Alina Szala
D.H. Lawrence’s "Leadership" novels:
failure of vision or technique
Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska. Sectio F, Humaniora 32, 163-177
A N N A L E S
U N I V E R S I T A T I S M A R I A E C U R I E - S K Ł O D O W S К A
L U B L I N — P O L O N I A
VOL. X X X II, 10 SECTIO F .r 1977
. I n s t y t u t F i l o l o g i i A n g i e l s k i e j W y d z i a ł u H u m a n i s t y c z n e g o U M C S
A l i n a S Z A L A
D. H. Lawrence’s ’’Leadership” Novels: Failure of Vision or Technique? P o w ie śc i p o lity czn e D. H. L a w ren ce’a: nieudana tech n ik a czy fa łszy w y obraz św iata?
П олитические романы Давида Герберта Лоренса: неудачн ая техн и к а или и ск аж ен н ая картина мира?
D avid H e rb e rt L aw rence (1885— 1930) is a w rite r whose high ran k in tw e n tie th -c e n tu ry English lite ra tu re is g en erally acknow ledged. T here m ay be some disagreem ent abo ut th e g reatn ess of his p o etry b u t as a no velist he has been b u t in th e sam e class w ith Josep h C onrad and Jam es Joyce, a t least since th e epoch-m aking stu d y of his fiction w as published by F. R. Leavis in 1955. This m ay be reg ard ed as evidence of som ew hat u n u su al ju d g em en t of th e English critics, because — unlike C onrad or Joyce — L aw rence nev er rev ealed a specially keen in te re st in th e form of th e novel an d n e v e r undertook technical exp erim en ts on a larg e scale. True, one of his novels, W om en in L ove (1920), now often regard ed as his finest achievem ent in fiction, d ep arts rad ically from th e conven tions of n in e te e n th -c e n tu ry realism , to w hich he had, by and large, rem a in ed fa ith fu l in his earlier w orks, b u t even th is m a tu re novel cannot be com pared in th e o rig in ality of form to Jo y ce’s Ulysses. On th e co ntrary, it fits easily in th e m odernist trad itio n of th e novel as a series of scenes 1
* P a g e referen ces to th e three n o v els d iscu ssed are to th e fo llo w in g editions: A a r o n ’s Rod, A G uild P aperback, n.d. L ondon, K a n g a ro o , P en g u in B ooks 1950, r e prin ted 1972, T h e P lu m e d S e r p e n t , P en g u in B ooks 1950, reprinted 1963.
1 Cf. M. G ł o w i ń s k i : P o w i e ś ć m ło d o p o ls k a . S t u d i u m z p o e t y k i h is to ry c z n e j, W rocław —W arszaw a—K rak ów 1969, ch. V.
164 A lin a S zala
w hich replaced, a t th e beginning of th e tw e n tie th cen tu ry , th e older m odel w ith its re g u la r plot developing from th e Vorgeschichte th ro u g h a series of chronologically a rra n g e d episodes to reach a clim ax a n d a reso lution.
C learly, even a casual read in g of L aw rence’s novel m akes it plain th a t he is not rem em bered p rin cip ally as a form al innovator. His aesthetic concerns w ere never sufficiently strong for th at. His ach iev em en t rests ra th e r on th e im aginative pow er of his vision of th e m odern w orld as one heading for a catastrophe, a vision th a t has h ad a rem a rk a b le ap p eal in this century. C riticism of social values was often encountered in th e novel of his tim e b u t his denunciation of in d u strialized society for its neglect of instinct an d its exclusive stress on th e ratio n al facu lty in m an was uncom prom ising indeed and it stam ped his novels w ith a m ark of original ity.
Y et th e highest im aginative in ten sity len t to his fiction by th e ap oca lyptic vision of th e fu tu re of h u m an ity occurred d u rin g th e w a r y ears and w ent into th e m aking of W om en in Love. A fter th a t L aw rence was not an y m ore m erely a p ro p h et of th e catastrophe; h e also becam e an advocate of th e faith in a pow erful individual who w as to save h u m an ity . This was a belief th a t he sh ared w ith fascism w hich w as gaining influence in E urope at th e sam e tim e. T he affin ity b etw een L aw rence and fascism in this respect has been poin ted out an d he cannot be q u ite cleared of th e charge n o tw ithstand in g n um erous differences b etw een him a n d fascism . 2 B ut an adm ission of c e rtain sim ilarities does not necessarily help to u n d e r stan d w h a t L aw rence w an ted to achieve in th e ’’lea d e rsh ip ” novels n o r why th ey are im p erfect as fiction. In o rd er to assess th e ir a rtistic m erit it is necessary to exam ine both th e th em e an d th e s tru c tu re of each of these novels.
The first th ing th a t th e th re e novels have in com m on is th a t th e them e is sta te d in all w ith am biguity. T he am biguity seem s larg ely due to the fact th a t L aw rence, w hile reta in in g his b elief in th e approaching crisis of th e W estern civilization w an ted a t th e sam e tim e to show in his novels a w ay of av ertin g th is crisis. H ence th e fictional w orld in each of the so-called ’’lead ersh ip ” novels contains both elem ents of criticism and glim pses of a new o rd er p o stu lated b y th e au th o r. The m u tu a l p ro p o r tion of criticism and po stu lated changes varies; th e firs t tw o novels a re
2 For adm ission o f certain sim ila rities b etw een fa scism and L aw ren ce’s p o s t -w a r id eas see H a r r y T. M o o r e : T h e P l u m e d S e r p e n t : V ision a n d L a n g u a g e [in:] D. H. L a w r a n c e A Collection of C ritic al Essays, ed. by M. S p ilk a, E nglew ood C liffs, N e w Jersey 1963, p. 61, also J. I. M. S t e w a r t : E ig ht M o d e r n W r ite r s, London— O xford—N ew Y ork 1963, p. 519. W hen L aw ren ce is d efen d ed a gain st the charge, th e r e lig io -m y stic ch aracter o f h is p o litica l co n v ictio n s is em phasized.
