An Ecological Reading Of D. H. Lawrence’s Novels

D. H. Lawrence is one of the most famous writers in the history of western literature of the twentieth century. As a writer who dedicated himself to the exploration of human nature and human existence, he created a lot of works which have been widely studied. Ecocriticism, as an emerging critical theory, appears in the context of frequent ecological crisis and man’s reconsideration of his relationship with nature. Based on the previous studies, this thesis aims to interpret Lawrence and his novels from the perspective of ecocriticism.Lawrence’s four representative novels are studied in this thesis, including Sons and Lovers, Women in Love, Lady Chatterley’s Lover and The Rainbow. By applying the theory of ecocriticism in the aspects of the natural ecology, the social ecology and the spiritual ecology, the thesis intends to reveal Lawrence’s ecological thought reflected in his novels. This thesis initially explores Lawrence’s depictions of the deteriorated natural world and distorted humanity under the industrial circumstance, and then analyzes the ideal natural world and humanity in Lawrence’s novels. The formation, significance and limitation of Lawrence’s ecological thought have been discussed at the end of the thesis.Based on the above analyses, a systematic knowledge of Lawrence’s ecological thought can be acquired; besides, the knowledge of Lawrence’s ecological thought is helpful for human beings to discard the anthropocentrism and reconsider their relationship with nature in the face of the deterioration of environment in order to propel the exploration of an ecological existence for mankind. Lawrence’s insightful ecological thought remains significant for the people of the twenty-first century.