An Ecofeminist Interpretation Of The Third Generation In The Rainbow

Lawrence is one of the greatest British writers in the 20th century. What the critics are mainly concerned about is his description of the sex relationship in his novels, and few of them have studied his thought on nature and women. This thesis will evaluate The Rainbow in the light of ecofeminism.Introduction briefly introduces the life of D.H.Lawrence, the literature review of The Rainbow and the development of ecofeminism. David Herbert Lawrence (1885-1930) is born to a miner family in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, England. He is brilliant, and his works include almost all genres of literature, but the most prominent achievements are his 10 long novels and dozens of medium-length novels, among which, critics generally think, The Rainbow is on behalf of the highest achievements of Lawrence's novels. Scholars have launched an in-depth analysis on the theme of The Rainbow. Most studies focus on the change of the relations between the two sexes in the Brangwen family. Some other scholars think Lawrence would like to shape Ursula as a model for women in order to encourage women to pursue equality and freedom. Of course there are also some accusations, but this could not affect the status of The Rainbow as a literary masterpiece. The author of this thesis thinks there is even more profound theme, that is, the ecofeminist perspective. Ecofeminism develops with the feminists' more and more focus on the environmental pollution. Its main aim is to react against the oppression on women and nature and establish a world in which human can live in harmony with nature.In Chapter One, the author explores the oppression on nature and Ursula, who is the representative of the women, and the close relationship between them in the patriarchal society in The Rainbow. During the Industrial Revolution, nature is considered to be object that human being can conquer and exploit, so the natural world has been severely damaged. The environment, in which the three generations of the Brangwen family have been living, has undergone tremendous changes, and the relationship between human and nature has also been greatly damaged. Ursula, the heroine of this novel, is confronted with oppression by her father, her lover and her boss in the periods of childhood, first love and work respectively. In the process, nature has always been the source for Ursula and Ursula also possesses deep love to nature.In Chapter Two, the author analyzes the rebellion of nature and Ursula after being oppressed. Nature is plundered in the Industrial Revolution, the balance between human being and nature is ruined, and human beings feel lost. As the revenge from nature, Old Tom, who has lost his root in nature, dies in a flood which is caused by the destruction of the dam. His son, Tom Jr., who is a mine owner, completely loses his human nature and shows more beastly side. Ursula meets the suppression head-on and resists the domination coming from her father, lover and her male boss, and ultimately she shakes off the deep-rooted influence of the male chauvinism on the traditional idea of women's status and becomes a new self-seeking woman. In the process, the help coming from nature can not be ignored.In Chapter Three, the author studies the reason why Lawrence has such ecofeminist opinion. Firstly, Lawrence's human-nature ideas are explored. The article traces his life of the early years, cultural factors and the Industrial Revolution which have played a role in the formation of his ideas. Under the influence of these factors, Lawrence realizes that on one hand, human being is a part of the nature, and can not be divorced from the nature; on the other hand, going back to nature can save the modern human race. In his viewpoint, the industrial civilization has made people lose vitality, but if human being can maintain a harmonious relationship with nature, they can regain vigor and rebuild a beautiful world. Secondly, the author introduces Lawrence's viewpoint on the relationship between man and woman and the causes of his opinion. Lawrence has got great influences from the women around him since the boyhood. The period in which he lives coincidently is the surge time of the women's movement, so he is inevitably influenced by those friends who are involved in it. He holds to the belief that man and woman should be dependent on each other and at the same time independent of each other, only after achieving the "equilibrium" that he has put forward can we achieve the aim of changing the status quo and reacting against the suppression of the industrial civilization on the human nature.In Conclusion, the author makes a summary of the whole thesis and thinks that Lawrence's exploration of modern people's state is innovative. He explores the relationship between human being and nature, between man and woman, attempting to introduce human being to the importance of protecting nature and guide women to pursue their own ideals. He presents the readers with an optimistic outlook, which can arouse great inspiration for us.