D. H. L a w ren ce’s "L eadership” N ovels.. 165
m ostly critical in tone, w hereas th e last one also proposes rem edies. In o rd er to accom odate both elem ents L aw rence ad ap ted to his purpose th e old conventions of the tra v e l novel an d rep e a te d ly m ade his protago nists u n d e rta k e a jo u rn ey to a foreign country. Such is th e plot in A aron’s
Rod (1922), in Kangaroo (1923) an d in T he P lum ed S e rp en t (1926), but
w hereas th e first tw o novels in th is g ro up criticize Europe, propose an ideal th a t E urope should adopt an d show th e p ro tag o n ist’s unsuccessful search for a c o u n try th a t w ould em body this ideal in its social and politi cal institu tion s, th e last one comes close to a lite ra ry utopia as it p resents m uch m ore fu lly th e ideal o rd er proposed by th e a u th o r .3
A aron’s Rod and Kangaroo w e re ev iden tly w ritte n w hile L aw rence
w as only explo ring th e im plications of his new ly acquired fa ith in individ ual lead ership a n d in th e w illing subm ission of th e m asses to a bo rn leader. This is w hy b oth novels have inconclusive endings and th e postu lated new o rd e r is n o t p resen ted fu lly in e ith e r novel. Y et th e first one is th e m o re im p o rta n t of th e two, because it a t least states its m ain p roblem clearly th ro u g h its episodic plot in w hich th e m ost im p o rtan t p a rt is play ed by tw o m ale ch aracters. O ne of th em is A aron Sisson, a se cre ta ry of th e M iners’ U nion who, a fte r abandoning his fam ily in a fit of disgust w ith his existence goes to live in London an d th e n to Italy. T he o th er is R aw don L illy, a w rite r an d th e a u th o rial porte-parole who p reaches th e need of subm ission of th e m asses to a sup erio r leader. A fter in itial m isu nd erstan dings th e two m en m eet again in Italy, w hich is plung ed in th e political tu rm o il preceding M ussolini’s com ing to power. E m erg ing from an u n satisfacto ry love a ffair A aron comes to realize th a t love no longer has an y saving pow er e ith e r for th e individual or for h u m an ity and, shak en b y a bom b explosion in a café, w here his flu te has been bro ken he listens again to L illy’s offer of a relatio n sh ip in w hich the w rite r w ould be th e dom inant p a rtn e r. W h eth er he w ill accept th e offer th is tim e is not revealed, because th e novel closes on an inconclusive conversation abou t A aron and Lilly abo u t hum an relation ships in general. B u t it is a t least im plied by th e n a rra to r in his description of A aron’s response to L illy ’s fiery speech th a t th e w eaker of th e tw o m en feels a strong fascination for th e p o w erful p erso n ality of th e w riter:
"All m en say th ey w a n t a lead er. T hen let th em in th eir souls s u b m i t to som e greater so u l than th eirs. A t p resen t w h en th ey say th ey w an t a leader, th ey m ean th ey w an t an in stru m en t, lik e L loyd G eorge [...] B ut it ’s m ore than that. It’s th e reverse. It’s th e deep, fa th o m less subm ission to th e heroic soul in a greater man.
3 H arry T. M oore stressed th e radical ch aracter of L aw ren ce’s attack on W estern civ iliza tio n as som eth in g th a t d istin g u ish es it from th e earlier n o v els of th e sam e period (op. cit., p. 65).
166 A lina Szala
You, Aaron, you too h a v e th e need to subm it. You, too, h a v e th e n eed liv in g ly to y ield to a m ore heroic soul, to g iv e y o u r se lf [...] A nd you k n o w it isn ’t love. It is a life -su b m issio n .” (p. 6)
The only clue given by th e n a rra to r abo ut th e response of A aron to th is is a terse sta te m e n t th a t w hen he looked at th e face of his frien d it seem ed to him ’’like a B yzantine eikon”. As one of th e m eanings of th is w orld in the OED is: ”a re p re sen ta tio n of some sacred personage, itself regarded as sacred, an d h onoured w ith a rela tiv e w o rsh ip” , it can be concluded th a t th e im age carries w ith it some suggestion of A aron ’s
readiness to accept th e w ords of Lilly as an alm ost religious tru th . In
view of this, th e last w ords of Lilly, tellin g his frien d th a t his ow n soul
w ill tell him to w hom he ought to su b m it are, p erhaps, no t re a lly open to m any in te rp re ta tio n s. For th e plot of th e novel has a lre ad y show n th e b a n k ru p tc y of A aro n ’s m arriage, th e n of his love a ffa ir an d even of his m usic, w hen his flu te is brok en in th e bom b explosion a t a café. H e is evidently th e c h a ra c te r in need of guidance and L illy ’s su p e rio rity as a fictional c h a ra c te r was e a rlie r suggested by th e n a rra to r in a description of his appearance:
’’H is dark e y es w e r e quick, his dark hair w a s un tid y, th e r e w a s so m eth in g silen t and w ith h eld about him . P eo p le could n e v e r approach him q u ite ord in arily.” (p. 86)
The m u tu al relatio n sh ip of th e tw o m ain c h a ra c te res one of w hom
discovers his need to su b m it to th e other, w ho has th e q u alities of a born
leader, is of g re a t im portance in th e novel. It is th ro u g h th is relation ship th a t th e m ain th em e of th e nbvel is presen ted . The novel is an open re je c tion of th e dem ocratic notion th a t all m en a re equal. W hen L illy consisten t ly asserts th a t this notion is false he m erely expresses a belief th a t L aw rence fo rm u lated d irectly in one of th e le tte rs w ritte n in th e y e a r w hen th e novel w as published. T here h e w rote:
”1 don’t b e lie v e eith er in lib erty or in d em ocracy. I b e lie v e in actu al, sacred, inspired au th ority: d iv in e right o f n atu ral k in gs [...].” (C o ll e c te d L e t t e r s , p. 700)
Aaron’s Rod is th u s a fa irly accu ra te sta te m e n t of th e conviction w hich
L aw rence fo rm u lated for him self fu lly in the ’tw en ties an d w hich assum ed th a t th e w eakness of tw e n tie th -c e n tu ry W estern civilization h a d its source in th e belief in equality. It is th is belief th a t is show n in th e novel to be u tte rly w rong and w h at is p o stu lated instead is a relatio n sh ip in w hich th e su p erio rity of one ind ivid u al is acknow ledged, as is also th e need for subm ission of o th ers to h im .4
4 Y udhishtar argued th at L illy ’s v ie w s are m erely rep orted and do n o t r e c e iv e n arratorial support (Conflic t in th e N o v e l s of D. H. L a w r e n c e , E dinburgh 1969, p. 225), but th is opinion w as not su b stan tiated by any e v id e n c e from th e tex t.
