D.H. Lawrence's Lady
Chatterley's Lover is not only an important book in terms of its
literary merit, but also its socio-historic impact upon England's publishing
world. Although the novel was written in the 1920s, an uncensored version was
not published here until 1960. Even then it caused a great deal of scandal:
Penguin, the publishing house for the text, was forced to undergo an obscenity
trial due to the explicit erotic language and themes the book contained. they
fought for the literary merit of the book and the case was concluded with the
verdict "not guilty". This makes Lady Chatterley's
Lover a key implement in British authors' attempts to discuss erotic
concepts in modern texts.
The story commences with
the tale of a sexually licentious girl who marries Sir Clifford briefly before
World War I. He returns from the war paralyzed from the waist down. This allows
Lawrence to broach the the uncomfortable and forbidden question at the back of
everyone's minds: "does it work?". Unfortunately for
Sir Clifford, the answer is no.
Connie, or Lady
Chatterley, becomes depressed as a result of their sexless, joyless
marriage and begins to seek a lover to satisfy her maternal cravings for a
child. This plot is ensconced in a Hardy-esque condemnation of the
industrialization of England, as well as a self-conscious examination of class
differences.
Despite hearing mixed
reviews for the book, I don't regret picking it up (or rather downloading it to
my kindle) at all. The book is a pastiche of genres, which I believe is a
reason why it doesn't sit well with many readers. It has a great focus on man's
connection with nature, which is emblematic of Romantic writing, whilst
displaying the futility of human life, terse vocabulary, and lack of
sentimentality of modern writing.
The first portion of the
novel seems rather dry and hard to digest. Yet, this appears to merely be a
stylistic mirroring of Connie's sexually barren state: once she secures a lover
the writing becomes more poetic and much more enjoyable. Though Connie is
hardly a likeable figure, doesn't modern fiction often strive to teach us that
people cannot be labelled as being good or bad, but rather are more
complicated?
So if you want an easy
to read, yet important piece of fiction to add to your "To Read" list
this summer, pick up Lady Chatterley's Lover and give it a shot!
Love,
Stephanie
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