Kumiko Hoshi
Ichikawa City, Japan
Visual Representation of Light and Darkness in Women in Love: Lawrence and Rembrandt
Visual representation of light and darkness in Women in Love (1920) shows some resemblance to such representations in the paintings by Rembrandt, a master of light and shadow. It is true that light and darkness frequently serve as the most significant metaphors in most of Lawrence's works. What seems to be peculiar to Women in Love is, however, that the relation between light and darkness is particularly emphasised whenever they are presented. Not only in this novel but also in his essays written about the same time, such as Study of Thomas Hardy, The Crown, and Twilight in Italy, does Lawrence devote much space to this issue. For instance, in Study of Thomas Hardy, especially in a chapter entitled "The Light of the World," Lawrence discusses in detail the relation between light and darkness in paintings by artists, such as Rembrandt, Turner and Botticelli. Concerning Rembrandt's representation in particular, Lawrence states: "where the light falls upon our darkness, there we are: that I am but the point where light and darkness meet" (STH 83). This description reminds us of Rembrandt's self-portraits, which are characterized by the technique called "chiaroscuro" (the Italian word for "lightdark"). By using this technique in his paintings, Rembrandt makes the subjects stand out in the darkness. What should be noted is that Women in Love has quite a few scenes in which characters, like the subjects in Rembrandt's self-portraits, are brightly illuminated. This paper will focus on the way in which Lawrence visually portrays light and darkness in Women in Love with reference to Lawrence's statements about Rembrandt in Study of Thomas Hardy. The comparison will come to reveal Lawrence's own view on the relation between light and darkness, a view in which light and darkness are considered to be relative.