who has done himself well all his life， and her eyes ， her big， still-wondering blue eyes turn vague. She failed to understand what her father means by saying there is nothing in Clifford’s writing. Critics praise it， Clifford’s name is almost famous， and it even brings in a lot of money， which perplexes her very much. From her confusion， we can see Connie seems to have been hypnotized by Clifford’s spiritual poison with the result that she is unable to tell who is right. But with her health declining， she thinks about her father’s words over and over， and comes to realize there is something in them. With time advancing， she is aware of a growing restlessness， which thrills inside her body in her womb， somewhere， till she feels she must jump into water and swim to get away from it and makes her heart beat violently for no reason. Consequently she is getting thinner and paler. Just then， her father warns her again， “Why don’t you get yourself a beau， Connie? Do you all the good in the world”， which shocks her and awakens her. Sometimes she weeps bitterly for her disconnextion with the vital world since she has realized that her body is beginning to slacken， with a slack sort of thinness burns a cold indignation against Clifford， and his writings and his talk; against all the men of his sort who defraud a woman even of her own body. “Unjust! Unjust!” She cries in her heart and she feels a sense of deep physical injustice burning in her. The physical sense of injustice is a dangerous feeling， once it is awakened. It must have outlet， otherwise it will eat away the one whom it is aroused. So a sense of rebellion smoulders in Connie， and she starts to wonder: “ What is the meaning of her sacrifice and devotion to Clifford? What is she serving at all?” She feels a cold spirit of vanity， which has no warm human contacts and is as corrupted as any low-born Jew， in creating for prostitution to the bitch-goddess， success. She is sick so seriously that she is afraid of the ghastly white tombstones. She feels she is not far off when she will be buried there near under the tombstones. With Mrs. Bolton’s help at home， Connie can enjoy alone and she feels herself somewhat released in another world， and thus she thinks she can breathe differently from before. But still she is afraid of how many of her roots， perhaps mortal ones， are tangled with Clifford. Yet still， she can breathe freer now. She feels a new phase is going to begin in her life. While walking in the wood， she wants to forget the world ， all the dreadful and carrion-bodied people. After she gets the contact with Mellors， she comes to realize that she has already wasted her valuable youth being with Clifford， but she hopes to start a new life again now. She is awoken and walks out of her past miserable life and gains the courage to struggle for her own happiness， which is the first step for her to break away from the dying mechanical world.

In Sons and Lovers， Mrs. Morel finds the gap between her and her husband becomes wider after their marriage. In reality she belongs to the different class from her husband. Although she tries to cultivate him and change him， yet she fails and loses heart at last. As time goes by， the contradiction between them is sharper and sharper， and hatred gradually takes the place of love. So she realizes that she should not count on her husband to behave himself well or she must not waste any time on him. Thus， she begins to shift her love onto her children in order to sacrifice herself to create happiness for them in the future. She thinks only by this means can she extricate from her tragic marriage and anguish.

Gudrun， in Women in Love， is attracted by Gerald’s handsome appearance and decent manner at the first sight， however， after their frequent contacts， she comes to see his true features. She thinks that Gerald should have all the women he can—it is his nature. It is absurd to call him monogamous—he is naturally promiscuous. But that is his nature. She believes that he is only a phenomenon to her， not a human being; a sort of creature， greedy. To Gudrun， Gerald himself is turned into a machine and his soul is already corrupted so that he lives as if he were existing in the darkness and horror. In order to find relief， he has to keep himself in reckoning with the world of the material life， but he himself feels that a strange pressure is upon him as though the very middle of him were a vaccum， and outside were an awful tension， so he often feels afraid of the darkness. At last he finds his most satisfactory relief in women. However， Gudrun realizes that he only wants to get console out of her instead of loving her， and what’s more， he only treats her as one of his preys. She feels shocked whenever she thinks of that， but luckily she senses the deep resolve formed in her to combat with him and her soul stores with strength， and she is very confident in herself to triumph over him. So eventually she decided to leave him， an industrial devil for her own free life.

In The Rainbow， Ursula Brangwen has similar experience as Gudrun does. As a young girl， she is ecstatically religious， like her father， but when she grows older， her intense emotions are channeled into a love affair with a young British subaltern of Polish descent， Anto Skrebensky. This affair is a rapturous idyll at first， but finally it begins to collapse when Ursula realizes how superficial her lover is. She despises him because he devotes himself to the British imperialism， and at the same time she looks down upon him for his pursuit of fame and gain. So when Skrebensky returns to England， she affirms that her relationship with him is hopeless after briefly resuming their affair. Pregnant as she is， she decides to break off with him. She would rather suffer the miscarriage and the nervous breakdown than compromise with a notorious English colonist.

Generally speaking， most women hope to seek their happiness and safety in their life. However， when they find their dreams are impossible to realize no matter how hard they try， they will wonder about where they have gone wrong， and then make a resolute decision to fulfill themselves in their desirable ways.

