D.H. Lawrence’s Primitive Inclination:a Study Of Depiction Of Nature And Animalized Characters In His Fictions

As one of the most famous British writers in the20th century, David Herbert Lawrence (1885-1930) who is quite prolific has written12novels,7novellas,47short stories,12collections of poems, and some essays and plays. Living in the late period of the British industrialization, Lawrence was greatly affected and thus showed his concern for the effects of industrialization on man in most of his literary works. Lawrence pays great attention to the relationship between man and woman, and between man and nature in his works, and deals with such issues as human, instinct, the unconscious self and blood consciousness, which shows his strong primitive inclination. His works are loaded with his passionate nostalgia for the untrodden nature and his strong objection to industrialization. Lawrence spares no efforts to awaken man’s inborn ability and true-self in human blood oppressed by the industrial civilization. It seems to Lawrence that only in this way can human beings revive and live a lively life instead of being deprived of vitality for living.This thesis studies six of Lawrence’s fictions, namely, The White Peacock, Women in Love,"The Princess","The Fox","The Ladybird" and "The Horse Dealer’s Daughter". Focused on the analysis of his creation of animalized characters and depiction of nature, the thesis is to reveal Lawrence’s primitive inclination.The thesis consists of five chapters. The first chapter gives a brief introduction to Lawrence’s life and literary creation, makes a general survey of Lawrence studies both at home and abroad, and explains the focus and structure of the thesis.Chapter Two analyzes Lawrence’s creation of animalized characters in his six fictions. It exhibits the similarities between the characters and animals in three aspects: physical appearance, personality and temperament, and inner desire.Chapter Three discusses Lawrence’s depiction of nature in his six fictions. It focuses on two kinds of nature in Lawrence’s works: the tranquil pastoral nature and the scary wild nature.Chapter Four, based on the analysis and discussion in the previous chapters, proposes that Lawrence’s creation of animalized characters and his depiction of nature in his fictions reflect his primitive inclination, which can be delineated in three aspects: admiration of nature, pursuit of primitive vitality and exploration of the unconscious primitive self.Chapter Five is the conclusion. It summarizes the previous discussions and restates the point of view of the thesis. It also points out that Lawrence’s frequent employment of animalized characters in his works foregrounds man’s inborn similarities to animals, some of which provide man with primitive living force and vitality. Lawrence believes, only by awakening man’s instinct and original true-self, and by admitting his primitive complex with nature, can man realize his own salvation in the false industrial civilization.