Mrs. Morel knew him too well to look at him. As she unfastened her brooch at the mirror, she smiled faintly to see her face all smeared with the yellow dust of lilies. She brushed it off, and lay down. For some time her mind continued snapping and jetting sparks, but she was asleep before her husband awoke from the first sleep of his drunkenness.
I'm comparing Gertrude Morel to Connie Chatterley of Lady Chatterley's Lover as I read- I've read excerpts of L.C.L. before. It's interesting that Lawrence seems so fascinated by marriage from a woman's point of view, especially about a woman's view on a bad marriage. A theme of going into marriage with one set of expectations and finding disappointment in marriage, in the person you thought you loved pervades his text. Lawrence is quite obsessed with these ideas as a matter of fact. He also plays a lot with class and the lifestyles of an emerging, industrial workforce and that of the somewhat antiquated nobility and the upper class in general.
Couldn't agree with you more! I've noticed that too. LCL, The Woman Who Rode Away (?) ... and just femininity in general. It's very interesting to read. With the novels, I'm on Women in Love, and he does venture into the male psyche there as well (oh the homoerotic overtones!) but the book so far has chiefly been about two sisters.
ReplyDeleteThere's a kind of raw, unmasked honesty to his writings, so sometimes it's a bit brutal, but oh the man had a way with words! Passion lurking underneath and the nature descriptions - people called his books obscene, and the unashamed scenery porn in them I think surpasses any actual sexy bits. :)
It's very unique, his style. I read a few more chapters today and the perspective changes dramatically. Gertrude doesn't seem the protagonist anymore, the story shifts to focusing on her children. I don't know where it's going, but I'm slowly becoming more and more engaged with the characters.
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