Ⅱ.Women’s Self-Fulfillment

-As women are undergoing these terrible sufferings， they ponder over their fate and introspect their own performances. After they understand it is their weakness and innocence that make them suffer so much， they begin to struggle against those oppressor and the unequal society. They hope to realize their own beautiful dreams and reach their self-fulfillment.

In Lady Chatterley’ Lover， Connie is prepared to accept the fact that Clifford becomes paralyzed and lead a conventional life with him at Wragby. Nevertheless， with Clifford’s impotency， corrupted soul， vanity and hypocrisy， Connie starts to feel something strange is happening in her. She is surprised at her own feeling of aversion from Clifford， moreover， she has always disliked him. Not hate; there is no passion in it， but a profound physical dislike. Almost， it seems to her that she has married him because she dislikes him， in a secret， physical sort way. But of course， she has married him really because in a mental way， her master， beyond her. Now the mental excitement has worn it out and collapsed， and she is aware only of the physical aversion. It rises up in her depth; she realizes how it has been eating her life away. She feels weak and utterly forlorn， she wishes some help will come from outside. But in the whole world there is no help at all. Society is terrible because it is insane. Civilized society is insane. Clifford’s wild struggling to push himself forwards is insane. How she wishes to break away from the insane world and people! Firstly， she tries to get help from Michaelis， one of Clifford’s friends and makes love with him. But to her disappointment， he is hopeless at the very core of him， and he rather hates hope. Actually he is important just like Clifford， as a result， he cannot satisfy Connie physical and sexual needs， while Connie never really understands him， and all the time she feels the reflection of his hopelessness in her. She cannot quite， quite love in hopelessness. So she always has a forebading of the hopelessness of her affair y with Michaelis. Yet other men around her husband seem to mean nothing to her. Under such circumstances， she is attached to Clifford emotionally again and hopes to give a good deal of her to him as well as get it from him. But in reality she does， but he doesn’t， he cannot， Connie becomes sick.

When she is stronger and walks in the woods， she feels the wind of March endless phrases sweep through her consciousness. “ Ye must be born again1 I believe in the resurrection of the body! Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die， it shall by no means bring forth. When the crocus cometh forth I too will emerge and see the sun!” That perhaps may imply her hope for a beautiful dream and her determination for it. When Connie takes a message to Mellors for her husband， in the woods she watches Mellors’ s bathing and she is overwhelmed by his beauty of the body， so she goes to the woods more frequently and falls in love with him， which excites and thrills her so much that she thinks that is a new life to her. She realizes the death of the other thing in her . Another self is alive in her， burning molten and soft in her womb and bowels， and with this self she adores him. She feels in her womb and bowels that she is flowing and alive now and vulnerable， and helpless in adoration of him as the most naiuml;ve woman. “ It feels like a child.” She says to herself. And so it does as if her womb， that has always been shut， has opened and filled with new life. Her adoration of him even makes her think of having a child with him. Actually later she is pregnant， which she is proud of since she fulfills herself as a real woman. Afterwards she makes every effort to break away from Clifford. In general， as a woman， Connie might have been living a wealthy life with her husband， yet， she does not want to compromise with her existing conventional life. So she strives to divorce from Clifford， and tries her best to create a new life with Mellors. Now she does not care about money， fame nor class， but pays more attention to her happy life that she explores so hard. Even though Mellors is inferior to her in terms of social status， however， she respects him and regards him as a real man with power and creativity， what’s more， she loves him and has a baby by him. Connie thinks she has fulfilled herself now， in spite of that she cannot get together with Mellors in the end. After all， Lawrence draws a beautiful future for them in this work.

Unlike Connie， Mrs. Morel chooses quite a different way to reach her self-fulfillment. When she realizes her marriage proves to be a failure， she does feel extremely disappointed. She tries to save their love， but fails， so she begins to devote herself to her sons and household chores. With regards to Mrs. Morel， most critics believe she is a sinister mother who destroys her sons’ talents and hopes with her so-called maternal love. But personally， I don’t have so much in common with them. I believe every woman builds a beautiful picture for her marriage and family life， so it’s true of Mrs. Morel. She is a strong-willed woman since the failure of her marriage and poverty of her life do not really scare her to divorce or death， instead， she turns to be stronger and braver to take the challenge in her life; she doesn’t abandon her children ，while she struggles against the miserable life and takes the responsibilities for her children’s education， and in the meanwhile， she has to endure her husband’s torture to her. In my view， her greatest virtue is that she sacrifices herself to her family especially to her sons until her death. Although she pours too much love or excessive affection to her sons， I might as well say that she only hopes to seek her own achievement through them， after all she is a mother and every mother expects her children to be the best， for which she can get the most satisfaction.

