Women Roles In The Rainbow By D.H Lawrence
Unsatisfied and unfulfilled. When being restrained from one’s inner true desires, these are the common feelings associated with such situations. In the excerpt from the novel The Rainbow by D.H Lawrence, the Brangwen family lives a life lacking of intricacy, that is mostly ruled by men from which comes a woman yearning for a change in her lifestyle. Lawrence conveys the loneliness instilled within the woman caused by the restrictions that are often placed upon women.
Beginning with the descriptions of the local lifestyle of the Brangwen men who believed the harvest time “was enough”; it was evident that the men were mostly satisfied as they lived their lives “full and surcharged”. Despite how remotely the lives of the Brangwen men are recounted by the narrator, undoubtedly remains the men’s sense of fulfillment as they lied there in relish and pride with the simple, daily and harvest-related work they had committed to. However, unlike the satisfied men of the family who are “unable to turn” from this perpetual cycle, the woman yearned for a much more exciting lifestyle. Transitioning to the description of the woman’s desires, Lawrence reveals that the woman refrained from gaining the same tangibility of her goals as her “blood-intimacy” family has so far. Contrasting with the lives of the Brangwen men that mostly remained “inwards” and secluded from the other world, the woman aspired to step “outwards” to the “far-off world of cities and governments and the active scope of man”. The constant use of “and” draws attention to Lawrence’s purpose in depicting the woman’s longing for liberation “beyond” the limitations of her confined setting. Visibly distinct from the descriptions of the Brangwen men’s lives that they fully enjoy, the imagery associated with the desires of the women are more ideal and heartfelt as the outside world appears more “magic[-al]”. Being able to be imaginative but yet, being incapable of enacting to these illusions, Lawrence captures the restricting nature of the woman’s condition leading to her feeling of dissatisfaction with her life.
After the woman’s eagerness for a change is established along with her solidified dissatisfaction with the farming lifestyle that the Brangswen men maintained, the woman wishes to rather live a life similar to the vicar mentioned. Idealizing the vicar who spoke “the other, magic language” of “knowledge”, contrasts to her own husband who suddenly now appeared “dull and local” despite her acknowledgment of him and his men’s “masterfull” harvesting skills. With the woman that “craved to know” of the vicar’s movement through “worlds beyond where her own menfolk existed”, it depicts her innate desire to escape from her confinements as a Brangwen woman, and instead live as a knowledgeable woman. The disparity in the choice of diction when describing the vicar and the husband, Lawrence reveals which individual the woman is clearly inspired and appealed by. Continuously being intrigued and charmed by the advanced values of the vicar by asking “what was it in the vicar?”, Lawrence showcases that she instead wishes to be with the vicar, someone who promises her quality and her so-desired knowledge than her supposeable cherished husband. Again, despite her obvious yearning for a better life with the vicar, the woman ultimately still staying with her husband regardless of their lack of connection demonstrates her sense of loneliness and incapability to act according to her desires.
Through the struggle of the woman feeling incompetent to her own desires, Lawrence suggests the ways women during the time remained powerless and unable to fulfill to their treasured goals. Being more obligated to their expected, traditional roles as a woman only leads them to act accordingly to their bidden boundaries.
