In 1926, Lawrence began writing the last novel of his life, Madame Chatterley's Lover. At this time, Lawrence had already written works such as "White Peacock", "Son and Lover", "Rainbow" and "Woman in Love", and was one of the most famous and controversial novelists in Britain at that time.
Lawrence was not happy, and in his short life, fate never stopped blowing him, causing him to become more and more melancholy, deep, and rebellious. Especially after the age of 40, multiple blows followed, and Lawrence understood the truth of this world more deeply while his soul was shattered.
For a novelist, 40 years old is the golden stage of creation, but Lawrence suffered from a very serious lung disease and had to put down his pen and move to live in a forest with good air. What is even more ironic is that Lawrence has written about men and women for most of his life, and even if he is called a "morally corrupt person", he has never stopped creating, but he himself suddenly lost that ability due to illness.
Soon after, Lawrence discovers that his wife, Frida, is having an affair. Frida is a woman from an aristocratic family, the wife of one of Lawrence's teachers, and the two are married by elopement, a legendary process. Frida's infidelity undoubtedly dealt a great blow to Lawrence, but Lawrence did not hate his wife for it, but thought more deeply about the marriage relationship.
In addition, that era also dealt a very big blow to Lawrence. Lawrence was born into a family of miners in central England and had a deep understanding of the plight of low-level workers. By that time, Britain had basically completely completed industrialization. Many people sang in unison for modernization, but Lawrence was deeply worried about the problems behind industrial civilization.
Lawrence grew up seeing his father working hard, but the money went into the pockets of capitalists, and life in his own family was very difficult. At the same time, workers are even less free than in the agricultural age, as if they were part of a machine. Machines are supposed to be tools for freeing human hands, but in reality they have become tools for enslaving ordinary people.
In 1925, the profits of the British coal industry decreased, and the mine owners demanded lower wages and increased working hours, which the already difficult miners naturally chose to refuse. Mine owners threatened to shut down the mines, and miners opted for a strike, numbering more than 6 million people at most. However, the miners ended up starving and having to accept the conditions offered by the mine owners – lowering wages and increasing working hours.
The failure of the miners reveals a very painful reality, and there seems to be no force in industrial society that can resist the power of industry. Lawrence, who was already seriously ill, saw this result and was extremely sad in his heart. In addition to grieving the failures of the workers, Lawrence also grieves over the changing social climate. While industrial society is rapidly creating material wealth, the concepts of money worship, profit first, and material supremacy are also rampant, and the relationship between men and women in human nature and nature has been distorted.
Extremely angry, Lawrence picked up the pen in his hand and began to write "Madame Chatterley's Lover" under the condition of a serious illness, telling people a love story that will be criticized in the future because of the scale of the description.
Before Jia Pingwo created "Waste Capital", he also suffered all kinds of pain like Lawrence, so that his soul seemed to be broken. In July 1988, 36-year-old Jia Pingwa was found to have hepatitis B. At the time, it was a fatal disease. Lu Yao, another great writer in Shaanxi, died of cirrhosis caused by hepatitis B.
However, Jia Pingwo did not choose to burn life and write hard like Lu Yao, but was admitted to the hospital for active treatment. But then again, Jia Pingwo, whose reputation is like a day in the sky, was locked up in the hospital like a prisoner for more than a year, unable to write normally, unable to live a normal life, and the taste was very uncomfortable. Soon after, Jia Pingwo's peasant father, who had worked all his life, left this world again, causing Jia Pingwo to fall into great sorrow.
When Jia Pingwo was cured of his illness, and because of his close relationship with an actress, his wife Han Junfang became suspicious, and the marriage began to light up red. After arguing for a while, the two finally chose to divorce. Jia Qianqian, who caused heated discussion about poetry some time ago, is the daughter of Jia Pingwa and Han Junfang.
In addition to the breakdown of the marriage, a lawsuit with a former friend of the opposite sex has made Jia Pingwo tired. What happened between this friend of the opposite sex and Jia Pingwo when he was young has been in contact for many years, and Jia Pingwo mentioned her in his works. As a result, the friend accused Jia Pingwo of writing indiscriminately, which damaged her reputation and sued Jia Pingwa. The boat of friendship flips over, which is unexpected.
And when the wheels of time rolled over the 1980s, the social atmosphere changed very much. Under the sweep of the great wave of commerce, the romantic atmosphere of poetry and distant places is gone, the literati have gone to the sea, and the status of intellectuals has suddenly fallen to the bottom. Jia Pingwa couldn't help but fall into a deep confusion, and his soul was uneasy. In the end, Jia Pingwa picked up a pen and began to create a work that could secure his soul - "Waste Capital".
