D.H. Lawrence's Short Stories Thread

[Zee.]

When the next story is decided upon, i'll join in. I'll follow the thread closely so i don't fall behind. :]

I wasn't much of a fan of Virgin and the Gypsy. However, my reading of the three novellas certainly changed my opinion of Lawrence...

[Virgil]

That's great Limajean. We'll be glad to have you join us.

[Janine]

I second that, limajean, and welcome to the forum!

[Zee.]

Thanks! :]

[Janine]

Thanks! :]

limajean, I thought your signature line might be from Lawrence. I was thinking more of "The Fox", but now I see how it would be more likely from "The Ladybird"...I may have read that one; just not totally sure. I love all Lawrence's work. Lawrence often draws references to eyes, especially in an 'animal' sense.

I had two signature lines from Lawrence before Christmas came along; most likely I will have one again - maybe something to do with winter, this time. Currently, I have a photo of Lawrence's cabin in NM on my desktop. I really like the way it looks and just to think of the great man there and writing these stories thrills me.

[Virgil]

I think the yellow refers to sun, sunlight, brightness, flowers, life as opposed to death. Yes, definitely a symbol of 'Lawrence's paradisial ideal'...good thought. Yes, and this story certainly does have a great deal to do with 'will'. Right, she 'hated to be thwarted' and she remained so even to the end of this story.

Yes, sun and life, I can agree with that.

Well, her father built her up to think it was paramount. She learned it at a very early age. One cannot really blame her thinking. It is distorted to a degree; I think Lawrence is no condemning her but understanding her; otherwise why would he take the time in the beginning of this story to spend telling us of her early years and how she was shaped; how her thinking was formed?

There I disagree. I think Lawrence has a hostility toward the Princess. He had a hostility toward Dorothy Brett, and I think it comes out in this story.

[Dark Muse]

The peculiar spell of anger carried the Princess on, almost unconscious, for an hour or so. And by this time she was beginning to climb pretty high. Her horse walked steadily all the time. They emerged on a bare slope, and the trail wound through frail aspen stems. Here a wind swept, and some of the aspens were already bare. Others were fluttering their discs of pure, solid yellow leaves, so nearly like petals, while the slope ahead was one soft, glowing fleece of daffodil yellow; fleecy like a golden foxskin, and yellow as daffodils alive in the wind and the high mountain sun.

This is a beautiful passage, and another example of Lawrence's ability to describe nature scenes. It is so very vivid in the description. And interesting the heavy use and reference to the color yellow in the leaves and the flowers in connection with the sun.

After I finished typing up my responses to the next section posted, I noticed your own comments on this passage Virgil. I agree that it is indeed an interesting one, and the section of The Princess going off alone is quite a loaded one.

And the use of yellow and gold comes up a lot beyond this point. I also found it interesting how The Princess is later descirbed as yearing something fleecy

She paused and looked back. The near great slopes were mottled with gold and the dark hue of spruce, like some unsinged eagle, and the light lay gleaming upon them. Away through the gap of the canyon she could see the pale blue of the egg-like desert, with the crumpled dark crack of the Rio Grande Canyon. And far, far off, the blue mountains like a fence of angels on the horizon.

This is another passage I really liked. I thought it had some interesting references.

I loved the image of the unsinged eagle and I also thought the pale blue of the egg-like desert was interesting. And I liked the play of dark coming into this scene. In contrast to above which was bright and sunny, here the darkness seems to be creeping in more.

fence of angels on the horizon

this was another interesting one I thought.

I noticed as well some of these allusions turn up later within this section. The use of pale blue, and there is something else further down that is descirbed as being egg like in shape. Though I am not sure what it is intended to mean. I found it interesting.

And she just had a fixed desire to go over the brim of the mountains, to look into the inner chaos of the Rockies.

This seemed to be very symbolic to me. Her desire to want to look into the "inner chaos" while she is determined and assured of wishing to go off with Romero. She feels a bound and a kinship with him and yet she does not truly know what it is she wants or intends, she is at a conflict with herself. She does not truly see herself as being married to Romero and yet his demon seems to draw her own toward him.

Miss Cummins anyhow would have been only a discordant note

This struck me as interesting as well. Though The Princess truly had nothing to do with Miss Cummins accident, and it really was just a natural accident, reading the story, there was always a feeling as if somehow it was a planed event. The Princess did have to get Miss Cummins out of the way. Of course if she were present, then the events could not take place as they happened. She stood in the way.

She rode on, and emerged at length in the lap of the summit. Beyond her was a great concave of stone and stark, dead-grey trees, where the mountain ended against the sky. But nearer was the dense black, bristling spruce, and at her feet was the lap of the summit, a flat little valley of sere grass and quiet-standing yellow aspens, the stream trickling like a thread across.

As the princess continues onward, it seems she is moving more and more into the darkness, and farther away from the light. This is a bit of foreshadow I think, as she is drawn closer to the event that is about to occur.

The beautiful, but fierce, heavy cruel mountains, with their moments of tenderness.

This seems to me almost like a description of Romero though it is talking about the landscape. It is one of the many ways in which the surroundings do reflect upon the characters.

[Zee.]

limajean, I thought your signature line might be from Lawrence. I was thinking more of "The Fox", but now I see how it would be more likely from "The Ladybird"...I may have read that one; just not totally sure. I love all Lawrence's work. Lawrence often draws references to eyes, especially in an 'animal' sense.

I had two signature lines from Lawrence before Christmas came along; most likely I will have one again - maybe something to do with winter, this time. Currently, I have a photo of Lawrence's cabin in NM on my desktop. I really like the way it looks and just to think of the great man there and writing these stories thrills me.

Yes, it is from "The Ladybird". A line from when the Count refers to Lady Daphne as a wildcat. He does it quite frequently throughout the novella.

