Narration

A couple of our class discussions have touched on the uniqueness of some of the narration that Lawrence employs. I thought I would point to a specific instance in which a narrative technique shows up. On page 67, the narration describes a set of interactions between Gerald and Pussum -- "It was rather delicious, to feel her drawing his self-revelations from him, as from the very innermost dark marrow of this body...He felt, she was compelled to him, she was fated to come into contact with him, must have the seeing him and knowing him." The first question that comes to mind is: who's thoughts are these? Pussum later shows much disinterest in Gerald so why would she be so inconsistent? Although this passage is obviously written in third person, it seems that Gerald's (over)confidence and infatuation are seeping in through the narration via free indirect discourse.  As the passage continues, the narrator makes it a little more obvious that these thoughts are Gerald's. The most important word to note is "felt" because it implies subjectivity. We are able to learn more about Gerald as a character without a conspicuous description or dialogue.

The thing that is particularly unique about Lawrence's narration is not necessarily that he employs free indirect discourse with one character, but that he provides insight all of the time with several of the characters! Although it often comes off as confusing (especially in instances in which the narrator isn't so explicit about the subjectivity), it is a very important bridge to better understanding these characters' interiority.