The Fox David Herbert Lawrence Textual Analysis Analysis

The Fox David Herbert Lawrence Textual Analysis

Analysis of: - Title - Historical Context - Plot, Setting and Characters - Narrator and narrative techniques - Main themes - Women’s autonomy - Relationships - The message

THE FOX Definite article used to refer to something determinate, known. Carnivorous animal symbolizing: shrewdness, intelligence, cunning, malice, fraud Reading the title the reader expects the text to be about the fox or someone who has got qualities generally referred to the animal.

CHARACTERS and SETTING Characters March and Bandford. They are two women of thirty years old working on a farm. Bandford is presented as the most delicate and weak because of her physical appearance, but March is weaker than she. March is able to work hard as a man and she will always be the man of the situation but she is in the air and she is subdued by Bandford. March and Bandford are the surnames of the women and they are meaningful because March refers to the month in which the nature awakes, and Bandford refers to something distant (to band) and strong. The surnames communicate as the women realy are. Henry. He is the soldier that arrives one day in the farm. He is presented as the fox by the point of view of March and as an obstacle by the point of view of Bandford. The reader is not able to create in his mind an idea of Henry. He knows a lot of pieces of information about him, but they are not useful to understand how he realy is. Setting Where? It is set in an English coutryside. When? In 1920. The novel is set during the I World War’s aftermath.

THE PLOT Bandford and March worked on Bailey Farm facing a lot of difficulties. They are a balanced couple of friends, even if sometimes their relationship seems to be stronger than friendship, able to survive with their animals in the I World War’s aftermath. One day, Henry enters in their life modifying their relationship. Henry lived in the farm with his grandfather before he went to Canada as soldier, and now, that he returned back home, his grandfather is dead and the two women live in his house. Bandford, at the beginning, was realy kind with him, but when she realized that Henry was interest on March, she feel jealous and she was against him. Henry is attracted by March and vice versa. He realy wanted to marry her and he declared his love but she didn’t know what to do. Finally she accepts to marry him even if she was doubtful because she didn’t want Bandford to suffer. Bandford and Henry proceed to persuade March get married or not. At the end of the novel Henry, furious, decided to eliminate the obstacle that separated him by March: he killed Bandford cutting a tree. The tree, falling down, hit the little and delicate Bandford and symbolically killed March. She suffers for the pain and sorrow, but fortunately, Henry took care of her.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT The novel is set during the aftermath of the I World War. Great Britain took part in the conflict declaring war to Austria in 1914. It was lined up with France, Russia and United States and, at the end of the war, in 1918, it was one of the winners. Anyway the war high damaged Great Britain. It wasn’t the place in which the war was fought but it was the main investor. The value of British pound fell down. There was inflation and, as a direct consequence, people are not able to survive. Poverty made difficult men existences in addition to illness, death, sorrow, pain, destruction, and workless. It is estimated that the Spanish Flu killed from 50 to 100 million people worldwide, and there also other diseases. Life conditions of whom was survived at the war were precarious.

NARRATOR and NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES The narrator is a third person omniscient narrator that adopts the point of view of a character. The narrative techniques he uses are: - Direct speech to charge the text of realism - Shift of the point of view to consider the scene by the point of view of a character - Metaphorical and evocative language to create equivocal and confusion in the reader’s mind that makes associations not even right [ex. When the narrator speaks about the fox and you can’t realize if he is speaking about the animal, Henry or the deal fox singing in March’s mind. ] - Juxtaposition of scenes to convey the simultaneous idea of time through the reader possibility to know what every character is doing in the same time

MAIN THEMES -Love and friendship: jealousy, loyalty, fidelity, sensitivity, submission, conditioning. The novel makes the reader think about interpersonal relationships. They are at the centre of investigation and, as a consequence they are one of the main themes. -Work: difficulties, obstacles, patience, constancy, care and help, collaboration. The Fox perfectly shows the two women’s work and their care towards the farm. -War: death, destruction, survival, poverty, suffering, sorrow, pain, troubles, changes. It is a main theme because it is the reason why the two women are in the farm and the cause of poverty and women troubles. -Reflection: troubles, feelings, dreams and sensations, visions, perceptions, ideas The narrator usually refers the characters chain of thoughts to the reader. The reader is in the characters mind and is supposed to apply himself to understand their ideas.

WOMEN’S AUTONOMY March and Bandford are alone in the country and they are able to provide everything for themselves. Their autonomy is the result of: - The War Men are employed as soldiers in the conflict, as a consequence women are supposed to work. The state needs them in countries, and in factories to produce the bare minimum to survive and to maintain troops in life. Women feel necessary and part of the social system: a system in which they were nothing, a system they have ever wanted to take part of. War creates the women’s opportunity to become part of the society, to feel useful and to emancipate themselves. - Woman emancipation It is a feminine movement characterizing the first two decades of 20 th Century. Women from the middle class, being frustrated by their social and economical situation, wanted to change it. A lot of demonstrations and direct actions of such wishes spread in England. They wanted to be called “Suffragettes” from the word “suffrage”. They want to vote and to have the same place, opportunities and possibility of a men. For some of such wishes, women are supposed to work and to fight even today, but for others they succeed. In England, on the 2 nd of July 1928, every woman is allowed to vote.

RELATIONSHIPS Relationships are at the centre of text’s investigation. They can be analyzed from the direct reported speech or considering the characters’ reactions described by the narrator. Anyway the reader is invited to consider the consequences of love on friendship. March and Bandford are friend before Henry’s communication to desire to marry March is not autonomous to chose what to do because she has to decide who is minded to loose. Bandford and Henry fight to kept March, but she didn’t know what to do. This is the demonstration that relationships limit the personal autonomy. You are not able to decide what you want or what is better for you without considering the reactions of the one you love.

THE MESSAGE The novel has no definite message. It has got the purpose to make the reader reflect on: - The consequences of the war; - The influences of relationships on personal autonomy; - The importance of relationships in human life; - The rules in relationships: * man (hunter) – woman (prey) * submit (dominated) – submitter (dominator).

BIANCHIN GIULIA Cl. VA 15 -01 -2010