A Study On Rhythms In Women In Love

David Herbert Richards Lawrence (1885-1930) was a renowned English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist and literary critic, honored as the phoenix of English literature. Lawrence's novels embody the essence of his intelligence and talents. His novels represent his extended reflection upon the dehumanizing effects of modernity and industrialization, and in the novels, Lawrence expresses his yearning for the restoration of natural human instincts through depicting sexual scenes and natural environment. His lavish description of sexual love was harshly criticized, and at his death, he owned the reputation of a pornographer who had wasted his considerable talents. After years of restudy, Lawrence is now valued by many as a visionary thinker and significant representative of modernism in English Literature.Women in Love is Lawrence's finest achievement, and in it he denounces the corruptive industrialism and points out an outlet. Ursula and Gudrun, the sisters, fall in love with two different kinds of persons, Birkin and Gerald. Their respective relationships vary in the aspects of nature and results. The reason for the differences lies in their rhythms. Birkin and Ursula's relationship is constructive, with a to-and-fro rhythm while Gerald and Gudrun's relationship is destructive, with only tension involved. Lawrence saw the meaning of life in its rhythm—the endlessly changing to-and-fro relationship between man and woman. The relationship between his characters is part of and correspondent to the rhythmic flow of natural life. Birkin and Ursula's love resembles the rhythmic flow of natural life, with constant alternation of attraction and repulsion. Gerald and Gudrun's love, however, only involves the confrontation of one another, and thus their rhythm is not complete. The four major characters are intimate with one another, and they try to influence one another. Their interactions represent the struggle between the two kinds of rhythms, yet the novel ends without an overwhelming victory on either of them. This arrangement is reasonable, for it implies the rhythm of nature. Apart from the introduction and the conclusion, the thesis contains three chapters: Chapter one focuses on revealing characters'natures and life rhythms, which are reflected in repetitive images and rhythmic actions. Chapter two discusses the different rhythmic relationships mainly in image patterns and characters'difficult conversations. The last chapter is devoted to bring to light the overall rhythm of the novel by a detailed study of the relationships at different phases. Perceived from the approaches E. K. Brown applies in his analysis of rhythm in fiction, the thesis contends that it is by juxtaposition of different rhythmic relationships that Lawrence denounces industrialism and finds out an approach for salvation.