Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Jason Price
Second Advisor
Cheryl Price
Abstract
Feminist philosopher Luce Irigaray asks, Why do we not keep alive and develop our own energy so that we may let our natural belonging flower? (Through Vegetal Being 24). Modernist writers like D.H. Lawrence echo similar questions throughout his novels Women in Love (1920) and Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928). These texts are two significant examples of British literature establishing two distinct versions of humanity: the flourishing natural world and the mechanized industrial world. While some scholars consider nature as a thematic element in each novel, they fail to examine the use of plant purpose beyond a symbolic interpretation. Many scholars analyze Lawrence's exploration of modernist themes by studying textual elements like metaphors, similes, and other linguistic and visual structures; however, there is a lack of research that analyzes how certain themes, along with the characters, can be better understood and interpreted through examining what lies in the setting of the novel. How do revelations of plant existence change how we read literature featuring a vibrant portrayal of the vegetal world? This critical approach presents an immersive way to interpret canonical texts by framing plants as active participants. For example, in Women in Love, Rupert's sexual experience with the vegetation in chapter eight shows how he is fully embedded both physically and mentally in a way that articulates his sexual liberation through vegetal touch. This essay incorporates a plant studies lens by showing how plant partnerships facilitate human characters' journey to self-actualization and connections an existence that only the vegetal world offers.
Recommended Citation
Babb, Raegan, "Entangled Beings Exploring People and Plant Consciousness in D.H. Lawrence’s" (2024). Theses. 13.
https://roar.una.edu/theses/13