D. H. L a w ren ce’s "L eadership” N ovels.. 167
It should be stressed, how ever, th a t in th is earliest ’’leadersh ip” novel L aw rence re stric te d th e p o stu lato ry aspect of th e fictional w orld v ery m uch. W hat is proposed comes only a t th e end a n d m erely in th e form of an indication th a t th e protag o n ist has adopted a new system of values. This can be concluded from his long m editation on subm ission rep o rted by th e n a rra to r in th e closing ch apter:
”If h e had to g iv e in to som eth in g: if h e rea lly had to g iv e in* and it seem ed he had: then h e w ould rather g iv e in to th e d ev ilish little L illy th an to th e beastly p eop le o f th e w orld. I f h e had to g iv e, th en it sh ou ld b e to n o w om an , and to no social idea, and to no social in stitu tio n [...] h e w o u ld rather g iv e h im se lf to th e little , in d iv id u a l m an th an to an y o f th e rest.” (p. 336) .
T he decision to accept Lilly as his guide a n d lead er is th e consequence of A aro n ’s sudden realization th a t ’’All th e tim e, fre a k and outsid er as he was, L illy kn ew . He knew , an d his soul was ag ain st th e w orld”, (p. 336) w n a t is it th a t L illy knew can only be in fe rre d from th e n e x t sentence stressing his rebellion ag ain st a ll th e w orld, of whose ro tten n ess he has p robably become aw are. This conclusion w hich th e protagonist reaches at th e end, is m ea n t to be valid for th e W estern m an; fo r A aron is con sisten tly show n as re p re se n ta tiv e of his tim e by v irtu e of his sensitiveness and his readin ess to seek new values. Y et th e novel ends w h en he has ju st m ade his discovery an d th e re is nothing in it to show how his u lti m ate acceptance of th e relatio n sh ip founded on subm ission transform s him or m akes his life rich er. Nor is Ita ly show n as a prom ised land. On th e co n trary , Ita ly is as bad as England: plu n g ed in disorder an d m ate ria l ism, to rn by political dissent, w ith no lead er an d no sense of direction. All in all, th e re is little in th e fictional w orld of A aron’s Rod th a t can be reg ard ed as a proposed norm ; m ost of th e novel is b itte rly critical in tone an d th e only th in g th a t em erges a t th e end on th e positive side is a proposed change in th e system of values accepted w ith in th e W estern civilization. E q uality as a social a n d political ideal is reje cte d and is to be replaced by th e acknow ledgm ent of th e su p erio rity of born leaders.
T he n e x t novel in o rd er of composition, Kangaroo, is them atically re la te d to A aron’s Rod and continues th e critical exam ination of th e ideals w hich h ave becom e th e h e ritag e of W estern civilization. U n fo rtun ately , because of its excessive len gth it p resen ts its criticism s in a v e ry am bigu ous m an n er. The m ain ch a ra c te r h e re is R ichard L ovat Som ers, an English w rite r com ing to A u stralia w ith th e hope th a t in a c o u n try w ith a sm all population society m ig ht be m ore open to his refo rm ing ideas. How ever, w hat he sees of its political life, h a v in g m et both a socialist an d a fascist leader, m akes him disillusioned ab o u t th e chances of form ing a m odel com m unity on th a t co n tin en t an d he leaves A u stralia for Am erica. His search fo r a place in w hich he m ig ht fin d or nelp to establish a new
16S A lin a Szala
political and social o rd er is accom panied by th e m a rita l strife th a t he and his w ife H a rrie t conduct th ro u g h o u t th e novel. Possibly, L aw rence considered th e problem of sup rem acy in m arriag e to be closely re la te d to th e problem of re-in tro d u cin g h iera rc h y an d obedience in society, b u t this is by no m eans m ade clear in th e novel, w hich is a curious m ix tu re of th e m onologues of th e p rotagonist on w orld problem s, his m em ories of th e w ar, descriptions of A ustralia, an d in tru sio n s by th e n a rra to r rea c h
ing alm ost th e len g th of in d ep en d en t essays.
Even in th e case of a novel so am biguous because of its fau lts of com position it is w orth try in g to u n d e rsta n d its m ain idea a n d th e best clue to it can be found in th e rem a rk s of th e n a rra to r, w ho p lays an im p o rta n t role in it. As w as th e case in A aron’s Rod, th e n a rra to r in th e la te r novel h a rd ly ever speaks in su p p o rt of th e opinions of th e fictional c h a ra c te rs lim iting him self to in te rp re tin g and elab oratin g th e ir th o u g h ts a n d u tte r ances. B ut as Som ers is both th e p ro tag o n ist a n d th e a u th o r’s porte-parole, as th e n a rra tiv e is conducted m ostly from his point of view , his ideas a re also p resen ted a t g reatest len g th and th ey convey th e re a l m essage of th e novel by th eir sheer dom inance over an y oth er view expressed in dia logue.5 Som ers is rea lly th e hero of th e novel, and as he is p resen ted only w ith v e ry slight irony th a t does not essentially dim inish th e im plied a p
proval given to him by th e n a rra to r, his ideas m u st b e reg a rd e d a s com ing closest to th e norm proposed by th e au th o r. T rue, th e novel contains m ostly criticism of W estern civilization a n d h a rd ly an y suggestion as to w h a t should replace it, y e t a few positive p ostulates can be found even there. They can m ostly bet found in frag m en ts of So m ers’ reflectio n s w hich a re only am plified h e re an d th e re b y th e n a rra to r. T he essence of Som ers’ m essage is this: w h atev er is w rong w ith th e m o dern w orld resu lts from its p ersistin g in th e service of a dead ideal. This dead ideal is th e C hristian ideal of love an d an escape aw ay fro m it is not a den ial of th e existence of God, b u t an acceptance of a to ta lly d iffe re n t idea of God, th e God of d arkness th a t affirm s m a n ’s rig h t to th e h a tre d of one’s neighbour. ®
As A aron’s Rod p o stu lated th e rep lacem en t of th e ideal of equality , so th e n e x t novel w ants to see th e ideal of b ro th e rly love su p p lan ted by
5 S. E ile stressed th at th e v e r y fa ct o f p resen tin g a th e m e sh o w s its sig n ifica n ce w riting: „W sen sie n a jogóln iejszym znaczy już coś sam dobór tem a ty k i, o ile n ie m a charakteru p retek stow ego, gd yż w y o d ręb n ien ie jej z n iesk o ń czo n eg o szeregu in n ych m ożliw ości a k cen tu je im p lic ite jakąś w a g ę uk azan ych zagad n ień .” ( Ś w i a t o p o g lą d po w ie śc i, W rocław —W arszaw a 1973, p. 173).
