本文是一篇英语毕业论文，笔者认为小说体现了劳伦斯对人性的敏锐观察，表达了对工业文明中个人命运的强烈关切。小说压抑的情感基调警示人们关注日常情感体验，重视个体之间的情感联结，缓和现代社会发展过程中各类异化的关系。
Chapter One Deviated Self-Perception of Ambivalent Aliens
1.1 Aaron’s Divided Self
As one of the symbolic novels that represents the shift in Lawrence’s life andwriting,Aaron’s Rod inevitably contains some common features that can be found inLawrence’s early novels.Beginning with the protagonist of this book,Aaron Sisson,itis worthwhile to draw comparisons with other typical male characters fromLawrence’s previous books.Though born in a collier family,Aaron was not similar toordinary colliers who sold their labor digging coal in the mine.He actually worked asa secretary for the Miners Union and had the opportunity to get an attachment to thebank for the benefit of collieries if necessary.It makes sense that he serves as ago-between between capitalists and impoverished laborers.
A small detail mentioned at the beginning of the book indicates Aaron’scontradictory feelings about his profession:Aaron just finished a meeting on behalf ofthe workers with bank representatives,in which he heard“a good deal of sillywrangling that left him nettled”(Aaron’s Rod 5).He went home alone by the last railway line,and talked about the topic of whether it is necessary for workers to investin“throw-in”with his wife,but was mocked by her.His wife reminded him that thoseignorant workers would get rid of him because they want someone just like their peerto work for them,instead of someone who considered too much(8).Even if he knewthe fact that he was not welcomed,Aaron declared he would still hold thought forothers.
1.2 Jim’s Conceit on Self
In the first section of this chapter,Aaron’s divided self has been discussed basedon the segment of Aaron’s emotional expectation and his real experiences,whichrepresents the opposition between spiritual and realistic world.Jim Bricknell,different from Aaron,activates his affects through utterances and behaviors.Jim’sexternal actions includes daily behaviors,usual habits,as well as his attitude to people.In this aspect,instinctive affects become a functional mode of actions which directlyconstitutes an important part of this character.
In Aaron’s Rod,Lawrence does not tend to describe the tilted psychologicalstates of one certain stratum but to represent all of the morbid characters in a decadent society.Jim Bricknell is a typical character who has been living in an oppressiveenvironment for a long time.His personality is self-conceit,with the essence ofinferiority.Similar to Aaron before the exile,Jim is an“affect alien”who fails tointegrate self-expectations with social reality.
Chapter Two Ruptured Gender Relationship ofDestructive Aliens
2.1 Wife’s Emotional Violence for Dominance
In Lawrence’s novels,violence,especially physical violence,occupies an almostunobtrusive space.Most of the time,Lawrence displays the conflicts betweencharacters in disputes and conceptual confrontation.Slavoj Zizek classifies threeforms of violence:subjective violence,objective violence,and symbolic violence(9).The extent and tactics of emotional violence are more covert and infrequentlydisclosed in real life.Because of Lawrence’s special attention to gender relations,he always tried to explore the psychology,behavior,and destiny of men and womenin them.Emotional violence demonstrates the conceptual disagreements between menand women in the household setting during this period of transition.It delves into theturbulent psyche of the time when traditional and modern ethics are at odds.
When discussing emotional violence,it is important to take into account thefollowing questions:Who are the subjects and objects of emotional violence?Whatcauses emotional violence to happen?How does violence get committed?What arethe consequences of violence?The emergence of emotional violence is closely relatedto the division of emotional power.According to Rowland Miller,for those whocannot achieve their goals through the reasonable use of power in an intimaterelationship,they“may use violence to exert control”(388).Emotional violence does not cause visible physical harm but is closer to the intimate terrorism listed by Miller,including verbal suppression and emotional strategies such as indifference,isolation,and guilt.Emotional violence is more often a result of conflict between participantsusing extreme means to achieve a certain goal,thereby conveying certain expectationsor needs.Still,the method’s inherent negativity creates a power imbalance betweenthe sexes in terms of emotions,which causes miscommunication.
