The concept of primitivism in D.H. Lawrence’s short story "In love"

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Oles Honchar Dnipro National University

Department of English Language for Non-Philological Specialities

The concept of primitivism in D.H. Lawrence's short story «In love»

N. Styrnik, C. Phil. Sc., Ass. Professor

Анотація

Концепт примітивізму у новелі Д.Г. Лоренса «Закохані»

Н. Стирнік, кандидат філологічних наук, доцент кафедри англійської мови для нефілологічних спеціальностей Дніпровського національного університету імені Олеся Гончара (Дніпро, Україна)

Main Research

Lawrence's short stories have always caused mixed reactions: from support for his work to disgust - «infected and dirty» (Fernihough, 2001: 1). It is only at first glance that Lawrence seems to have continued the traditional 19^th century depiction of ordinary people, in particular miners and their hard-working life. However, compared to other writers, who focused on the material life of their characters, Lawrence drew attention to the sensual, inner world of his characters - their personal needs, instincts, relationships and feelings - going deeply into the secret corners of the human soul. In his «Nottingham» stories in the collection «The Prussian Officer and Other Stories» (1914), he was one of the first to talk about love in a new way, using the language of the body as imagery (Paltsev 1977: 11).

Lawrence shared his contemporaries' view about a decline and degeneration of the society of that time. He believed that industrialisation had cut the human off from the past, from the nature and the basics and that it had mechanised human relationships («In Love», 1927) into a struggle and thirst for material values («The Rocking-Horse Winner», 1926).

From the beginning in Lawrence's works there was a «frank appeal to sexuality» (Black, 1986: 2-3). He was mostly interested in the relationship between a man and a woman, and he did not try to «avoid the topic of sex in his texts, his works are always about love» (Black, 1986: 3-4).

Late 19^th and early 20^th century literature was marked by the start of an artistic style known as literary primitivism, which continues to this day in its development. Critics note that, despite a rather long period of the existence, the art of primitivism is still an understudied, complex and controversial issue.

Acknowledging that there are many definitions of `primitivism', this paper is written using the definition according to Kingsley Widmer's work «The Primitivistic Aesthetic: D.H. Lawrence»: the preference for the positive «natural» (nature, instinct, simplicity, spontaneity: «cultural primitivism») (Widmer, 1959: 344).

The scholars identify the primitive in Lawrence's works. K. Widmer believes that Lawrence supports the ideas of primitivism. However, the point of view of those researchers who believe that the primitive is absent in the artist's works is interesting. Lawrence himself noted that the reader should not look for a return to the primal and wild in his works: «I am so tired being told that I want mankind to go to the condition of the savages» (Nazareth, 1963: 41). After analysing the writer's novels «Rainbow» and «Women in Love», P. Nazareth came to the conclusion that «quite clear that he (Lawrence) does not want primitivism» (Nazareth, 1963: 41). However, other literary experts indicate that his interest in «harshly primitive (peasants and savages)» was always characterised by both disgust and admiration of the writer (Walker, 1991).

The short story «In Love» (initially entitled «More Modern Love», 1927) is among thirteen short stories of the collection «The Woman Who Rode Away» (1928), «was written during another restless period before he (Lawrence) started the first version of Lady Chatterley's Lover» (Mehl & Jansohn, 2002: xl). Before appearing in the collection, the story was first published in an American magazine Dial and was «never published in an English magazine» (Mehl & Jansohn, 2002: xl).

«In Love» is about genuineness and sincerity of feelings. In this short story the writer depicts a tense relationship between a man and a woman (Joe and Hester), who try to find harmony and an understanding of each other.

An interest in natural and primitivist trends, which prompted Lawrence to visit Ceylon, Australia and Mexico, can be seen not only in «In Love» but also in other stories such as «The Woman Who Rode Away» (1925), «The Border Line» (1928) and «Sun» (1928). He was interested in organic relationships with nature, even if they were primitive. This simplicity and purity in relations was seen as salvation from industrialisation. According to William C. Van Esveld, «Lawrence was not content with melancholic nostalgia for the primitive and his forgotten, superior mode of being in the world; he wanted to use the primitive to reform modernity» (William, 2012: 137). This point of view seems correct. The heroine, Hester, tired of the hypocrisy and insincerity of feelings and behavior thought about her fiancй: «how smug and silly his face looked, all its natural frankness and straight-forwardness had gone. How ridiculous of him to stroke the back of her neck! How idiotic he was, trying to be lovey-dovey! She wondered what sort of sweet nothings Lord Byron, for example, had murmured to his various ladies. Surely not so blithering, not so incompetent! And how monstrous of him, to kiss her like that» (Lawrence, 2004). Joe's problem here is that he followed the generally accepted rules for expressing his feelings to a young girl. He could have behaved in that way perhaps without realizing it.