6 In his discu ssion o f A a r o n ’s R o d E liseo V ivas argued th a t a lrea d y in th e early ’tw e n tie s L aw ren ce w a s form u latin g an eth ica l system w h ich w a s u n accep tab le, b ecau se it glorified se lfis h n e ss’ (D. H. L a w r e n c e , T h e Failure a n d th e T r iu m p h of A r t, London 1961, p. 45).
D. H. L a w ren ce’s ’’Leadership" N ovels... 169
an open adm ission th a t th e re is a desire for evil in th e hum an n a tu re and th a t it m u st fin ally be p e rm itte d to rev eal itself. This is stressed in a specu lation by th e n a rra to r on th e denial of th e pow er of evil in hu m an ity in ch a p te r XV:
"The Lord th y G od is th e in v isib le stran ger a t th e ga te in th e nigh t, knocking. H e is th e m y sterio u s life -s u g g e stio n , tapping for ad m ission . A nd th e w ondrous V ictorian A g e m an aged to fa ste n th e door so tigh t, and lig h t up th e com pound so b rillia n tly w ith elec tric ligh t, th a t rea lly th ere w a s n o outside, it w a s a ll in. T he u n k n ow n b ecam e a jok e [...].” (p. 313)
The c h a p te r th a t follows this speculation of th e n a rra to r p resen ts an e ru p tio n of violence a t a political m eeting in w hich people get killed. This is exactly as Som ers foreto ld in an e a rlie r ch apter, ’’Revenge! Timo th eu s cries”, w h ere he claim ed th a t th e ideals of ’’Love, Self-sacrifice, and H um an ity u n ite d in love” a re th e dead ideals still p reserv ed a n d th at, once people discover th e deadness of these ideals, th ey w ill feel b etray ed an d w ill seek revenge. This arg u m e n t is su p p o rted w ith exam ples in
Som ers’ reflection on history: ’
’’M en rev en g ed th e m se lv e s on A th en s, w h en th ey fe lt sold. W hen R om e, p e r sist in g in an old, d efu n ct id eal, gradualy m ade her su b jects fe e l sold, th ey w e r e r e v e n g ed on her, n o m atter how . C on stan tin op le and th e B y za n tin e E m pire th e sam e. A nd now our turn." (p. 292)
The looseness or ra th e r vagueness of Som er’s in te rp re ta tio n of h istory is evident b u t th e n this fra g m en t is only used h e re as a sta rtin g point fo r his reflections on th e w ays in w hich h um an conduct ought to be guided. A nd in this respect th e p rotagonist concludes th a t m an can be freed from th e ty ra n n y of his own m ind only w hen he becom es a p a rt of th e m ass an d w hen his action is d irected by th e collective subconscious ness. Y et it is ch aracteristic of th is novel th a t no conviction of th e protago n ist is p rese n ted as u ltim ate tru th , because th e n a rra to r’s su p po rt is never given to a n y sta te m e n t e ith e r d irectly, or th ro u g h th e m anipulation of th e events of th e plot. On the co n trary , th e dialectic p a tte rn is evident th ro u g h o u t and as soon as th e condem nation of th e m ind has been fo r m u la te d by th e p rotagonist th e re follows a d ram atic p resentation of th e p ow er of th e m ind: Som ers becomes involved in a disturbance a t a polit ical m eeting and feels a sudden urge ”to let go” — to become p a rt of the violence and m adness a ro u n d him — b u t even th e n th e guidance of his m ind p e rsists and the n e x t sentence contains b rie f inform ation th a t ’’since he d id n ’t rea lly k n o w w hom h e w an ted to let go at, he was not quite carried aw ay .” (p. 347)
As th is im p o rta n t scene goes on, it reveals th e final reaction to th e collective m adness th a t Som ers had w itnessed: he felt ”a kind of grief, a b itter, agonized grief for his fellow -m en.” (p. 348) E ventually, he decides
17(1 A lina Szala
to disentangle him self from th e chaotic A u stralian politics an d to leave th e continent, even though he adm ires it for its ’’em p tiness”, its ’’n a tu ra l” sta te u n c o rru p ted by th e old a rc h ite c tu re of E urope w hich h e reg ard s as m ere ’’encum brances of stone an d steel an d brick, w eighing on the surface of th e e a rth .” (p. 380) In a sta te m e n t th a t h e m akes im m ediately before d ep artin g he again asserts:
’’I ’m th e en em y o f th e m ach in e c iv iliza tio n [...] B ut I’m not th e en em y o f th e deep, self-resp o n sib le con sciou sn ess in m an w h ich is w h a t I m ean by civ iliza tio n . In th at sen se o f civ iliza tio n I’d fig h t for ever for th e fla g and try to carry it on into deeper, darker p la ces.” (p. 383)
There is evidence th a t L aw rence professed a t th e tim e th e sam e b e liefs as Som ers expresses in Kangaroo an d it led him to a paradox: he attack ed th e W estern civilization in th e novel for upholding dead values b u t sim ultaneously affirm ed, th ro u g h th e protag on ist w ho is in essence supported by th e a u th o rial n a rra to r, th a t one ought to rem ain faith fu l to th e ’’self-responsible consciousness” w hich is th e h e ritag e of th a t civili zation. N atu rally, w ith these co n trad icto ry statem en ts of th e m ain charac ter, accom panied by sudden tu rn s in th e plot, th e overall m ean ing of
Kangaroo is puzzling an d th e a u th o r rem ains uncom m itted on th e problem
of w h at precisely o u ght to be abandoned an d w h at ought to be reta in e d in the civilization to w hich he belonged. In A aron’s Rod he alre ad y re je c t ed th e idea of eq u ality as false, in Kangaroo he condem ned w ith equal vigour th e C hristian ideal of love. B ut th e im plications of th is rejectio n of th e ideal of love a re not followed to th e ir logical conclusion in this la te r novel: th e acceptance of h a tre d is not show n as desirable. Som ers is allow ed to have m erely a glim pse of m ass violence a n d th e violence is c ertain ly n ot show n as a postulated beginning of a b e tte r o rder. It is r a th e r p resented as a w arn in g th a t th a t m ay be th e line th a t h u m an ity will follow if a long overdue revision of values is n ot m ade.
