ever changing and struggling emotions Submitted on: 2009-09-14
I didn't find this book enjoyable, too much repetition for one reason and being a bit too dramatic for my taste, but I have to say it is definitely worth reading because of the complexities of its characters. The multiple protagonists with the most interesting and significant developement of Ursula's character seem to present differences in gender and in social/cultural contexts. I am particularly impressed by the depictions of female psychology that seem very sharp, insightful and modern. The author's courage to take the risk of writing about sensuality, desire and pursuit of independent thoughts by female protagonists definitely deserves a special place in literature. It is also interesting to note that nobody is clearly defined, or, rather only defined by their inner struggles that constantly seem to change. There is no closure, or resolutions or convictions, and all characters are complex in their own ways, which can be unsettling for some readers, but I find it more realistic.
Works like these may not market today, unfortunately [48] Submitted on: 2009-06-16
Spanning three full generations, this book focuses primarily on the last generation's woman who was an esprit de vivre - emotionally, mentally and sexually.
Following the bloodlines of the Brangwen family, we learn how a common British citizen married a Polish widow, has his step-daughter Anna marry his brother's son (okay even in today's world as there are no blood commonalities), and watch their daughter fall in and out of love and deliver us ultimately to the rainbow.
The last Brangwen woman, Ursula, receives more than half of the novel's pages. She is a feisty cat who outgrows her puerility to become a reticent teenager and evolves eventually into an officious and deferential school teacher. "She was Woman, she was the whole of Woman in the human order."
Many of the independent characteristics of this woman of the 1930's are akin to the tour de force protagonist in Lady Chatterly's Lover. These are cool women of their day, and would be deemed even hip by today's standards. And, amazingly, many of the educational and vocational tracks of Ursula parallel the writer's youth - teaching for a period of time and education at Nottingham.
D.H. Lawrence's great gift may be his ability to envision things in a woman's perspective in such great detail. I often think I am reading something written by a woman. Having been brought up in separate sex educational facilities, and a "just past" 19th century mentality, one would believe this to be next to impossible. But, apparently it is not. In many respects, Lawrence can rival great novelists like the Bronte sisters whose personal feminine touches make their respective successful novels important even in today's literary world.
Works like these may not market today. Like a black and white film replete with slow dialogue and devoid of car chases and violence, this literature would not be embraced by today's readers. But, it involves detailed encounters of lesbian affairs and premarital sex with soldiers and unmarried pregnancies. Not entirely stale topics.
And, Ursula saw the world for what it is: "She knew that the sordid people who crept hard-scaled and separate on the face of the world's corruption were living still, that the rainbow was arched in their blood . . . would issue to a new germination, to a new growth, rising to the light and the wind and the clean rain of heaven."
If you have the opportunity, read this classic.
"For he was ridden by the awful sense of his own limitation." Submitted on: 2009-01-11
The Rainbow is one of those great, startling books that exceeds its setting to provide universal lessons to the reader. These lessons are in the form of questions social, political, and of course philosophical, and while it does help to know some of the background Lawrence was working with to get the most out of the Rainbow, this isn't necessary, as my own readership can attest to. The Woman's Rights movement and post-colonial/industrial themes in the Rainbow are not necessarily as heavy when compared with Lady Chatterley's Lover or even Songs and Lovers, probably on one hand because the Rainbow is his first great experimental, or rather Modern, novel that focuses as much on thematic content as it does on style, which is a reason in itself you should pick up a copy. The Rainbow is like Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure on THC. On the other hand, it's not too wild and zany-it's more mild and subtle than something like Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by Joyce, which furthers its accessibility.
And on that note, this book reaches out to you-the three generations of family throughout the book means there will definitely be some aspect of psychology/rites of passage/family interaction that you will be able to relate with. For me it was the elder Tom throughout the first part of the book, who couldn't figure out how to get his grip on life and ended up drinking all the time to deal with the pain, the darkness, before ultimately seeing a goal in romance, and then outwardly reaching and grasping that goal. The misogynistic trends of England during the late 19th century are definitely present in Lawrence's treatment of women, but as you go forward to the final protagonist, Ursula, and even before that Anna (Ursula's rebellious, feline-in-character mother), you start to realize both the social movements to liberate women and how exactly that came about in family environments with the downfall of the male presence in the household, the downfall of that archetype that could previously control but now more often than not fails.
So the universal lessons are present indeed, but keep in mind that this was a banned book because of its treatment of sexuality. This book, along with his other great works, ended up inspiring Henry Miller during his escapades throughout New York and France, being a key biographical influence that's revealed through Miller's letters to Anais Nin. But this book, which was "burned on the streets," doesn't nearly extend its fiery passion the way his later books do-but still, it's easy to see sections in the book where someone who puts their selves in the shoes of Lawrence can understand what he's doing, with the scenes of passionate love-making, as well as the mere description of two individuals kissing, which honestly appear more sacrilegious than the sex itself.
All in all, pick it up, stick with it, and you'll find yourself rewarded in many, poetic ways.
For fans of Thomas Hardy, other Lawrence books, Virginia Woolf, Henry Miller, James Joyce.
I lost my virginity to this book Submitted on: 2008-09-20
This book really awakened my sexuality back in college. I was lifted and washed away on a tide of passionate longing, straight into the arms of a cute road crew guy who had been working on my street that summer. Before I read it, I was just another shy nerd. Afterward! I became the audacious sex goddess that you see today! O, beware this magick book, for it will unlock you!!!
Utterly Gorgeous Writing!!! Submitted on: 2007-10-18
I had actually never read any of Lawrence's works before, though I had heard much praise about him. Saga type stories tend to interest me in the way you can trace growth in characters and really get into them, so I thought I would give this a try. So glad I did! Lawrence writes with some of the most beautifully lyrical and lush wording. Even when speaking of the dirty coal mines of England, you can almost feel the grime on your own skin, or when Ursula travels to the shore and plays in the surf you feel as if you're right there feeling and hearing the ocean on yourself. It reminded me somewhat of the way Fitzgerald writes. Also, seeing the growth and change in the different generations of one family was very interesting to me, especially the way that Lawrence as a man so keenly captured the struggles of girls developing into womanhood and accepting those changes and dealing with first loves and heartbreaks. If you come across this book, dont let it go!! I am currently reading this book's sequel Women in Love - let you know how it goes!
ever changing and struggling emotions
Works like these may not market today, unfortunately [48]