A little later, P. Briukner noted: «meeting in the zone of uncertainty, both of them have to hastily construct new models on the basis of old ones, they stopped understanding each other and do not excuse mutual expectations» (Briukner, 2010: 77). Bruckner believes that this causes a confusion of social roles and therefore a situation arises, which he characterises as: «emancipation was destined to turn us into creatures who sow wonder, hesitate among many roles and, above all, should see themselves as free individuals, responsible for their actions» (Briukner, 2010: 77). primitivist naturalness sincerity love lawrence

Lawrence strove to embody more deeply and comprehensively the various connections of the individual with the ever-changing world, to spread faith in flesh and blood: «My great religion is a belief in the blood, the flesh, as being wiser than the intellect. We can go wrong in our minds. But what our blood feels and believes and says, is always true. The intellect is only a bit and a bridle» (Lawrence, 1979: 503).

The radical changes that took place in the first decade of the 20^th century, led to a change in personal between a man and a woman. It would seem that this is a personal matter: marriage, family, home, the relationship between a man and a woman, the relationships of dominance and subordination of a woman to a man and vice versa, which arose in the relationship between the sexes, the connection between parents and children. All these were reflected not only in Lawrence's novels (for example, «Women in Love», 1920, «Aaron's Rod», 1922) but also in the short prose, because in a concise, narrative space they were expressed more concentratedly and openly. The change in the traditional social roles of men and women is also artistically represented in other Lawrence's short stories («Tickets, Please», 1919, «Monkey Nuts», 1922, «Samson and Delilah», 1917, «The Primrose Path», 1922, «Fanny and Annie», 1921, etc.).

In the story «In Love», Hester subtly feels when her fiancй acts from his heart, and when he behaves mechanically, following the social norms of Victorian England. This is especially evident in her reaction to Joe's love. By the time it was time to get married, everything was fine but when Hester agreed to be Joe's wife something changed in her attitude towards him. When she «had promised to marry him, he had made the wretched mistake of falling «in love» with her. He had never been that way before. And if she had known he would get this way now, she would have said decidedly: Let us remain friends, Joe, for this sort of thing is a come-down. Once he started cuddling and petting, she couldn't stand him. Yet she felt she ought to. She imagined she even ought to like it. Though where they ought to come from, she could not see» (Lawrence, 2004).

Lawrence, in his expressionism, conveys the mixed feelings of a girl before marriage: at first, she falls in love but then suddenly becomes nervous and irritated by the very presence of him: «she was boiling. What cheek! What cheek of him even to have a sofa! She loathed the vulgarity of sofas. She endured his arm round her waist, and a certain pressure of his biceps which she presumed was cuddling» (Lawrence, 2004). It seemed to the girl that the young man's feelings were no longer so sincere and open, that «all its natural frankness and straight-forwardness had gone» (Lawrence, 2004). Hester was so categorical and firm in her decision that she refused to marry. Only after some offensive phrases and stormy sorting out of their relationship did they express their true feelings to each other, Hester's feelings changed from disgust to affection: «And she saw the honest, patient love for her in his eyes, and the queer, quiet central desire. It was the first time she had seen it, that quiet, patient, central desire of a young man who has suffered during his youth, and seeks now almost with the slowness of age. A hot flush went over her heart. She felt herself responding to him» (Lawrence, 2004). Only when Joe began to behave sincerely and naturally did Hester believe his feelings. Lawrence sought to reveal the subconscious, creating such circumstances where the true nature and feelings of the characters are revealed.

Lawrence focused precisely on the inner state of a person, delving into the subconscious instincts and desires. He and his contemporaries sought to return to the original human feelings, friendship and love and dreamed of the universal brotherhood of people. Lawrence's characters do not always live by intellect but by instinct and intuition. In a letter to the English artist Ernest Collings in 1913, Lawrence wrote: «my great religion is faith in flesh and blood, because they are wiser than mind» (Lawrence, 1979).

