D.H. Lawrence and the Paradoxes of Psychic Life

Barbara Ann Schapiro is Professor of English at Rhode Island College. She is also the author of Literature and the Relational Self; The Romantic Mother: Narcissistic Patterns in Romantic Poetry; and is the coeditor, with Lynne Layton, of Narcissism and the Text: Studies in Literature and the Psychology of Self.

"Barbara Schapiro has written the best psychoanalytic interpretation of D. H. Lawrence that has yet been produced. The most impressive features of this book are its interpersonal focus and its inclusive understanding of Lawrence's struggle to reconcile deep-rooted conflict with mutual recognition of self and other. Schapiro brings contemporary psychoanalysis closer to Lawrence's recurrent patterns of representation than any critic has before. At her book's core is a new and important re-reading of the mother-son relation in Lawrence's life and work." — Murray M. Schwartz, Emerson College"It is refreshing to read an authoritative book written by someone who knows what she's talking about. Lawrence has been, from the publication of Sons and Lovers on, viewed by some critics from a psychoanalytic perspective. Schapiro's book is the first to explore Lawrence's work in depth from the perspective of relational theorists. I see it as an important contribution in large part because it reflects post-Freudian developments that are central to psychoanalysis itself today and applies them authoritatively. " — James C. Cowan, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

• Acknowledgments Chapter 1Introduction Lawrence and This (Female Psychoanalytic) ReaderLawrence and Psychoanalytic Relational TheoriesIntersubjectivityIntersubjectivity, Gender, and Domination:Jessica Benjamin's TheoryLawrence's BiographyPrevious Psychoanalytic Criticism of LawrenceAn Intersubjective Approach to Lawrence: Polarities and Paradoxes Chapter 2Sons and Lovers Gertrude and Paul: The Depressed Mother and the Dependent ChildMiriam and Paul: Self-Mistrust and the Failure of OthernessClara and Paul: Depersonalization and the Psyche/Soma SplitWalter, Baxter, and Paul: The Rejected Father and the Need for RecognitionPaul: The Maternal Heritage Chapter 3The Short Stories "New Eve and Old Adam," "Odour of Chrysanthemums," ''The Shadow in the Rose Garden," "Sun": Mutual Recognition and the Bodily Self"The Prussian Officer," "The Blind Man," "The Princess," "The Woman Who Rode Away": Intersubjective Collapse and the Domination-Submission Polarity"The Horse-Dealer's Daughter": Confronting Shame and the Struggle to Love Chapter 4The Rainbow Tom and Lydia: Sustaining the Maternal Identification and the Development of FaithAnna and Will: Deficiency, Shame, and the Will to DominateUrsula and Others: Intersubjectivity and the Quest for Authenticity Chapter FiveWomen in Love Gerald and Gudrun: The Sadomasochistic ScenarioBirkin and Gerald: Seeking the Narcissistic IdealBirkin and Ursula: Maintaining the Vital Tension Epilogue Notes Works Cited Index