[Virgil]

And the use of yellow and gold comes up a lot beyond this point. I also found it interesting how The Princess is later descirbed as yearing something fleecy

Interesting. You ladies are much more sensitive to the color images than I am. I never really picked up on Lawrence's use of color, even when I was hot and heavy on my thesis. There is definitely something to his use of colors in various stories and novels.

I loved the image of the unsinged eagle and I also thought the pale blue of the egg-like desert was interesting. And I liked the play of dark coming into this scene. In contrast to above which was bright and sunny, here the darkness seems to be creeping in more.

I noticed as well some of these allusions turn up later within this section. The use of pale blue, and there is something else further down that is descirbed as being egg like in shape. Though I am not sure what it is intended to mean. I found it interesting.

Interesting. I should look at that closer.

And she just had a fixed desire to go over the brim of the mountains, to look into the inner chaos of the Rockies.

This seemed to be very symbolic to me. Her desire to want to look into the "inner chaos" while she is determined and assured of wishing to go off with Romero. She feels a bound and a kinship with him and yet she does not truly know what it is she wants or intends, she is at a conflict with herself. She does not truly see herself as being married to Romero and yet his demon seems to draw her own toward him.

Yes, I think that is one of the keys to the story, especially when she gets to the brim and looks over. It's coming soon.

[Janine]

I am kind of mortified. I could have sworn I wrote a post about the colors to Dark Muse's post and now I can't find it here. How could that be? Well, maybe I thinking of my post on the last page to you, Virgil; help me out here (confused) did you read this one #2576? I did think I remarked on the colors after Dark Muse sited the examples in her post. I liked that post very much, DM and agree with all you say.

Interesting. You ladies are much more sensitive to the color images than I am. I never really picked up on Lawrence's use of color, even when I was hot and heavy on my thesis. There is definitely something to his use of colors in various stories and novels.

Haha...maybe you are 'color-blind.'

Definitely something to the use of the colors to symbolism L's ideas. I found some photos of NM around the ranch and also some stunning photos of NM on the internet. One shows a whole field of yellow and the blue mountains as L describes, also the birch or aspen trees. I will upload to Photobucket and post here later today, hopefully. I think you will find them interesting. One picture near the area which Lawrence lived shows a gap or gorge as I believe he indicated. See what you all think. You will like the photos. I have Lawrence's cabin right now as my desktop photo - interesting to think of him sitting in that cabin and writing this story.

Yes, I think that is one of the keys to the story, especially when she gets to the brim and looks over. It's coming soon.

I agree.

Yes, it is from "The Ladybird". A line from when the Count refers to Lady Daphne as a wildcat. He does it quite frequently throughout the novella.

limajean, thanks for the information. Lady Daphne is based on a true life person, I believe. Most of L's characters are. I will look up who he based this character on. I have many reference books. Also, the one book will tell what he was doing at the time he wrote that novel. Sometimes it shows his diary or letter entries and what he was thinking at the time.

[Virgil]

I am kind of mortified. I could have sworn I wrote a post about the colors to Dark Muse's post and now I can't find it here. How could that be? Well, maybe I thinking of my post on the last page to you, Virgil; help me out here (confused) did you read this one #2576? I did think I remarked on the colors after Dark Muse sited the examples in her post. I liked that post very much, DM and agree with all you say.

No, you're not crazy. You did mention it and I did say "you ladies," trying to imply both of you. I didn't physically quote you though.

Haha...maybe you are 'color-blind.'

Hahaha, perhaps so in a reading sort of way.

[Janine]

No, you're not crazy. You did mention it and I did say "you ladies," trying to imply both of you. I didn't physically quote you though.

..well, I don't know...you are so busy building up those posts in your profile page....and you don't want me gaining on you...I thought maybe you missed my post. It was the post about the scenery descriptions in relation to color and symbolism for L.

Hahaha, perhaps so in a reading sort of way.

Haha...seems to be the case....

I found some good New Mexico photos. I was too tired out last night, to post these. Thought it would be interesting to see who the story was based on and where she lived in NM; where L lived and where he may have written this story...also the surrounding countryside.

Dorothy Brett's House


About Brett and Cabin


Dorothy Brett herself at Mabel Dodge Luhan's House


Painting of "Lawrence" by Dorothy Brett


Another by Brett - "The Order of the Day"


Some scenes around the surrounding areas of the Lawrence ranch and Taos, NM.














road to Lawrence's Rancharea (not sure what that structure is on the left but looks more modern)


The actual Lawrence cabin


As you travel north from Santa Fe


I found most of these on a Lawrence site so I would imagine these were the areas he wrote about and ventured into the wilderness riding his own horse, who he mentions often in his letters, etc.

[Dark Muse]

I love the photos

[Janine]

I love the photos

Thanks, Dark Muse, was worth my effort. NM looks so beautiful I think I would like to move there. One can actually stay or could stay a number of years back in the cabin. I read this account of one guy and his wife staying there and they thought they felt the ghost of L...I knew you would love this story. I wish I had my scanner running; I would copy it for all to read - such an interesting night spent there. I feel his spirit is indeed in that house. It looks like a house Lawrence would take to. I had all these in a file somewhere on a zip disc or regular disc and could not find them; so I had to dig around the net and found the site again. Cool site. Glad you enjoyed them. I think it gives us a better sense now of the journey - Lawrence had a great sense of 'place'. The novel I am reading is about that.

[Virgil]

Some scenes around the surrounding areas of the Lawrence ranch and Taos, NM.

Wow, great photos Janine. That was a visual aid to the story. I highlighted the above picutes beacuse they do emphasize the yellows that Lawrence mentions. Perhaps there isn't an symblism at all to the yellow but merely a reflection of the reality of the scene.