This study of Lawrence's travel writings is the first book-length study to approach the subject with reference to contemporary post-colonial theory. Focusing on the writings of 1921-25, the period when Lawrence was most intensely engaged in travel, it includes chapters on Sea and Sardinia, Kangaroo, The Plumed Serpent and the essays and stories inspired by Lawrence's experience of the New World.
Autorentext
NEIL ROBERTS is Professor of English Literature at the University of Sheffield. He is the author of critical studies of George Eliot, Ted Hughes, Peter Redgrave, George Meredith and narrative in contemporary poetry. He is also the Editor of A Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry.
Zusammenfassung
Although Lawrence has long been recognised and celebrated as a travel writer, the serious purpose of his travels has not hitherto been thoroughly studied and evaluated. After the First World War Lawrence was disillusioned with English and finally European civilization. In 1922 he set out on a course of travel that lasted three years and took him round the world. During this period he wrote Kangaroo, The Plumed Serpent, Mornings in Mexico and some of his most important short novels and stories. His travels and writings in this period were, in his own words, a 'quest' for 'reunion with the dark half of humanity'. From a postcolonial perspective, such a 'quest' may be construed as a familiar preoccupation with 'otherness'. But it may also involve a genuine engagement with alien cultures and ways of feeling. This study argues that what is dangerous and scandalous about these texts is testimony to Lawrence's struggle to escape from familiar cultural paradigms.
Inhalt
Acknowledgements Abbreviations Lawrence's Travels and Writings: A Chronology Introduction 'Outside the Circuit of Civilisation: Sea and Sardinia ' Kangaroo and the Narrative of Contingency Lawrence and Native Americans Journeys of Dangerous Desire: 'The Woman Who Rode Away' and 'The Princess' From Quetzalcoatl to The Plumed Serpent Postscript: 'Mornings in Mexico' Notes Bibliography Index