Lawrence «had a great distrust of science, which destroys the intuitive and instinctive life of a person» (Lawrence, 2017: 137). He no longer trusted the abstract mind but intuition and faith in flesh and blood. He considered that mechanization and the automation of production processes led not only to the efficiency and expansion of production, but also to spiritual degradation, emotional decline, an automation of relationships between people («In Love», «Two Blue Birds», «Sun», «The Border Line») and the loss of men showing real emotions and feelings («In Love», «Glad Ghosts», «The Rocking-Horse Winner», «Smile»). In «In Love», Joe «was extremely competent at motor-cars and farming and all that sort of thing. And surely, she, Hester, was as complicated as a motorcar! Surely she had as many subtle little valves and magnetos and accelerators and all the rest of it, to her make-up!» (Lawrence, 2004).

On the other hand, Lawrence «was not always completely against the intellect, he advocated a kind of synthesis of the rational and instinctive to achieve the organic integrity of life or the priority of instinct hardened by the mind» (Lawrence, 2017: 137).

Lawrence's characters do not talk about problems in relationships and dissatisfaction with family life; their inner feelings are expressed in reticence, looks, gestures, symbols, repetitions, details, and the open ending of the stories. The symbols, the environment, the state of nature and their touches speak for them. Lawrence compares Joe with Rudolph Valentino (1895-1926), the great romantic idol and sex symbol of Hollywood's silent movie era. It seemed to Joe that his beloved Hester liked this actor very much. Joe also silently expresses his feelings to Hester: «She endured his arm round her waist, and a certain pressure of his biceps which she presumed was cuddling. He had carefully knocked his pipe out. But she thought how smug and silly his face looked» [3]. But he was wrong: «<...> `what else does Rudolf Valentino do for you? - you like him'. «He's dead, poor dear. But I loathed him, really», said Hester. `You didn't seem to,' said he. `Well, anyhow, you aren't Rudolf Valentino, and I loathe you in the rфle'» (Lawrence, 2004). Joe thought that his caresses is all what Hester needs.

Hester wanted to be convinced of the sincerity of Joe's intentions, she did not believe in genuineness of his caresses. She felt only falsehood, as if she was a «perfectly priceless meat-pie, and the dog licked it tenderly before he gobbled it up. It is rather sickening» (Lawrence, 2004). She sensed Joe's insincerity when he was explaining to Henrietta (Hester's sister) why they argued and Joe could not understand the reason of their conflict, he compared his fiancйe with a car: «I only know she asked me to play the piano, and then she dodged out of the house. Since then, her steering-gear's been out of order» (Lawrence, 2004). Joe conducted his courtship according to the rules: «He was extremely competent at motorcars and farming and all that sort of thing. And surely she, Hester, was as complicated as a motorcar! Surely she had as many subtle little valves and magnetos and accelerators and all the rest of it, to her make-up! If only he would try to handle her as carefully as he handled his car! She needed starting, as badly as ever any automobile did. Even if a car had a self-starter, the man had to give it the right twist. <...> And he, the fool, just sat in a motionless car and pretended he was making heaven knows how many miles an hour» (Lawrence, 2004). It was much easier for Joe to manage with his car and everything that was connected with the management of the economy, he even did not realise he was doing something wrong, he seemed to just go with the flow.

Lawrence compares Henrietta with Portia, the goddess of Justice. It is Henrietta and her uncomfortable questions to her sister and Joe which helped the couple sort out their feelings: «<...> `Do you know, Joe?' said Henrietta, like another Portia, turning very sympathetically to the man» (Lawrence, 2004). And only when the couple voiced their real feelings and expressed their true emotions was a spark of passion ignited between them again: «He looked her straight in the eye. They knew each other so well. <...> And she saw the honest, patient love for her in his eyes, and the queer, quiet central desire. It was the first time she had seen it, that quiet, patient, central desire of a young man who has suffered during his youth, and seeks now almost with the slowness of age. A hot flush went over her heart. She felt herself responding to him» (Lawrence, 2004).

