The sense of the Apocalypse in the novels of D.H. Lawrence

Abstract

The word 'Apocalypse' is a Greek word which in the Book of Revelation means the disclosure of the last things leading to ultimate destruction. It is also a theme very close to the heart of D.H.Lawrence, who saw much soullessness in the industrialisation of the society of his day. My aim in this thesis is to explore how the theme of apocalypse features in Lawrence's novels. I have referred mainly to his novels because his genius is distinctively that of a novelist. Basically, I have focused on his five major works, laying greater emphasis on The Rainbow and Women in Love since they are his major opus and, I believe, the most apocalyptic of all his novels. The points I have tried to focus on are the increased mobility and consequent rootlessness of individuals. I have also tried to emphasise on the decay of organised religion and the cultural death of God, as well as on the advance of industry which was beginning to attain the status of a 'god'. All these, according to Lawrence, were the cause of the deformed, disintegrated, and dehumanised society he lived in. These preoccupations obsessed Lawrence throughout his entire life and enhanced his creative instinct.