On Lawrence's Male Supremacy In The Rainbow

The Rainbow is a family chronicle relating the history of the ancient Brangwen family of March Farm, in the Derbyshire-Nottinghamshire border. In this one of Lawrence's most important works, he attempts to explore people's psychology in the course of social transformation---from the traditional agriculture society to the modern industrial society, and explore the possibility for man and woman to reach a harmonious sexual relationship. However in the course of this exploration, Lawrence expresses his view of male supremacy unavoidly.As a female reader, this thesis uses some feminists'concepts for reference such as Kate Millett and De Beauvoir to discusses Lawrence's male supremacy embodied in the novel which arouses the conflicts between men and women of the three generations. Lawrence has ever been blamed for his conservative ideas on woman. To Lawrence, the ideal women are those traditional women, therefore, as for as the three women in The Rainbow are concerned, Lawrence only gives his sympathy to the woman of this type--- Lydia. Anna takes the role originally belonging to man and Ursula seeks self excessively, which are regarded as ridiculous and unacceptable. So their loves end up in failure.By means of the description of the three generations'love and marriage, to read The Rainbow through feminism, it is not difficult to find that Lawrence as a male writer could not avoid the influence of masculine authority.