Quest of the Spirit: From Suffering to Acceptance

114. Primitivism & Freudian Psychology :Lawrence's Women in Love !

                                      Introduction to Primitivism and Psychoanalysis

         Freudian psychology, like natural selection, Social Darwinism, primitivism and the collective unconscious, consists of dialectical systems through which man can better understand the nature of human behavior; however, they, too, like political philosophies, often reflect only a partial view of the entire perspective. Thus, the subject must invariably be aware of the pitfalls to any theory which claims to interpret events objectively, often at the expense of subjective elements such as creativity, imagination, and individual preference. As Charles Darwin points out in his Autobiography, "The loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness, and may possibly be injurious to the intellect, and more probably to the moral character, by enfeebling the emotional part of our nature" (Darwin 74).

                                                  Introduction to the Works of D. H. Lawrence

              In Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, and Women in Love, D. H. Lawrence uses Freudian psychology, primitivism, and biblical imagery to express his heroes' quests for meaning in a material world that has abandoned its archetypal origins. Lawrence's characters, like Conrad's, travel through the darkness of their own souls in their search for self-awareness; and like the characters in Hardy's Mayor, Jude, and The Return of the Native, Lawrence's protagonists focus on relationships between friends and lovers who place their ideals above the prejudice of society. Interestingly, Lawrence relies heavily upon the religious imagery of the Church and symbolism of the cross to portray the suffering and spiritual transformation that his characters undergo, as does Dostoyevsky in his use of biblical allusions and themes of death-and-rebirth or loss-and-redemption.

                                          Primitivism in Lawrence's Women in Love

             In D. H. Lawrence's Women in Love, the author's persona Rupert Birkin tragically laments the dichotomy between the real and the ideal. Like Hamlet, the protagonist depicts the world as a "rotting garden" rife with cruelty and self-destruction. The protagonist compares the futility of human achievement to a plant that fails to blossom, void of dignity and worth. In a conversation with Gudrun Brangwen, Birkin asseverates, "The whole idea is dead. Humanity itself is dry-rotten, really. There are myriads of human beings hanging on the bush—and they look very nice and rosy, your healthy young men and women. But they are apples of Sodom, as a matter of fact. Dead Sea Fruit, gall-apples. It isn't true that they have any significance—their insides are full of bitter, corrupt ash" (118). In a society of failed values and institutions, man must re-connect with the primitive instincts of his past. Lawrence's biblical allusions to the Tree of Life, Sodom, and Dead Sea Fruit reinforce his notion of man's spiritual estrangement. Apart from this connection, the archetypal hero's quest for meaning only leads to vain materialism and self-destruction. For Lawrence, the path to psychological fulfillment requires a need to return to the primordial ethics of his ancestors, much like the primitivism suggested in Conrad's Lord's Jim and Heart of Darkness, in essence, an abandonment of the hypocrisy and hollow conventions traditionally revered by British society. Lawrence suggests that these archaic values constrain man rather than freeing him to express his natural passion, leaving him "burdened to death with consciousness" and "imprisoned within a limited, false set of concepts" (34). In Freudian terms, the influence of the Superego prevents the free expression of the Id, and therefore, negates the possibility of a meaningful existence through the Ego. As a result of this deprivation, the personality manifests itself in withdrawn, self-conscious, and frequently destructive behavior in a futile attempt to overcompensate for its incapability. In essence, Women in Love echoes Lawrence's appeal for greater openness and freedom in personal relationships, particularly marriage, if it is to continue its existence as an institution.