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D.H. Lawrence and fictional representations of blood-consciousness

This thesis is the first book length study dedicated to exploring D.H. Lawrence’s concept of blood-consciousness primarily alongside his fiction. Blood-consciousness will be identified as Lawrence’s individual philosophy of the unconscious which he developed throughout his life. Chapter One foregrounds what blood-consciousness is, and different aspects of this philosophy in order to establish the basis of the discussions that will follow in relation to Lawrence’s fiction. Chapter Two considers how Lawrence creates a new kind of character in The Rainbow through a blood-conscious flux which is likened to the theories of Henri Bergson. Chapter Three focuses upon the crisis of mental-consciousness in Women in Love, also incorporating the ideas of F.W.H. Myers. Chapter Four evaluates the portrayal of Mexican blood-consciousness in The Plumed Serpent. This involves identifying what the primitive means for Lawrence in a reading of Franz Fanon, and questioning to what extent blood-consciousness is a progressive term in the light of postcolonial studies. Chapter Five provides a reading of the blood-conscious marriage of ‘A Propos’ in correspondence with Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Finally, the Conclusion evaluates the difficulties Lawrence faced in envisioning blood-consciousness and putting it into language.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:607342
Date January 2014
CreatorsSalter, Layla
PublisherUniversity of Birmingham
Source SetsEthos UK
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Sourcehttp://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/5234/

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