Lawrence asserted the need for a convergence and union of the human with real Nature for a manifestation of true feelings. He created new characters whose environmental consciousness made them progressive and gave them the opportunity to express true feelings and become happy. Lawrence's concept of the primitive is shown in a change in the consciousness of the characters. «In Love» challenges the formal social roles and asserts that behavior should be determined by true feelings, sincerity and a return to fundamentals. When Joe expresses true thoughts and shows his sincere feelings, Hester understands the authenticity of their feelings for each other: «It was the first time she had seen it, that quiet, patient, central desire of a young man who has suffered during his youth, and seeks now almost with the slowness of age. He looked her straight in the eye. They knew each other so well. You know, Joe, she said, I don't mind what you do, if you love me really» (Lawrence, 2004).

Conclusion

Critics and researchers have varied opinions about Lawrence's attitude towards primitivism as reflected in the short story «In Love». Hester was not satisfied with just Joe's caresses - all that attention and tenderness madly angered her, because she was more guided by her mind than her instincts: she wanted to understand that Joe really loved her. In turn, it was Joe who was guided in his relationship with Hester by nature, simplicity and spontaneity: with instincts that attract a man to a woman, he wanted to be near her, to touch and hug her.

Lawrence's prose of the late period becomes more complex. New elements (satire, irony, mysticism) appear and sometimes the plot expands to primitivism in the sense of desire for a naturalness and harmony in relationships. He does not call for the primitive relationships, because he depicts them as complicated and tangled. He is not satisfied with modern civilisation with its hypocritical prohibitions, with its distance from nature and the natural, genuine relationships between man and woman. Only in this sense we can talk about Lawrence's primitivism.

Bibliography

1. Black M. D.H. Lawrence: The Early Fiction. London: Macmillan,1986. 280 p.

2. Fernihough A. The Cambridge Companion to D.H. Lawrence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 292 p.

3. Lawrence D.H. The Woman Who Rode Away and Other Stories. In Love. 2004.

4. Lawrence D.H. The Letters of D.H. Lawrence. Vol. 1. September 1901 - May 1913 Ed. by James Boulton. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979. 601 p.

5. Mehl D., Jansohn C. The Woman Who Rode Away and Others Stories. The Cambridge Edition of the Works of D. H. Lawrence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. 488 p.

6. Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

7. Nazareth P. D.H. Lawrence and Sex. Transition. No. 8. Indiana University Press, 1963. P. 38-43.

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9. Widmer K. The Primitive Aesthetic: D. H. Lawrence. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art. 1959. Vol. 17. No 3. P. 344-353.

10. William C. Primitivism in Modern Literature: A Study of Eliot, Woolf and Lawrence. A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Cornell University, 2012. 198 p.

11. Women in the Short Stories of D.H. Lawrence.

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References

1. Black M. D.H. Lawrence: The Early Fiction. London: Macmillan,1986. 280 p.

2. Fernihough A. The Cambridge Companion to D.H. Lawrence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 292 p.

3. Lawrence D. The Woman Who Rode Away and Other Stories. In Love. 2004.

4. Lawrence D. The Letters of D.H. Lawrence. Vol. 1. September 1901 - May 1913 Ed. by James Boulton. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979. 601 p.

5. Mehl D., Jansohn C. The Woman Who Rode Away and Others Stories. The Cambridge Edition of the Works of D.H. Lawrence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. 488 p.

6. Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

7. Nazareth P. D.H. Lawrence and Sex. Transition. No. 8. Indiana University Press, 1963. P. 38-43.

8. Walker G.A Reaction to Feminist Criticism and D.H. Lawrence. South Central Review. 1991. Vol. 8. No. 3. P. 96-98.

9. Widmer K. The Primitive Aesthetic: D.H. Lawrence. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art. 1959. Vol. 17. No 3. P. 344353.

10. William C. Primitivism in Modern Literature: A Study of Eliot, Woolf and Lawrence. A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Cornell University, 2012. 198 p.

11. Women in the Short Stories of D.H. Lawrence.

12. Briukner P. Paradoks liubovi: esei. [The paradox of love: an essay]. Kyiv: Hrant-T, 2010. 272 c [in Ukrainian].

13. Kondrahina N. Traditsii primitivizma v literature modernizma. [Traditions of Primitivism in the Literature of Modernism]. Bulletin of the Perm University, 2009. Russian and foreign philology. Issue. 2. pp. 90-99 [in Russian].

14. Paltsev N. Predislovie. Odour of Chrysanthemums. D.H. Lawrence. [Foreword. Odour of Chrysanthemums. D.H. Lawrence]. Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1977. 292 p. [in Russian].

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