In this w ay th e ending of th e novel b rin gs out its te n ta tiv e or hy p o th etic quality. It is n o t a sto ry of w h at happens to Som ers, b u t w h a t he
feels is going to hap pen to th e w orld. The role th a t A u stralia plays in this
speculation of the m ain c h a ra c te r is m inor: he sim ply comes to it w ith a hope th a t th is is th e c o u n try w h ere th e W estern civilization m ay be reb o rn b u t finds th a t it is as co rru p ted as th e E uropean co n tin en t and past saving. Yet, a p a rt from this discovery, little of w h at happens in th e novel confirm s Som ers’ prem onition of th e catastro p h e th a t is to happ en to th e W est. Nor does th e fictional w orld reflect w ith any c la rity th e n ew o rder postulated by th e auth o r. Indeed th e novel can be said to cover th e sam e ground, in problem s, as did th e second p a rt of W om en in Love, w h ere th e a b stract ideas w ere m uch m ore firm ly a p a rt of th e fictional w orld. In
D. H. L a w ren ce’s ’’L ead ersh ip ” N ovels.., 171
form ulates. N othing really happens to him a n d h e rem ains th ro u g h o u t m erely a ’’th o u g h t-a d v e n tu re r” toying w ith th e possibility of joining one political p a rty or th e o th er and rem ain ing a critical outsider. The plot is th u s re stric te d m ostly to th e presen tatio n of th e ideas of th e main ch aracter. W hat is m ore, th ese ideas a re largely negative: condem nation of eg alitarian dem ocracy, rejectio n of th e C h ristian ideal of love, fear of th e consequences of th e suppression of m a n ’s subconscious needs. N othing rea lly positive em erges, as J. I. M. S te w a rt stresses in his b rief analysis of th e novel. 7 B u t eq u ally n othing like a to ta l condem nation of W estern civilization is m ade, since Som ers u ltim a tely stresses his loyalty to th e ’’self-responsible consciousness” th a t is an in tegral p a rt of th e W estern tradition .
It was only in th e n e x t novel, T h e P lu m ed S erpent, th a t L aw rence created a fictional w orld w hich was both an uncom prom ising condem na tion of th e W estern civilization and an em bodim ent of a proposed norm . In one strok e th e novelist replaced th e re W estern eg alitarian dem ocracy w ith theocratic to talitarian ism elim inating C h ristian ity and installing in its place a p rim itiv e religion th a t re v e rts to h um an sacrifices. Finally, m achine econom y w as replaced in th a t novel by w ork of th e hum an hands in a m an n er tru ly rem iniscen t of M orris’ N ew s fro m N ow here. L aw rence him self th o u g h t h ighly abo u t his in tellectu al achievem ent in th e novel, b u t his critics have ra re ly sh ared his enthusiasm . Indeed, th e reverse is tru e: of all his w orks of fiction th is is th e one th a t has m ost often been condem ned for its ideology 8.
The plot of th is last ’’lead ersh ip ” novel follows essentially th e p a tte rn used e a rlie r used in A aron’s Rod an d in Kangaroo: th e m ain ch aracter, this tim e a wom an, K ate Leslie, sets o u t on a jo u rn ey in search of sp iritu al values th a t have been lost in Europe. W hile staying in Mexico, she comes u n d e r th e influence of Don Ram on Carrasco, lead er of a rev olutio n a ry m ovem ent, and his In d ian -b o rn g eneral Don C ipriano Viedma. The tw o m en s ta rt a revolution w hich is to be no t a m ere political m ovem ent b u t also a religious rev iv al aim ing a t discarding C hristian ity and going back to th e old Aztec religion. Though K ate has earlier been disillusioned w ith politics an d th oug h she is a t first rep elled by acts of c ru e lty com m itt ed by b o th m en, she ev en tu ally decides to m arry C ipriano and stay in Mexico. This is because h e r experience in th e c o u n try helps h e r to shed h e r p red o m in an tly in tellectu al a ttitu d e to life an d adopt a new one w hich consists in abandonig h e r desire for individual freedom and in try in g to satisfy h e r unconcscious needs. The tran sfo rm atio n of K ate from a
civ-7 Ibid., p. 550.
