Women in Love

[KEV67]

My first D.H. Lawrence. I hear it is his best. I found the opening chapter a bit of a slog, but I will see how it goes.

[Limp]

On 4/25/2024 at 9:46 AM, KEV67 said:

My first D.H. Lawrence. I hear it is his best. I found the opening chapter a bit of a slog, but I will see how it goes.

My first experience with a D.H. Lawrence work was his novel 'Lady Chatterley's Lover'. It was a bit challenging at first, but it ended up being a really fascinating and immersive exploration of deep emotions and human relationships.

[KEV67]

Still reading. That period after WW1 was a lot different to the Victorian age, but it was a lot different to now. D.H. Lawrence had a strange writing style. His characters spend much time philosophising on the meaning of life. I am not saying it's bad, though. Also there are nude scenes. 

I tend to think of that interwar period as dominated by the likes of James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. They were experimental writers. I think mainstream literature was moving in other ways.

[KEV67]

I am puzzled about when the story was set. I thought it would be after the First World War, but it has not been mentioned. One of the characters,  Gudrun, thinks about moving to Russia to pursue her art. Another character, Gerald Crich, had been a soldier, but there is no mention of him fighting in WW1. Not yer anyway. In the chapter I just finished, it discussed how Gerald modernised the mines with new machinery, including electrical machinery. That sounds 20th Century. Perhaps the story was set in an alternative 1920s in which the war had not taken place. Perhaps it was set in the Edwardian era. That may be a possibility, because no motor cars have been mentioned.  Often they are in Edwardian books, so maybe the story is set in late Victorian times.

[KEV67]

I think the story may be set in the late Victorian era. There's a bunny rabbit called Bismark.

[KEV67]

It's not late Victorian because Picasso and Lloyd-George have been mentioned. I suppose it could be Edwardian. Iirc Lloyd-George introduced the old age pension, so he was widely known before WW1. I am not sure when Picasso became famous. 

[Madeleine]

Just googled it and it says it's set before WW1.

[KEV67]

Just read the notorious wrestling chapter. Seemed a bit gay to me. I used to do some Japanese wrestling myself, judo and aikido, but we always wore judo suits. Even if there were no judo suits handy I'd insist on keeping my underpants on at least, and I wouldn't fight him unless he kept his on, although I doubt I'd be up for any wrestling at all.

Edited May 18 by KEV67

[KEV67]

They're driving around in a car now, so Edwardian.

[KEV67]

I wonder if the title 'Women in Love' should have a question mark after it.

I like some parts of the book. The description of Mr Crich's death was very good, for instance. Mr Crich was Gerald's father, who is one of the principle characters. 

Now it has been established that the story is set in the Edwardian era, I wonder whether Gerald and Birkin both survived the war. I think Women in Love was a sequel to The Rainbow. Perhaps there is another sequel. They would be mid to late 30s by the time war broke out, but they are both officer class. 

[KEV67]

So that's D.H. Lawrence. Another big beast's head mounted on the wall. I had not read him before, although I have seen Ken Russell films of several of his books. Not Women in Love, however. Some bits were good. Other bits I was not so sure of.