Editing D. H. Lawrence (section)

==Philosophy and politics==

Despite often writing about political, spiritual and philosophical matters, Lawrence was essentially contrary by nature and hated to be pigeonholed.<ref>Worthen, John (2005), ''D. H. Lawrence: The Life of an Outsider'', Allen Lane, p. 171. {{ISBN| 978-0141007311}}</ref> Critics such as [[Terry Eagleton]]<ref>Eagleton, Terry (2005), ''The English Novel: An Introduction'', Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 258–260. {{ISBN| 978-1405117074}}</ref> have argued that Lawrence was [[right-wing]] due to his lukewarm attitude to democracy, which he intimated would tend towards the leveling down of society and the subordination of the individual to the sensibilities of the "average" man. In his letters to [[Bertrand Russell]] around 1915, Lawrence voiced his opposition to enfranchising the working class and his hostility to the burgeoning labour movements, and disparaged the [[French Revolution]], referring to "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity" as the "three-fanged serpent." Rather than a republic, Lawrence called for an absolute dictator and equivalent dictatrix to lord over the lower peoples.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Letters of D. H. Lawrence|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2002|pages=365–366}}</ref> In 1953, recalling his relationship with Lawrence in the [[First World War]], Russell characterised Lawrence as a "proto-German Fascist," saying "I was a firm believer in democracy, whereas he had developed the whole philosophy of Fascism before the politicians had thought of it."<ref name="archive.org">{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/autobiographyofb017701mbp|title=The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell 1872 1914|work=Internet Archive|publisher=Little, Brown and company|year=1951}}</ref> Russell felt Lawrence to be a ''positive force for evil''.<ref>[[Bertrand Russell]] ''Portraits from Memory'' (London, Allan and Unwin Ltd) 1956, p. 112.</ref> However, in 1924 Lawrence wrote an epilogue to ''[[Movements in European History]]'' (a textbook he wrote, originally published in 1921) in which he denounced fascism and Soviet-style socialism as bullying and "a mere worship of Force". Further, he declared "I believe a good form of socialism, if it could be brought about, would be the best form of government."<ref>Lawrence, D. H. (1925), ''Movements in European History'', Oxford University Press, p. 262.</ref> In the late 1920s, he told his sister he would vote Labour if he was living back in England.<ref>Maddox, Brenda (1994), ''The Married Man: A Life of D. H. Lawrence'', Sinclair-Stevenson, p. 276. {{ISBN| 978-1856192439}}</ref> In general, though, Lawrence disliked any organized groupings, and in his essay ''Democracy'', written in the late twenties, he argued for a new kind of democracy in which

<blockquote>each man shall be spontaneously himself&nbsp;– each man himself, each woman herself, without any question of equality or inequality entering in at all; and that no man shall try to determine the being of any other man, or of any other woman.<ref>Lawrence, D. H., "Democracy," in ''Phoenix: The Posthumous Papers of D. H. Lawrence'' (Penguin Books, 1936), p. 716.</ref></blockquote>

Lawrence held seemingly contradictory views on feminism. The evidence of his written works, particularly his earlier novels, indicates a commitment to representing women as strong, independent, and complex; he produced major works in which young, self-directing female characters were central. In his youth he supported extending the vote to women, and he once wrote, "All women in their natures are like giantesses. They will break through everything and go on with their own lives."<ref>Maddox, Brenda (1994), ''The Married Man: A Life of D. H. Lawrence'', Sinclair-Stevenson, p. 123. {{ISBN|978-1856192439}}</ref> However, some feminist critics, notably [[Kate Millett]], have criticised, indeed ridiculed, Lawrence's [[sexual politics]], Millett claiming that he uses his female characters as mouthpieces to promote his creed of male supremacy and that his story ''The Woman Who Rode Away'' showed Lawrence as a pornographic sadist with its portrayal of "human sacrifice performed upon the woman to the greater glory and potency of the male."<ref>Millett, Kate, 1969 (2000). ''"III: The Literary Reflection". Sexual Politics.'' University of Chicago Press. {{ISBN|0-252-06889-0}}.</ref> [[Brenda Maddox]] further highlights this story and two others written around the same time, ''St. Mawr'' and ''The Princess'', as "masterworks of misogyny."<ref>Maddox, Brenda (1994) ''The Married Man: A Life of D. H. Lawrence'', Sinclair-Stevenson, pp. 361–365. {{ISBN|978-1856192439}}</ref>

Despite the inconsistency and at times inscrutability of his philosophical writings, Lawrence continues to find an audience, and the publication of [[The Cambridge Edition of the Letters and Works of D. H. Lawrence|a new scholarly edition of his letters]] and writings has demonstrated the range of his achievement. Philosophers like [[Gilles Deleuze]] and [[Félix Guattari]] found in Lawrence's critique of [[Sigmund Freud]] an important precursor of anti-Oedipal accounts of the unconscious that has been much influential.<ref>Deleuze, Guattari, Gilles, Félix (2004). ''Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia.'' Continuum.</ref>