D. H. Lawrence's Story The Odour of Chrysanthemums - Book Report/Review Example

Undertake a close reading of the passage below from D. H. Lawrences story “The Odour of Chrysanthemums" and analyse and discuss its content with reference to Modernism Thesis Statement: The modernism model challenged pre-existing socio-cultural norms and was exemplified by the discussion of social relationships in early twentieth century literature. This paper examines the interrelationship between D. H. Lawrence’s Odour of the Chrysanthemums and modernism and submits that D.H. Lawrence’s depiction of Elizabeth and Walter’s marriage through death reinforces the modernist concept of self awareness and identity; which in turn fuelled the redefinition social behaviour and relationships under the modernism paradigm. The concept of modernism developed from refutation of creationism and reinforced self identity and self consciousness as a form of expression. Moreover, the modernism paradigm is inherently intertwined with culture and Eysteinsson and Liska argue that in terms of literary criticism, “modernism constitutes one of the most prominent fields of literary studies today” (Eysteinsson and Liska, 2007:1). Indeed, leading anthologist Rainey asserts that in literary terms “modernists were giants, monsters of nature who loomed so large that contemporaries could only gape at them in awe” (Rainey 2007, p.xix) However, whilst modernism is instrumental in approaching literary context, it is evident that “it is however, a field that stands in a very ambiguous relationship to the present literary and cultural situation…… scholars and critics are seeking to draw a balance sheet with modernism” (Eysteinsson and Liska, 2007:1). The concept of modernism in the cultural consciousness evolved through the end of Queen Victoria’s reign between the nineteenth and twentieth century. Indeed, Gillies and Mahood (2007) refer to publisher Grant Allen’s remarks in 1889 that “everybody nowadays talks about evolution. Like electricity, the cholera, women’s rights, the great mining boom, and the Eastern question, it is “in the air” (In Gillies & Mahood, 2007: 3). To this end, it is evident that the cultural transition between the nineteenth and twentieth century towards a modernist socio-cultural model is a central causal factor in explaining the particular distinction of early twentieth century literature in the modernist discourse. For example, if we consider this proposition contextually, Gillies and Mahood refer to Aldous Huxley’s female protagonist Lucy Tantamount in “Point Counter Point” (1928) comments that “living modernly’s, living quickly”. Moreover, constant references to “make it new” meshed “itself in ever increasingly formalised definitions of modernism” (Gillies & Mahood, 2007:2). Therefore it is submitted that the early twentieth century novel is contextually imperative to the consideration of the evolution of modernism as a cultural concept. To this end, the focus of this analysis is to critically evaluate the passage from D. H. Lawrence’s “The Odour of the Chrysanthemums” (1911) and specifically analyse the text’s interrelationship with modernism. Firstly, it is important to briefly consider the story of Odour of the Chrysanthemums, which charts the narrative of a coalminer’s wife, who is a very young woman suffering at the hands of her abusive husband Walter. One day she waits for him to come home and when he is late she assumes it is as a result of his alcohol dependency. However, unbeknown to her, he has died in an accident and when his body is brought home; the narrative relays Elizabeth’s evaluation of their marriage. Contextually, the death of Walter in the mining pit reflects the socio-economic backdrop of modernisation of industry and Poplawski posits that publisher Heinemann influenced D. H. Lawrence to write about the mining community (Poplawski, 2003: 224). Furthermore, Haslam comments that from a modernism perspective, D.H. Lawrence can often be overlooked however Haslam argues that Lawrence’s work is important in demonstrating the socio-economic and cultural changes pertinent to the modernism social model. Indeed, Haslam further asserts that D.H. Lawrence’s self assertion in “Why Novel Matters” that communication and plurality are the key ingredients of the effective novel highlight the contribution of Lawrence’s work to the modernism paradigm. Additionally, if we consider the way in which Walter died; the horror of his death is contextually indicative of the modernism of Britain via the employment changes of Industrial revolution and urbanisation as he dies in a coalmining pit: “Eh, what a job, what a job, to be sure!” the manager was saying, rubbing his brow with trouble and perplexity. “Never knew such a thing in my life, never! He’d no business to ha’ been left. I never knew such a thing in my life! Fell over him clean as a whistle, an’ shut him in. Not four foot of space, there wasn’t— yet it scarce bruised him.” He looked down at the dead man, lying prone, half naked, all grimed with coal-dust. “’‘Sphyxiated,’ the doctor said. It is the most terrible job I’ve ever known. Seems as if it was done o’ purpose. Clean over him, an’ shut ’im in, like a mouse-trap”—he made a sharp, descending gesture with his hand. The colliers standing by jerked aside their heads in hopeless comment Moreover, on the other side of the spectrum; in highlighting the sadness of their relationship in never really knowing each other, D.H. Lawrence’s portrayal of Elizabeth’s calm demeanour is starkly contrasted with her mother in law as highlighted by the following passage: “The old tears fell in succession as drops from wet leaves; the mother was not weeping, merely her tears flowed. Elizabeth embraced the body of her husband, with cheek and lips. She seemed to be listening, inquiring, trying to get some connection. But she could not. She was driven away. He was impregnable” (DH Lawrence). From a contextual perspective, Elizabeth’s description of her feelings is indicative of a shifting perception of gender roles, in line with the modernist feminism paradigm. Under the traditional Victorian patriarchy, the concept of feminine identity was limited to a societal framework of moral values prescribed by a patriarchal society, distinct from any recognition of the feminine individual self. The increasing need to reinforce the patriarchy paradigm was borne out of fear of the increasing consciousness of the separate feminine identity in literary culture with the presentation of strong female heroines. The distinction between the feminine as an object and a subject became a prevalent theme in 20th Century literature, with the proliferation of multiple literary genres and sub-divisions of literature providing social commentary with specific references to the female body, its relationship with the feminine self and the societal requirement of “appropriate” femininity. This continued with the growth of female writers such as female English author Sarah Grand, who writing in “the New Aspect of the Woman Question” asserted that the “new woman” had “solved the problem and proclaimed for herself what was wrong with Home-is-the-Woman’s sphere and prescribed the remedy” (In Gillies and Mahood, 2007). Therefore, if we consider this modernist perspective of female social roles in the Odour of the Chrysanthemums by analogy; Elizabeth’s reaction to her husband’s death symbolises a change in gender roles under traditional patriarchal ideals, moving towards a modernist concept of the feminine. Traditionally, the death of a husband would have social and emotional consequences for women at the time, whereas Elizabeth is struggling to make a connection. Moreover, the contrast between her feelings as a young woman and the “the old tears” from her mother in law arguably represents the dichotomy between women under the previous patriarchal societal ideal. Additionally, Elizabeth’s reaction to her husband’s death challenges traditional perceptions of familial relationships in alluding to the modernist concept of female desire; which in turn has fuelled feminist theoretical debate pertaining to the feminine construct and the interrelationship between self identity and the development of the feminism paradigm (Richmond, 2000). This is heightened through Elizabeth’s disenchantment with her marriage which is evident from the outset. Indeed, Gillies and Mahood highlight that “it is revealed in the set of her mouth “closed with disillusionment” (Gillies & Mahood, 2007:48). This is highlighted when she finds out he is dead and describes feeling “countermanded. She saw him, how utterly inviolable he lay in himself. She had nothing to do with him”. This permeating disillusionment with her marriage is reinforced by the conversation with her children when they think their father has come home: “The horror of the thing bristled upon them all. Then they heard the girl’s voice upstairs calling shrilly: “Mother, mother—who is it? Mother, who is it?” Elizabeth hurried to the foot of the stairs and opened the door: “Go to sleep!” she commanded sharply. “What are you shouting about? Go to sleep at once—there’s nothing—” Then she began to mount the stairs. They could hear her on the boards, and on the plaster floor of the little bedroom. They could hear her distinctly: “What’s the matter now?—what’s the matter with you, silly thing?”