172 A lin a Szala
ilized w om an living by in tellect into a p rim itiv e one living by instin ct is not a com pleted process even a t th e end of th e novel. N evertheless it is clear to h e r by th en th a t she has discovered a w ay to a m eaning ful life w hich she w as un ble to achieve in Europe. 9
T hat this is in essence th e change th a t K ate undergoes in M exico is conveyed by d ifferen t devices: by re c u rre n t images, by th e title s of th e th re e final ch ap ters and by a sta ig h tfo rw a rd n a rra to ria l com m ent. The re c u rre n t images w hich in tim a te th a t K ate g rad u ally achieves a sta te of union w ith n a tu re a re those of th e tre e an d of th e serp ent. W hen she feels th a t she is giving up h e r form er am bitions a n d asp iratio ns because Mexico is ’’p ulling h e r dow n” Don Ram on, largely acting as th e a u th o rial
porte-parole in th e novel, explains to her:
’’M exico p u lls you dow n, th e p eo p le p u ll you dow n lik e a great w eig h t! B ut it m ay be th ey p u ll you dow n a s th e ea rth ’s p u ll o f g ra v ita tio n does, th a t you can balance on your feet. M aybe th ey draw you dow n as th e earth d raw s dow n th e roots o f a tree, so th a t it m ay be clin ch ed deep in soil. M en a re s till part o f th e T ree o f Lafe, and th e roots go dow n to th e cen tre o f th e ea rth .” (p. 87)
The im age of th e tre e is to show th a t h um an life needs sta b ility m ore th an it needs lib e rty an d K ate soon realizes it. G rad u ally she ceases to miss h e r fo rm er ’’soaring sense of lib e rty ” (p. 79) a n d a t th e end of the novel she accepts as tru e Don R am on’s words: ’’T h ere is no such th in g as lib e rty ” (p. 79). T he fu ll realization of th e tr u th of th ese w ords comes to h e r in fig u rativ e form a t th e end of th e p e n u ltim a te c h a p te r w h en she sees a snake an d asks h e rse lf if it is ’’disappointed a t n ot being able to rise h igh er in creatio n ” and, a fte r a m om ent of doubt, an sw ers herself: ’’P erh ap s not. P erh ap s it 'h ad its own peace.” To m ake th e analogy betw een th e h ero in e’s condition an d th a t of th e snake even m ore em phatic th e n a rra to r th e n adds: ’’she felt a c e rtain reconciliation b etw een h e rse lf and it” (p. 414). The h ero in e’s acceptance of th e h u m ble re p tilia n condi tion m ark s th e opening of a new stage of h e r consciousness. As has been seen, it is Don Ram on w ho fo rm ulates th e a u th o r’s p o stu lates an d K ate g radually discovers th e ir tru th . The philosophy of life th a t he teaches h e r is fairly sim ple an d could be conveyed in direct language b u t th e im agery gives it a poetic dim ension.
H ow ever, to m ake his m eaning m ore explicit L aw rence expressed it
also th ro u g h th e title s of th e closing chapters. One of th ese is ’’T eresa”
and it is devoted e n tirely to th e p rese n tatio n of th e p o rtra it of R am on’s second wife. H er sole function in th e novel is to show w h a t a p e rfe c t w ife should be like: loving, unselfish, subm issive. K ate is show n as fin ally acknow ledging T eresa’s su p e rio rity an d in th e n e x t ch ap ter, e n title d ’’K ate
9 It is stated e x p lic itly in o n e o f th e early ch ap ters th a t ’’th e flo w o f h er life w a s broken and sh e k n ew sh e could n ot r e -sta r t it in E urope.” (p. 85).
D. H. L a w ren ce’s ’’L ead ersh ip ” N ovels.., 173
is a W ife”, she m akes a conscious effo rt to come close to th e ideal. She comes a step closer to h e r com plete tran sfo rm atio n w hen she gives u p her critical fac u lty and refuses to judge h e r hu sb an d fo r his acts of cruelty. O n th a t occasion h e r th in k in g is rep o rted by th e n a rra to r w ith o ut any com m ent:
’’W hy should I ju d ge him ? H e is o f th e gods. A nd w h en h e com es to m e he la y s h is pure, quick fla m e to m ine, and ev ery tim e I am a y o u n g g irl again... W hat do I care if h e k ills p eop le?” (pp. 409— 410)
This b rief passage shows th a t w hen it cam e to ethical problem s th e novelist found it convenient to p rese n t only th e su b jectiv e view of th e m ain ch aracter. H er com plete ethical indifference is n ev er explicitly en dorsed by th e n a rra to r. B u t n e ith e r is it a n y w ay contradicted or a t least provided w ith a co n trast w hich could be reg ard ed as an oblique expression of an opposed point of view. In addition th e co n te x t m akes it plain th a t K ate, tra n sfo rm ed into a passive, u n critical specim en of wom anhood, is p rese n ted as a desired norm by th e n a rra to r.,In d ee d , th e last c h a p te r has only a b rie f exclam ation in th e title: ’’H ere!” S u re ly th is title can be u ndersto od as indicating th e h ero in e’s resolution to stay in M exico and though again th e n a rra to r does not openly express his approval of h e r decision h e does it w ith only a slight disguise in a passage describing the success of h e r re tu r n to th e p rim itiv e condition of hum anity:
’’S om etim es, in A m erica, th e shadow o f th e old p re-F lo o d w orld w a s so strong, th a t th e day o f h istoric h u m an ity w ou ld m elt out o f K a te ’s con sciou sn ess, and she w o u ld b egin to a p p ro x im a te to th e old m ode o f con sciou sn ess, th e old, dark w ill, th e u n concern for death, th e su b tle, dark con sciou sn ess, n o n -cereb ra l but v e r teb rate.” (p. 431)
These a re n ot sentences th a t are m ean t to sim ulate th e th inking of th e m ain c h aracter, eith er in sy n tax or in vocabulary. It is th e n a rra to r speaking for th e au th o r. L aw rence ev iden tly endow ed K ate w ith his own A m erican experience w hich he revealed, am ong oth ers in an essay N ew
M exico w h ere he w ro te 1 ” [...] it w as N ew Mexico th a t lib erated m e from
th e p rese n t era of civilization [...]” 10 and added th a t in Taos ’’you w ill feel th e old, old roots of h um an consciousness still reaching down to depths w e know n o th in g of...” 11 (p. 185).
These tw o quotation s indicate, it is hoped, th a t it was L aw rence’s in ten tio n to show, th ro u g h th e experience given to K ate, his own a ttitu d e of rejecting , a t least tem p o rarily , th e E uropean civilization w hich he had criticized w ith sufficient sh arpness a lre ad y in th e tw o e a rlie r ’’lead er sh ip ” novels. How ever, if th e criticism of E urope is som ething th a t all
10 E ssay rep rin ted in S e le c t e d Essays, P en gu in B ooks, 1968, p. 181. 11 Ibid., p. 185.
174 A lina Szala
the th re e novels have in common, T h e P lu m ed S e rp en t stan ds alone by v irtu e of th e full p resen tatio n of a fictional w orld w hich show s th e p ro posed changes.
