Departing from the belief that humanity has been perverted by idealism, Lawrence engages in a lifelong struggle in order to save modern society from decay and madness. Throughout his work, he tries to draw our attention to empirical experience as opposed to abstract theorising, and awaken our sensuous mode of being in distinct polarisation with our mental consciousness. He likes to point out the many marvels of the living world.
For Lawrence, humanity’s salvation depends on, among other things, the healthy, physical relationship between man and woman. In “The Woman Who Rode Away” Lawrence dramatises the relation between two diametrically opposed cultures: the Western and the Amerindian. The story of the woman who escaped from her ranch at once highlights and subverts the preconceived ideas about the Red Indians’ “savage” (48) culture and cult. Yet, in filigree, the narrator of the story subtly arouses the reader’s “willing suspension of disbelief” and awe by conferring respectability on the white woman’s self-sacrifice for the sake of the Red Indians’ sun.
In a masterly “tour de force,” Lawrence uses this highly dramatised narrative to serve his own overarching assertion that Western civilisation, as a universal ideal, has no future. The White Man’s Burden as an imperialist predicament has turned the world into a nightmarish place prone to global warfare and strife. The only escape from this deadly situation seems to lie in the dialectical interchange with other different cultures, different but not inferior, which might vitally contaminate and even rejuvenate decadent Western civilisation.
Table of Contents
“The Woman Who Rode Away”: Dialogism vs. Solipsism
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines D.H. Lawrence's short story "The Woman Who Rode Away" through the lens of Mikhail Bakhtin's theory of dialogism, exploring the cultural and ontological clash between Western idealism and Amerindian blood consciousness. It investigates how Lawrence dramatizes the failure of cross-cultural encounter and the tragic sacrifice of the female protagonist as a critique of modern Western civilization.
- D.H. Lawrence's narrative strategy and the concept of "separateness in relatedness."
- The conflict between mental consciousness and physical/sensual modes of being.
- Analysis of representational hegemony and "containment" in the context of Edward Said's Orientalism.
- The symbolic significance of the sacrificial ritual as a re-appropriation of archaic power.
- The tragic impossibility of reconciliation between modern identity and the "archaic Other."
Excerpt from the Book
The Mastery of the Sacrificial Ritual
But what she felt was that fanged inverted pinnacle of ice, hanging from the lip of the dark precipice above […].
From the fire came the old, old priest, with an incense-pan. He was naked and in a state of barbaric ecstasy. He fumigated his victim [...] Behind him came another robeless priest with two flint knives […]. [T]hey laid her on a large flat stone, the four powerful men holding her by the outstretched arms/ and legs […]. In absolute motionlessness he [the old priest] watched till the red sun should send his ray through the column of ice. Then the old man would strike, and strike home, accomplish the sacrifice and achieve the power.
The mastery that man must hold, and that passes from race to race. (81, 82, 83)
Summary of Chapters
“The Woman Who Rode Away”: Dialogism vs. Solipsism: This section provides an analytical overview of the story as a dramatization of the clash between Western idealism and the "Other," utilizing Bakhtinian concepts to explore narrative structure and the inherent flaws in cross-cultural understanding within Lawrence's work.
Keywords
D.H. Lawrence, The Woman Who Rode Away, Dialogism, Solipsism, Western Idealism, Amerindian Culture, Blood Consciousness, Mental Consciousness, Mikhail Bakhtin, Edward Said, Orientalism, Sacrifice, Cross-Cultural Encounter, Otherness, Phallicism.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this publication?
The publication focuses on analyzing the cultural and philosophical tensions in D.H. Lawrence's short story "The Woman Who Rode Away," specifically the failure of the encounter between Western modernity and Amerindian tradition.
What are the primary thematic fields covered?
The core themes include the dialectics of self and other, the critique of Western imperialistic ideology, the dichotomy between mental and blood consciousness, and the role of ritual sacrifice.
What is the central research question?
The work explores how Lawrence’s narrative voice navigates the "gulf" between conflicting modes of existence, questioning whether a true dialogue between disparate cultures is possible in a modern world dominated by idealism.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The author employs a literary-critical and psychoanalytical approach, integrating Mikhail Bakhtin's theories on discourse and dialogism with Edward Said’s critiques of representational hegemony.
What is treated in the main body of the text?
The text analyzes the narrative structure of the story, key dialogues that highlight cultural misunderstanding, and the symbolic intersection of Christ-like sacrifice with Lawrentian phallicism.
Which keywords characterize this work?
The work is characterized by terms such as dialogism, solipsism, Lawrentian organicism, cross-cultural exchange, and ideological critique.
How does the author interpret the protagonist's sacrificial death?
The author interprets the death not just as a tragedy, but as a symbolic expiation for Western materialism and a failed attempt at reaching a "third thing" or harmonic synthesis between opposing cultures.
In what way does the author apply Bakhtinian theory to Lawrence?
The author applies Bakhtin by examining how Lawrence's narrative creates a "dialogic" tension between the characters' worldviews, ultimately highlighting that their polarized consciousness prevents a successful synthesis.
How does this document relate to Edward Said's concept of "containment"?
It argues that "The Woman Who Rode Away" displays an ambivalent adherence to Western hegemony, where the narrator oscillates between stereotyping the Amerindians and attempting to elevate their culture as an alternative to modern decadence.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Mansour Khelifa (Autor:in), 2015, Self and Otherness in D.H. Lawrence's "The Woman Who Rode Away". Dialogism vs Solipsism, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/314257
