Monday, February 21, 2011

This picture is by Edward Gorey, who was a writer and illustrator active in the latter half of the twentieth century. He frequently drew nonsensical and macabre images that took place in a vaguely Edwardian world. This image reminds me of D. H. Lawrence’s Women in Love for a number of reasons. Superficially, it is like Women in Love in that it takes place in the Edwardian era country home of an industrial magnate. From the picture above the fireplace and the view through the window, it appears that this family’s wealth is based on some sort of factory. As in Women in Love, the owning family physically and emotionally distances themselves from the rough work of the exploited working class. To my knowledge this was not based on Women in Love, but several characters in the picture parallel characters in the novel. There is the founding father in the portrait and a lower-class-looking woman pleading with him in the foreground. An oddly dressed woman is scene carrying a large stone in the background, which reminds me of the time that Hermione attacked Rupert. The woman putting a baby in a vase (and the abandoned child in the bottom corner) reminds me of both Mrs. Crich and Linda (from “Prelude”), the two neglectful mothers that we read about. There is even a person falling out of a boat and into a lake in the background. Overall, the picture plays on the major theme of violence from Women in Love. The characters violent desires are contrasted with their somewhat strict and proper surroundings in both the novel and this picture. While this picture is (a little) more nonsensical than the novel, I believe that it embodies several major aspects of the novel. I cannot, however, account for the large presence of frogs in the image.

1 comment:

  1. Can't you just see one or the other women popping up to do eurhythmics (or Dalcroze movements)? A very funny connection, Zach.

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