Akane Ide
Japan
After Familiar Gods: D. H. Lawrence, an Englishman at Home; Focusing on the Dance in Lady Chatterley's Lover
Lawrence based his description of most of the dances in his works on his own experiences in other countries. In his essay "New Mexico", he says that New Mexico had changed him forever. It indicates that his stay in America was a major turning point in his life. During his stay in New Mexico, he started up a correspondence with Rolf Gardiner, and his concern over English folk dance had risen noticeably. His relationship with Gardiner must be one of the cues for Lawrence to return to cultural origin. He was said to have felt a deep aversion for England, however, he seemed not to lose Englishness in himself. As an example, in his essay "Indians and an Englishman", it appears that he keeps an identity as an Englishman. This paper is going to examine Lawrence's patriotic notion through the dance in Lady Chatterley's Lover. Moreover, his paintings that depict naked bodies seem to be relevant to Lady Chatterley's Lover. Dance Sketch (1928) and some other paintings show "dance". The function and significance of the dance in Lady Chatterley's Lover is also going to be studied by including the consideration to those paintings.