Representation of Nature in D.H. Lawrence’s The Rainbow

Abstract

Ecocriticism is the study of interconnectedness between man and environment. Nature and the social life of humans share a complex reciprocal relationship, and any disruption in the ecological system will cause alarming damage to the human and the non-human world. The prominence given to rationality and scientific progress has affected the organic solidarity between environment and human existence, leading to disillusionment and despair. D.H. Lawrence is one among the writers who want to generate awareness on leading a life one with nature. Modern science, modern intellectualism, modern education, he condemns as dead and mechanical and in their place he formulates a new science, new morphology and new cosmology of his own. He expresses human emotions in relation to natural objects. His novel The Rainbow reflects his nostalgia for the more organic life of England in the past. He endeavours to effectuate a bridge between the life of nature and the life of society, between natural permanence and human temporality. He tries to create a new cosmology far away from the chaos and confusion of modern world. This paper explores how Lawrence portrays the harmonious bond of the human nature with the physical environment.