But sometimes he gets it exactly right, as in this passage from Women in Love:
"In sleep, you dream, in drink you curse, and in travel you yell at a porter. - No, work and love are the two. When you're not at work you should be in love" (267).
(Let's put to the side for the moment that it's the doomed Gerald who says that.)
I know people have problems with Lawrence, but God, Lawrence seduces me in spite of myself. I mean, he gets things totally wrong in the end - in the end, he's kind of a madman with some really screwed up ideas about relationships - but there are these flashes of brilliance in Lawrence that feel organic in ways that I rarely experience with another writer.
Tragically, when I'm not at work, I'm not in love. I think that might be a problem.
12 years ago
6 comments:
Are you drinking wine and reading Lawarence again? It's bad to be under the influence in the Lawrence place! Bad! :)
Drinking wine, no... am having a beer, though :) And also writing. It's a recipe for disaster.
i don't read your blog as much as i used to. it's kinda depressing sometimes. and despite what people say, i believe that misery (or something not quite as severe as misery) does not love company. i can relate to that "something's missing" feeling, and having another articulate it isn't as therapeutic as one might think (do people think that? i don't know). there's some repressed dissatisfaction in my reality as well (who knows, maybe i'll post something about it later). and i think that if i had some filler for that "something's missing" feeling - be it a lover, higher job satisfaction, a million dollars, a completed diss, a 2007 Suzuki GSXR, etc. - all would be right with the world.
about the work-love think i guess i'm saying, sorta: i feel ya sista.
:) Point taken about the kind of depressing sometimes. I suppose the thing is, after I whine on my blog I don't actually feel crappy, so it's totally self-serving. Also important to note that my response in times of high stress and transition is to think/talk/write about it ad nauseum. You think this is depressing? You should see my journal (oh, it embarasses me even to think about it).
At any rate, I actually do believe all of this "stuck" feeling is going to pass - and I'm sure yours will, too. Getting the diss done will be a HUGE achievemnt and a HUGE weight of your shoulders, for one. Take care of yourself!
as well a blog post should be - self-serving that is.
i'm something of an optimist, not an eternal optimist, but my glasses are half-full more than half the time. and i agree; the "stuck" feeling will soon pass for us both.
b/c i, too, write through things in my journal, i relate to what you're saying. i'm glad the writing alleviates the crappiness; i would worry if it didn't.
anyway, thanks for the well-wishing. you take care of yourself, too. or at least let MM help take care of you. :)
When I was a kid, i saw a PBS version of _The Rainbow_ which set off a huge love for Lawrence. I've not read his stuff as an adult - and it sounds like maybe I shouldn't as I really like having loved that book.
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