In this work， people can see Mrs. Morel tries to cultivate her husband into a polite， refined and responsible man， but she finds that she only does that in vain， upon her disillusion， she is afraid that her sons might follow their father in the future， therefore， she focuses on cultivating her sons into real men and urging them towards success. By the time young William is born， Mrs. Morel has been disillusioned by her husband， and she is determined to live for her son， who is all she cares for in the world. And when Paul is born into this electric thunderstorm atmosphere of hatred and passion， Mr. Morel greets Paul’ arrival with indifference and self-indulgence， so driven by guilt and loneliness and despair， Mrs. Morel grasps him to her with extra intensity， as by living for him and through him she can make up to him for the violent and sordid home in which he must grow up. As a strong woman， she does not only attend her children， husband and housework， but also pays attention to her own improvement. When her children are old enough to be left unattended， Mrs. Morel joins the Women’s Guild， a local women’s club devoted to social discussion and mental improvement. The children are proud of their mother’s quick mind and her intellectual activities. By these meaningful activities， she can also set a good example for her children and influence them subconsciously. With her efforts and instruction， all her children behave themselves very well in the school and do excellently in their studies. Compared with Mr. Morel， a coarse， brutish， irresponsible and hard-drinking father， Mrs.Morel is worth praising for her sacrifice to her children.

When her sons grow up， she tries to help them learn about the society. At the time William is thirteen， his mother gets him a job as a clerk， and when he is sixteen， he is the best shorthand clerk and bookkeeper in the place. Later on William gets a good job in London， for which his town fellows admire him very much. So Mrs. Morel feels relieved to see her eldest son’s progress. William is engaged to his brunette against his mother’s will， but it shows his emotional independence. Although Mrs.Morel attempts hard to persuade him to give up the girl in case she would ruin her son， yet William does not listen to his mother and keeps the contact with the girl until he dies of pneumonia. Some critics blame Mrs. Morel for her son’s death and criticize her for depriving him of love ability so that he does not even understand what love means. But I think Mrs. Morel does what a mother should do， she tries to save her son from his unsuitable love when she realizes her son is infatuated with Lily blindly. However， William is already an adult， he should have known whether he loves Lily or not. In fact， Mrs. Morel is right because William suffers too much from his love affair.

Mrs. Morel is paralyzed to take her old bright interest in life because of William’s death. But when Paul becomes dangerously ill with pneumonia and almost dies himself， she is finally roused from her trance of despair， and from then on her life has rooted itself in Paul and begins to focus on Paul. Despite that Paul has some frustration in his love affair， he succeeds in his work. Mrs. Morel interferes in Paul’s love affair only to protect his son from following William’s route. As a mother， she fights against anyone that can constitute a threat on Paul including her own husband and his father as well， which is understandable to most mothers and she cannot endure to see her children are suffering or being misled. In this way， Mrs. Morel tries to love her sons more in order to reduce their anguish， which， she thinks， is brought by her miserable marriage. Therefore， she dedicates all herself to her sons to fulfill herself then.

In Women in Love， Gudrun tries to live a free life according to her own will， for which she is hardly strangled by Gerald who wants to control her. She loves her career as an artist very much and she is remarkable and successful since she has special insights and quite different opinions towards people and the society. She does not like to live up with herself for any people or anything that goes against her philosophy. So when she finds that Gerald is not the kind of man she desires to live with her life， she takes the risk of being killed to get away from him and at last she wins the war. We can say Gudrun fulfills herself in her art and freedom. On the contrary， Ursula believes living with her beloved man is her fulfillment since she defeats her love enemy Hermione and finally gets love from Birkin. When she finds that Birkin can be the man she may rely on for her life， she decides to marry him and even quits her job to travel with him. She feels so satisfied that she believes to have fulfilled herself as a woman in this way.

In The Rainbow， Anna cherishes a great hope in Will in the beginning， while later Will often lets her down and makes her depressed since he does not have any ambition in his career but only engages himself in his religious ecstasies. In this case， Anna finds a kind of fulfillment in bringing up her nine children. She enjoys being busy and being harassed with her children. Whenever she is very pregnant， she is excited because she can bring another life to the world again and she is very happy to see her noisy children every time. She takes pride in being a mother and lives with so many children satisfactorily.

Ⅲ.Conclusion

These women share the similar self-fulfillment although they try in quite different ways. In fact， they seem to realize their dreams somewhat blindly， but all of them hope to be accepted by the society， to get equal rights as men do and live a happy life. However， they cannot obtain any of them in that kind of society， so they try their own ways to reach their fulfillment arduously.

Bibliography:

1、D.H. Lawrence， Women in Love. Chinese Foreign Economy Trade Press. Beijing， 2000.

2、D.H. Lawrence， Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Chinese Foreign Economy Trade Press. Beijing， 2000.

3、Lawrence Frieda， Not I， But the Wind. Middleton Murry， Twentieth-century Literary Criticism. New York， Viking Press，

4、R.P. Draper， D.H. Lawrence on Mother’s Love. Essay in Criticism， Vol 2， 1931.

5、鄭達(dá)華。 查泰萊夫人的情人哲學(xué)層面的思考﹝A﹞. 外國文學(xué) 2003.1

6、梁偉、李晴輝 ，論勞倫斯的女性主義意識[A] .四川外語學(xué)院學(xué)報. 2001.1