Dissertation
A language of the body: Images of disability in the works of D.H. Lawrence
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
12/2006
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000006226
Abstract
It should not be surprising (though it may seem so at first) that D.H. Lawrence--who suffered himself from ill health--was an early proponent of disability theories that gain support today. Shocked by the modern world's damage to the human body and spirit--in a new statistical, mechanistic environment and in the devastation of the most industrialized of wars--he wrote often about disability and the need for renewed balance of faculties. This dissertation investigates Lawrence's interesting, mostly unexplored, link to disability theory. Employing his unique approach to Eastern Tantric philosophies, which help to promote holistic healing of the body, this work argues that Lawrence is a pioneer of modern theories of body and soul. Some of his texts about disability are placed in a comprehensive Lawrentian context that embraces his major canon, including non-fiction pieces (like Fantasia of the Unconscious). A chapter on his colliery settings probes the effects of the modern industrialized world--and its reliance on statistics and abstraction--in such works as "Odour of Chrysanthemums," Sons and Lovers and other texts. This examination quite easily leads to the effects of the first mechanized world war as seen in "England, My England" and "The War Again" chapter in Aaron's Rod. During and after the war, Lawrence began to develop further the Christological resurrection pattern that many critics find in his work. In works like "The Blind Man," The Ladybird and Lady Chatterley's Lover, for instance, disability leads to a pursuit of balance, mutual healing and inner beauty as well as compensatory sensory development. Finally, the dissertation concludes with a discussion of the importance of an autobiographical approach to Lawrence to reveal his empathy with the disabled, wounded and ill. Through such works as "The Thorn in the Flesh," "The Nightmare" chapter in Kangaroo and his poetry, we see that when he said his writing could "help" people not to be "dead" in life ("Why the Novel Matters"), he meant it literally.
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Details
- Title
- A language of the body
- Creators
- Pamela Wright
- Contributors
- Virginia c Hyde (Chair)Carol R Siegel (Committee Member) - Washington State University, Department of EnglishJON R. HEGGLUND (Committee Member) - Washington State University, Department of English
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of English
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 205
- Identifiers
- 99901080440001842
- Resource Type
- Dissertation