Gao Huan

A lover of Nature and a hater of industrialization, D. H. Lawrence expresses in his novels and essays that the natural harmony between human beings in the modern world has been destroyed by industry and civilization.

In the essay Insouciance, he enjoys actuality here and now with no care about the abstractness there and then. This is a very comfortable philosophy of life�� peace, serenity, casualness and even perhaps languor. All these hold incomparable fascination to people fretted by the quick-paced and more or less unnerving world. It feels like a good sleep after a day��s hard work or a sweet silence after a train finally rumbles by, to relax oneself in Nature.

A lovely and remote village is a Shangri-La, especially for somebody who has always suppressed his own intuition and instincts in order to fit in with the world but it suddenly dawns on him that he has had enough and should retreat. However, from the chronology of Lawrence��s life and works, I get the impression that he lived his life quite to his will already. He is reviewed by critics as a rebel against conventional religion and morality. Though still within certain limits of possibility, he lead (and promoted) a more organic life than most of the others. His pen was free, which even caused a lot of frowns. In contrast, many people simply dare not write down their true feelings in their own diaries.

I believe Lawrence had not only an open mind but also a sensitive heart. Artistic characteristics. That is why he found so much pleasure in the harmony between the mowers and the surroundings and shrank in the conversation with the round-eyed old lady, who seemed to have overdue care about politics.

We cannot blame Lawrence for his indifference to the International Affairs. Though people have different views on the relationship between arts and politics, we tend to look at the artists as a different kind of people from ourselves. Whether these artists think all arts are political or arts have nothing to do with politics, we are often more tolerant of their ��strange�� ideas and probably appreciate this strangeness, in which we find some value of whatever sort.

Lawrence��s emphasis on Nature��s way is a hallmark of his thinking and writing. To some degree, it��s not wrong. Human beings are, after all, animals. All creatures belong to Nature. Why should human beings suppress their instincts and separate love and sex, saying that they have sublimed themselves through this? However, the reality is that human beings are different from other animals in that they live in an organized society and there must be a rule to prevent further mess. Therefore, the Pleasure Principle cannot be the guideline observed universally and thoroughly, since physical pleasure can cause social or moral displeasure.

But if Lawrence insists on that, there is no need to shut him up, and his writings are beautiful indeed. Anyway, he cannot possibly change the world by publishing some novels and essays simply as a renowned writer.

Though the round-eyed old lady seemed a killjoy for her out-of-place topics, I cannot fully agree with Lawrence��s opinion. Fascism and things like that may initially look remote and irrelevant, but they can become extremely near and relevant in no time. The vicissitudes of life is unpredictable. And even if the things didn��t happen to him, how could he ignore them so readily? Since all belong to Nature, how could one indulge in the immediate peace with the awareness that some people are suffering somewhere else? It will be too selfish to shake off this sense of common responsibility for the mankind. Therefore, at this point, I find Lawrence��s insouciance unjustified.

And, let me deviate a little more, Lawrence��s hatred towards modern industrialization might be too much. Yes, it has transformed the face of the earth more drastically than ever, and has also left many serious and hideous problems. But the improvement to life is manifest, too. It��s unfair to say modernization is absolutely negative. The positive thing to do is to make efforts to solve the problems and prevent future ones. Anyway, those who claim to long to return to Nature can��t really do comfortably without the conveniences that modernization has offered. However, if Lawrence thought this way, he could never be D.H. Lawrence and we wouldn��t have the chance to read his works such as Women in love.

Different people can have different minds. In the past, various movements, literary, cultural, social or otherwise, have been coming to the foreground one after another. Sometimes they go from this extreme to that. The pendulum of history swings left and right. I believe finally there will be a perfect balance.

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