Contradictions In Lawrence's Colonial And Anti-colonial Discourse-An Interpretation Of The Plumed Serpent From A Post-colonial Perspective

David Herbert Lawrence is one of the most passionate and inspiring writers England has produced and regarded as one of the major and most influential modern novelists. Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love and Lady Chatterley's Lover, which bring him an international fame, are generally regarded as his chief masterpieces. Contrastingly, The Plumed Serpent(1926), set in Mexico, considered one of Lawrence's minor works, is quite obscure in spite of Lawrence's claiming it as his "chief novel so far". Since 1960s, the novel has also received much critical attention. Some leading figures of postcolonial criticism define Lawrence's interracial concern in the novel as another version of cultural colonialism. Obviously, Lawrence carries some superiority to the racial other in the novel, but he is far from a racist as some people think. This novel is not directed against Mexico and Mexicans, but to reveal the decay of the western's colonialism and the tension between the former colonizer and the former colonized, which is the focus of the post-colonialism. On the basis of textual perusal, this research paper will focus on how Lawrence presents Western colonialism, interprets and rewrites the history and culture of the colonized Mexico in The Plumed Serpent.The thesis is divided into three parts. The first part is an introductory section. It begins with a survey on Lawrence's achievements and past critical researches on him, and makes a comprehensive comment on the critical researches of The Plumed Serpent. At the end of this part, the present author introduces the post-colonial criticism and the reason why a post-colonial perspective is used in the reading of this novel.The second part is the main body of the thesis. It consists of four chapters. Chapter one explores Lawrence's conflicting positions viewed from the post-colonial perspective and introduces The Plumed Serpent as the fruit of his further inclination towards the colonized other. It points out Lawrence's complexity of colonialism and anti-colonialism. Chapter two focuses on how the novel betrays Lawrence's "Englishness": his unconscious defense of the ideology of colonialism. But as a serious writer laden with anxieties about the world, Lawrence has a profound insight into the sickness of the western modern civilization. Chapter three, through a close textual analysis, reveals Lawrence's disillusionment with European civilization and his bitter criticism of the imperialism. Chapter four further explores Lawrence's eulogy on the racial other and his desire for an active involvement in different cultures and peoples.The third part is the conclusion: Lawrence is conflicting and ambivalent in the novel in his colonial and anti-colonial discourse and even unconsciously exhibits his superiority as a citizen of Great Britain, but his major purpose is to deconstruct the "West-centered" mode, subvert the Eurocentric value system and eulogize the Mexicans and their culture. Anti-colonialism is the main stream of this novel.