— her voice was much agitated, with an unreal gentleness. “I thought it was some men come,” said the plaintive voice of the child. “Has he come?” “Yes, they’ve brought him. There’s nothing to make a fuss about. Go to sleep now, like a good child.” They could hear her voice in the bedroom, they waited whilst she covered the children under the bedclothes. “Is he drunk?” asked the girl, timidly, faintly. “No! No—he’s not! He—he’s asleep.” There was silence for a moment, then the men heard the frightened child again: “What’s that noise?” “It’s nothing, I tell you, what are you bothering for?” In this passage, the irony is reinforced by the onomatopoeic reference to the “horror of the thing bristled upon them all” in referring to the reality of Walter’s death. However, in trying to protect her children from the truth, Elizabeth’s daughter’s questions are indicative of the abuse that permeated the marriage as she fearfully questions whether her father is drunk. The dramatic irony of this question is reinforced when she is scared of asking her mother what the noise is in case it is her abusive father; whereas the reality is that it is her mourning grandmother. In presenting the complexities of familial relationships and dynamics within marriage through the daughter’s fear of her father, D. H. Lawrence brings out previous social taboos, which further reflects the concomitant impact of modernism on the social fabric. Moreover, from a modernist perspective of marriage, Elizabeth’s silence and indifferent calm, suggest the “impossibility of connection between man and wife” (Gillies & Mahood, 2007:48); as highlighted by the example of her reaction to the vase being knocked off the table: “One of the men had knocked off a vase of chrysanthemums. He stared awkwardly, then they set down the stretcher. Elizabeth did not look at her husband. As soon as she could get in the room, she went and picked up the broken vase and the flowers. “Wait a minute!” she said. The three men waited in silence while she mopped up the water with a duster”. To this end, the Elizabeth’s lack of connection with her husband highlights the growth of modernist expressions of romantic love within marriage. In contrast, Elizabeth’s husband’s death leads her to realise how “they were divided irrevocably long before his death. With his death however, there is no means by which the situation can be rectified”; which is reinforced by her feeling “countermanded”. This is emphasised by the short, urgent sentences at the end of the passage, where Elizabeth laments not being able to connect with her husband, “but she could not. She was driven away. He was impregnable”. As such, this reinforces the “impossibility of transcending death evokes a profound sense of the impossibility of ever knowing him,” (Gillies and Mahood, 2007:49). In turn, this realisation forces Elizabeth to face the truth when she sees Walter’s body: “We must lay him out,” the wife said. She put on the kettle, then returning knelt at the feet, and began to unfasten the knotted leather laces. The room was clammy and dim with only one candle, so that she had to bend her face almost to the floor. At last she got off the heavy boots and put them away. “You must help me now,” she whispered to the old woman. Together they stripped the man. When they arose, saw him lying in the naïve dignity of death, the women stood arrested in fear and respect. For a few moments they remained still, looking down, the old mother whimpering”. The juxtaposition of Elizabeth’s calm and the grandmother’s “whimpering” underlines the reality of Elizabeth’s predicament in life and reality of her marriage. To this end, the Odour of the Chrysanthemums is a consistent Lawrence approach to relationships in underlining the role of self identity within an intimate relationship. T this end, Gillies and Mahood assert that “like the novels for which he would later become renowned, his short stories explore the complexities of forging relationships between men and women during a period of changing social expectations and opportunities” (2007, p.49). The above analysis highlights that discourse on early twentieth literature is imperative in consideration of the evolution of modernism and its concomitant impact on traditional socio-cultural models. The interrelationship between literature and modernism is further exemplified by the passage from the Odour of the Chrysanthemums referred to in this paper, particularly in demonstrating the intimate concept of self identity and far reaching changes in traditional social constructs regulating familial relationships. BIBLIOGRAPHY Eysteinsson, A., & Liska, V.(2007). Modernism. Benjamins Publishing Company. Gillies, M. & Mahood, A. D. (2007). Modernist Literature: an introduction. Edinburgh University Press. Haslam (2002). Fragmenting Modernism. Manchester University Press. Marek, J. (1995). Women Editing Modernism: Little Magazines and Literary History. University Press of Kentucky. Poplawski, P. (2003). Encyclopaedia of Literary Modernism. Greenwood Publishing Group Rainey, L. S. (2005). Modernism: An anthology. Wiley Blackwell. Richmond, Sarah. (2000) Feminism and Psychoanalysis: The Cambridge Companion to Feminism and Philosophy. Eds. Miranda Fricker and Jennifer Hornsby. Cambridge University Press Read More