T here can be no doubt th a t K ate has fu ll n a rra to ria l approval. T here is also am ple evidence in th e novel th a t a fte r she becom es tra n sfo rm ed by h e r M exican experience she becomes a m odel c h a ra c te r an d exem plifies th e changes proposed by th e au th o r, th ro u g h th e in term ed iacy of Don Ramon, as a c u re fo r m odern h u m an ity . T rue, in itially she is show n as ov erintellectualized a n d a rro g a n t in h e r tru s t in intellect, b u t even then she is a c h a ra c te r k eenly a w are of h e r own lim itatio ns as w ell as possessing a sense of th e crisis of th e W estern civilization. H er in d iv idu al ism is also stressed early by th e n a rra to r who says of h e r a lre ad y in ch ap ter II th a t she ’’was nev er in an y society: too Irish, too w ise.” (p. 48). In the closing ch a p te r she is also described by th e n a rra to r as a person able to learn from experience: ’’K ate was a wise w om an, w ise enough to tak e a lesson.” (p. 456). B ut th is d irect form of n a rra to ria l app ro v al is n ot freq u en t. More often K a te ’s role in expressing the a u th o r’s ideas, along w ith Don Ram on, becom es evident sim ply because h e r point of view dom inates in th e novel.
The shaping of th e c h a ra c te r of K ate is th e re su lt of h e r fu n ction in the novel, w hich is to go th ro u g h a series of experiences illu stra tin g L aw ren ce’s ideas. This is w hy F. R. Leavis’ rem a rk th a t ’’she is th e one c h a r a cter of m ajor in trin sic in te re s t” 12 seem s w ide off th e m ark , because it suggests th a t T h e P lu m ed S e rp en t could be reg a rd e d as a psychological novel. N othing could be fu rth e r from tru th ; it is no m ore a psychological novel th an A aron’s Rod o r Kangaroo. J. I. M. S te w a rt is n e a re r th e tr u th w hen he calls it a ’’fab le ” 13. If it differs from a fable it is m ostly in its intended lack of c la rity in th e p resen tatio n of ideas, b u t th is was, v e ry possibly, th e consequence of L aw ren ce’s th e o ry of fiction. As J. P aterso n pointed out, L aw rence assum ed th a t th e a rtistic process m u st be u n conscious an d if it w as th at, it also had to be spontaneous.14 As long as he was in te rested in th e dram a of h u m an relation ships th is tru s t in spon taneous w ritin g serv ed him well, b u t w hen, a fte r th e w ar, he becam e in terested in ideas r a th e r th a n in ch aracter, reliance on sp o n ta n e ity in th e ir p resen tatio n m ade th e fictional w orld in these novels confusing. As Jo h n R. H arrison p u t it, ’’th e d ifficulty of in te rp re tin g L aw ren ce’s
12 T h o u g h ts, W o r d s an d C r e a t i v i t y . A r t an d T h o u g h t in L a w r e n c e , London 1976, p. 57.
is Ibid., p. 557.
D. H. L a w ren ce’s ’’L ead ersh ip ” N ovels.. 175
w ork is th a t he was try in g to com m unicate som ething to th e intellect which, he w as alw ays stressing, w as beyond th e in te lle c t.” 15
The w eakness of th e th re e ’’lead ersh ip ” novels is largely due to the fact th at, as L aw ren ce’s ideas ab ou t history, politics, religion w ere in creasingly com plicated, he becam e im p atien t w ith th e req u irem e n ts of th e form of th e n o v e l16 and adopted a p a tte rn alm ost cru d e in its sim plicity, w ith a pro tag o nist u n d e rta k in g a jo u rn ey in th e course of w hich he (or, in the case of the th ird novel, she) was m aking discoveries about th e causes of th e decline of W estern civilization a n d abo ut th e w ays of saving h u m an ity from catastrophe. N ot only w as th e m ain ch a ra c te r m o notonously th e sam e in th e d iffe re n t novels, b u t th e n a rra to r is given as g re a t prero g atives as he had in early V ictorian fiction a n d can in te r ru p t th e sto ry to discuss an y su b ject of in te re st to th e a u th o r; finally, any problem th a t is not discussed by th e n a rra to r, m ay be presen ted in stead by the a u th o rial porte-parole. As a resu lt direct discussion or spec ulatio n dom inates in th e th re e novels, b u t ideas are n ev er presen ted w ith
clarity . '
The last b u t also th e m ost im p o rtan t flaw of L aw rence’s th re e post -w a r novels is th e v iolen tly n eg ativ e ch a ra c te r of th e ideas them selves, th e uncom prom ising rejectio n of all th e E uropean h eritag e a n d an a tte m p t to replace lib erty , love, eq u ality by subm ission, rig h t to h a tre d and a r e lationship b etw een th e born leader an d those who obey him. The atta ck on th e E uropean h e ritag e reached its highest point in th e last novel w hich p rese n ts as desirable ev ery th in g th a t ru n s co u nter to th e tra d itio n of E uropean civilization. It is in th is novel th a t th e p o stulated o rd er has th e larg e st sh are in the fictional w orld, b u t because this fictional w orld is so radically d iffe re n t from e v e ry th in g accepted in Europe, it im plies th e no v elist’s h a rsh e st criticism of his ow n civilization. It is difficult to agree w ith th e opinion of F. R. Leavis th a t th e book fails as a novel b u t contains redeem ing ’’felicities of th o u g h t fo rm u la tio n ”.17 If it fails as a novel, it is because its ideas a re in adeq u ate an d are often expressed by m eans of inad eq u ate novelistic devices. This is by an d large tru e of th e earlier novels of th is group, too; th e y all offer some v ery p e rtin e n t criticism of tw e n tie th -c e n tu ry W estern civilization, b u t th e y do n ot stop a t th a t and w hen L aw rence proposes rem edies, th e rem edies a re as bad as th e evils w hich th e y a re m ea n t to cure. In a novel criticism cannot be sep arated from p o stu lates because to g eth e r th ey form th e fictional w orld and this is w hy, once L aw ren ce’s vision of th e salvation of th e w orld tu rn e d out
