英语文学Dissertation案例：同性恋严肃文学

小结

从D.H. 劳伦斯的严肃英文小说切入，本dissertation研究了男性与女性的同性恋纽带。

An exploration of female and male homosocial bonds in D. H. Lawrence's 'serious English novels'

(Title)

Abstract

To focus exclusively on homosocial relationships, ‘the social bonds between persons of the same sex’, may seem like an odd choice when studying a writer like D. H. Lawrence. Lawrence himself stated that ‘The great relationship, for humanity, will always be the relation between man and woman. The relation between man and man, woman and woman, parent and child, will always be subsidiary.’ 

His attitude towards sex, gender and the nature and importance of homosocial relationships, however, were subject to many changes throughout his career. These changes, I argue, are most visible in three closely related novels written across a seven-year span. The first is the female-focused narrative of The Rainbow, banned for obscenity upon publication due to its protagonist’s lesbian affair.3 The second is its sequel, Women in Love, best-known for the ambiguous relationship between its male protagonists, but whose female relationships are also worth studying. The last novel is Aaron’s Rod, a text in which the titular protagonist relinquishes his ties to his family and country and explores the possibilities of bonds with other men. In a 1921 letter, written shortly before the publication of Aaron’s Rod, Lawrence explicitly ties this novel to the previous ones: ‘It is the last of my serious English novels – the end of The Rainbow, Women in Love line. It had to be written – and had to come to such an end.’

The present study is concerned with demonstrating how Lawrence’s shifting philosophical beliefs affected the way he treated homosocial relationships in his novels. I will engage with his theoretical tracts, tracing the evolution of his dualistic models, the ways in which he treated homosexuality, and his emphasis on the subject’s individuality. While his later views on gender were highly conservative, I argue that the characters, particularly the female characters, in his earlier novels are individualised to such a degree that making generalisations concerning gender is something we should be wary of.

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1.JK Essay-Dissertation Sample-An exploration of female and male homosocial bonds in D. H. Lawrence's 'serious English novels'.pdf