2.2 Lack of Empathy Towards the Partner
At the end of the novel,Aaron and Lilly had a long conversation about love andpower.They agreed with the conclusion that the capacity for love among individualshad totally dissipated,foreshadowing the demise of relations between men andwomen.Addressing the despondent emotional inclination revealed by this conclusion,Worthen comes to the conclusion that“the tensions of sexual relationshipsoutweighing both love and hope”(Idea 124).Even Lawrence himself does not expectthe book to be widely praised,since the book’s purpose is to express his own earnestcritique and contemplation rather than entertain the general public.
From the perspective of the sociology of emotions,empathy is a phenomenonthat enables emotions to transcend the boundaries of subjective consciousness,facilitating mutual understanding in human interactions.The study of empathy inemotional research not only delves into the mechanisms of emotions behind theiroccurrence but also involves their association with moral judgment.Readers caneasily discern the distinctions between Aaron’s Rod,Women in Love,and TheRainbow.In contrast to the latter two novels,which make effort the culmination andestablishment of harmonious relations between the sexes,Aaron’s Rod entirely seversthe connection between men and women and even the interpersonal linkages amongindividuals,considering the individual as a solitary island solely dominated byself-thought.
Chapter Three Disintegrated Social Identification of RebelliousAliens.................46
3.1 Trauma of Soldiers Witnessing War Scenes......................47
3.2 Anger of Radicals Opposed to Capitalist Authority..................52
3.3 Disappointment at Social Interaction as Outsider........................56
Conclusion.......................62
Chapter Three Disintegrated Social Identification ofRebellious Aliens
3.1 Trauma of Soldiers Witnessing War Scenes
Writing about war experiences and memories is a common feature of writers inthe first half of the 20th century,as is Lawrence.The first world war lasted for fiveterrible years,during which the material world suffered severely from brutaldestruction.People have experienced mental trauma due to the transition in manyaspects of this time.Moreover,it marks the transformation from the old socialtradition to modern capitalistic civilization.For British people,the outburst of war isnot only a political event that has changed the power distribution of the world,butalso a social event that influences moral tradition as well as people’s ways of living.Moreover,the war itself is also a cultural symbol that suggests critical ideological andaffective disintegration,leaving people in continuous reflection about it.
American psychologist Stolorow points out that trauma originates on the onehand from people’s fear of the everlasting theme of death;on the other hand,it isrelated to true experience of the subject,and the point is to“find a relational homewhere it(emotion)can be held”(10).Trauma is often associated with memory.Afterthe First World War,survivors who return alive from the battlefield have beenexperiencing a considerable period of recovery from the dreadful memories of theirtraumatic experiences.
Conclusion
Lawrence carefully investigates social issues occurring in the post-war era withhis observation of the emotional characteristics of people in the early 20th century.Aaron’s Rod focuses more on exposing characters’emotional disorders and thealienated relationships that exist in every aspect of the morbid society.Readerswitness how Aaron Sisson transforms throughout the story,from abandonment offamily responsibilities to the involvement with a married woman,and to his finaldetermination to search for independence.The abnormal emotional states of Aaronand other characters symbolize the rebellion against bourgeois morality,rationalism,and mainstream propaganda.Similar to“anti-hero”characters,affect aliens,togetherwith their representation of irregular emotions,can be connected to the transition inpersonal psychology and specific social circumstances.
In Aaron’s Rod,characters becoming affect aliens act with different emotionalexpressions in self-perception,gender relationship and social identification.Aaron’sdivided self,Jim’s conceit,and Lilly’s self-restraint represent their deviatedself-perception brought about by the feeling of imbalance between their expectationsand social reality.The deviation proves their failure in the construction of subjectivityin a society that hinders the expectation and realization of self-value.Then thedestructive emotional strategies in marriage lead to broken gender relationships.Fierce confrontation between men and women in intimate relationships violates thestrategy of emotional interaction,and prevents them from reaching their completeselves.The emotional crisis indicates the tendency of egocentrism of modern peoplein the 20th century.Apart from these subjective experiences and behaviors,characters’social identification is also tottering.People experience negative affects in post-warsociety,where everything seems to have recovered.Affect aliens are those whorecognize the essence of war,so they awaken from the illusory peace after the war,and search for revolution and independence in their own way.
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