| dc.description.abstract | There have been various attacks upon Lawrence's literary
reputation. Lawrence's representation of women is perhaps the most
criticised aspect of his work, with formal criticism beginning as
early as 1953 with Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex. Some
critics even recognize John Middleton Murry's disparaging comments
about Lawrence and women in Son of Woman as early feminist
criticism (Balbert,4). However, the point of integration between
feminist criticism and the Lawrence text is not nearly so important
as the intense debate that has arisen concerning Lawrence and
feminism. Lawrence criticism up until the 1980's has generally
represented him as a misogynist writer. Only within the last few
years has there been a resurgence of Lawrence philosophy through
complimentary readings of Lawrence texts. I believe that some of
the critics mentioned in this study--Blanchard, Simpson, MacLeod,
Paglia--fall into this category, which is one of compassion and
respect. Blanchard's "Love and Power: A Reconsideration of Sexual
Politics in Lawrence", Simpson's D.H. Lawrence and Feminism,
MacLeod's Lawrence's Men and Women and Paglia's Vamps and Tramps
are included in this study. It should be noted that this
resurgence is not a complete return to the values of the fifties,
when male and female roles were clearly defined, a fact most
notably demonstrated by Graham Hough in The Dark Sun. The readings
are, instead, an acknowledgement of the male position, while yet
retaining a level of faithfulness to feminism. | |