15 T h e R eaction aries, London 1966, p. 187. 16 Cf. S t e w a r t : op. cit., p. 538.
176 A lina Szala
to be both naive a n d expressed th ro u g h in ad eq u ate novelistic m eans, th e novels could not become successful. C ritics of L aw rence’s novels often pointed out th e n aiv ete or perv ersio n of L aw ren ce’s ideas 18; th ey also rem ark ed on th e careless and sim plified form of th ese novels b u t it is w o rth w hile to em phasize th a t th e tw o a re in separably connected: w hen L aw rence becam e a p ro p het m ore th a n an a rtist, his novels deg en erated into som ething like th in ly disguised political pam phlets.
S T R E S Z C Z E N I E
D aw id H erbert L aw ren ce (1885— 1930), u w ażan y o b ecn ie za jed n ego z czoło w ych p ow ieściop isarzy an gielsk ich ok resu I w o jn y św ia to w ej i d ziesięcio lecia p o w ojen n ego, zaw dzięcza sw oją p ozycję bardziej k a ta stro ficzn ej w iz ji św ia ta , zaw artej w jego utw orach, niż ek sp erym en tom form aln ym . Ju ż w p o w ieścia ch z la t 1915—20 dał się poznać jako bezkom prom isow y k ry ty k c y w iliz a c ji eu rop ejsk iej. J eg o p o w ie śc i p óźniejsze, pod w ielom a w zględ am i podobne tem atyczn ie, są jed n ak że u w a żane za utw ory słab sze, przez jed n ych ze w zględ u na uproszczoną k om p ozycję, przez in n ych zaś z racji w yrażon ych tam p ogląd ów p olityczn ych i m oralnych.
W a rty k u le w y su n ięto tezę, że arty sty czn a słab ość trzech p o w ie śc i z ok resu 1920—26 w y n ik a n ie ty le z ich uproszczonej k om pozycji, ile z celo w o n ieja sn eg o w yrażen ia tam św ia to p o g lą d u pisarza przez fa b u łę i u k szta łto w a n ie postaci. Ś w ia t p rzed staw ion y każdej z tych p o w ieści d zieli się w y ra źn ie na część k rytyk ow an ą i część postulow aną. D w ie p ierw sze p o w ieści odznaczają się jasn ością w części k r y tyczn ej, podczas gdy p o stu la ty autora, dość jeszcze nieliczn e, p rzed sta w io n e są n ie jasno, n ajczęściej przez sp ek u la cje p ostaci fik cy jn y ch , k tó re n ie za w sze otrzym u ją w yraźn e poparcie autora. W p o w ieści o sta tn iej utrzym an a jest rów n ow aga p o m iędzy k rytyk ą a postu latam i, jed n ak że i tam ze w zg lęd u na ra d y k a ln y ch arak ter p ostu latów p rzed staw ion e są o n o często jako w y n ik su b iek ty w n y ch dośw iad czeń p o staci fik cy jn y ch , k tóre autor ap rob u je jed y n ie p ośred n io przez m eta fo ry k ę i ty tu ły rozdziałów , rzadziej zaś przez w y p o w ied zi narratora. T ak w ię c n ie ja sn o śc i w e w szy stk ich trzech u tw orach są n a stęp stw em za b ieg ó w pisarsk ich , n ie zaś b raków w arsztatu. Р Е З Ю М Е Давид Герберт Л оренс (1885— 1930), которы й в н астоящ ее время считается одним и з в едущ и х английских романистов периода I мировой войны и п о сл е военного десятилетия, своей позицией в л итературе обязан не столько ф о р м а л ь ным экспериментам, сколько к атастроф ич еской картине мира в свои х п р о и з веден и ях. У ж е в ром анах 1915— 1920 гг. писатель вы ступил как беском пром и с- ный критик европейской цивилизации. Его п оздн ей ш и е романы , тем атически связанны е с преды дущ им и, считаю тся критикам и бол ее слабы ми п р ои зв еден и я ми и з-за своей упрощ енн ой композиции, по мнению о д н и х , и и з -з а вы р аж ен н ы х там политически х и м оральны х взглядов, по мнению других. 18 Cf. J. М о у n a h a n: T h e D e e d of Life. T h e N o v e ls a n d T a le s of D. H. L a w rence, P rinceton, N e w J ersey —O xford 1963, pp. 112— 113, V i v a s : op. cit., P art I.
Политические романы Давида Герберта Лоренса... 177 В статье вы двигается тезис, что х у д о ж ест в ен н ы е недостатки т р ех романов Л оренса периода 1920— 1926 гг. вы текают н е только и з и х упрощ енн ой к ом по зиции, но и з и х нам еренно неясного м и ровоззрени я писателя, вы раж енного ф а булой и ф орм ировани ем образов. Мир, представленны й в этих ром анах, д е лится на 2 части: критикуем ую и постулируем ую . Два первы х романа хар ак те ризую тся ясностью критической части, хотя пока ещ е нем ногочисленны е посту латы автора туманны , а и х вы разителям и являю тся ф ик ти вн ы е герои, которы е не всегда н а ходя т у автора п од д ер ж к у. В последнем ром ане писателя равнове сие м е ж д у критикой и постулатам и сохран яется, хотя и зд есь он и представлены как резул ь тат субъ ек ти в н ы х опы тов ф ак ти вн ы х героев, которы х автор апро бирует лиш ь посредственн о — ч ер ез м етаф ор и к у и названия раздел ов, редко ч ер ез вы сказы вания повествователя. С ледовательно, неясности, вы ступаю щ ие во в сех т р ех пр ои зведен и я х, являю тся литературны м приемом, а не отсутствием у писателя х уд ож ест в ен н ого м астерства. 12 A n n a l e s , s e c t i o Г , v o l. X X X I I