The story told by Madame Chatelet's Lover is a common "secret love story" in literature, and many great writers, both in the East and the West, have tirelessly described such stories. Of course, when writers in the past wrote such stories, they always deliberately weakened the description of "flesh" and highlighted the description of "spirit". "Madame Chatterley's Lover" broke the taboo and spent a lot of ink and ink to write the details and psychology.
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The novel's male protagonist, Sir Crieford (Sir Chatley), is a nobleman of a noble family, his father is a baron, and his mother is the daughter of a viscount. Clifford enlisted in the army after attending cambridge and married Connie. Connie was a well-cultivated beauty, born into a family of artists and highly educated. After the outbreak of World War I, Clifford was called into battle and charged the front line as a lieutenant officer.
After the war, Clifford was carried back. His lower body was very badly injured, paralyzed and at the same time lost the function of the man. Clifford was crippled at this time and could only walk in an electric wheelchair. Knowing that he would never be able to struggle in a big city again, Clifford returned to the middle of England with his wife Connie and inherited the family's huge family business.
The Chartalai family's property is dominated by mining areas, and the whole place is filled with the smell of coal and steel, which is dilapidated and dark and low. As the hostess, Connie has no worries about the material aspect, but she is extremely depressed mentally. Young and beautiful, she not only had to live in a lifeless environment, but also had to be widowed and tormented by asexual marriage all day long.
Clifford, as a husband, also knows that women have normal physiological needs in that regard. But he could not satisfy this, so he kept instilling the idea of "spiritual supremacy" in his wife, trying to firmly control his young and beautiful wife through brainwashing. Under the influence of her husband, Connie also lived a so-called "spiritual life" and tried to restrain her desires. However, this is destined not to last long, just like a paper wrapper cannot hold fire.
Clifford, who pursued a "spiritual life", soon put his energy into the pursuit of fame and fortune. He treats the miners as a tool to make money, and does not regard them as people at all, a completely cold-blooded capitalist face. In his mind, Connie was really just a tool, a tool to maintain the dignity of the family. In order to continue the incense, he encouraged Connie to "borrow seeds" from other men. Connie thinks that this kind of thing should be based on "love", but Clifford thinks that for the sake of profit, it is not only harmless, but also very beneficial, as long as the relationship is left behind.
Connie is a normal woman, and of course she really wants to have a baby. Under Clifford's influence, she gave up on this idea for a time. But at this time, Clifford made this request to her, which led to the resurgence of her ideas in that regard. Over time, Connie suffered from severe depression. Even Connie's family couldn't take it anymore, and for reasons of physical health, both her father and sister advised Connie to find a lover.
Connie followed her family's advice and got along with Mykris. Mikelis was a personable young writer who was a friend of Clifford's. But Michaelis didn't really love Connie, he just used Connie as a tool, and Connie used Mikelis as a tool. There are no real feelings between the two, only physical communication. From pure spirit to pure flesh, from one extreme to the other, Connie was desperate.
Just when Connie is desperate, another male protagonist, Meles, appears. Meles appeared as a forester and spoke a strong English accent, like a native countryman. But he was actually highly educated, knew several foreign languages, and had served as an officer in the army. Tired of war and industrial society, Meles chose to return to his hometown and became a servant who guarded the woods for Clifford.
When Connie was playing in the woods, she happened to see Mailers taking a bath, and her heart couldn't help but ripple. That night, Connie returned to her bedroom and did something she hadn't done in a long time, taking off her clothes and examining her body in front of a huge mirror. The novel reads:
Her body, which was supposed to mature its steady, rushing curves, was now flat and a little rough... Her body was losing its meaning, becoming dull and dull, essentially completely inadequate. This made her feel infinitely depressed and disappointed. What hope is there?
After that, Connie listened to the true voice of her heart and took the initiative to approach Mellers and meet, fellowship, and love Mellers. In a hut in the woods, in the open wilderness, Connie and Mellers were united again and again. The two are like the spirits of nature, pure and natural, natural and beautiful. In the novel, Lawrence spends a lot of time describing the scene of the combination of the two people, describing all kinds of details and psychological activities very realistically.
Jia Pingwa's "Waste Capital" was deeply influenced by "Madame Chattelei's Lover", and also spent a lot of time describing the affairs of men and women in detail. Even if the box was added later, it still retained a lot. "Wasteland" adds a "peach lawsuit" to the outermost layer of the story, which involves the situation of intellectuals in reality. But overall, the story mode of "Wasteland" is still very similar to "Madame Chatterley's Lover".
The male protagonist of "Waste Capital" Zhuang Zhidi is a well-known writer, one of the four major celebrities in Xijing, and the three words "Zhuang Zhidi" alone have infinite power, and the mayor's wife praises him as a "city treasure". However, Zhuang Zhidi was not happy, his spirit was extremely confused, and he was even depressed when he was with his wife.
One day, Zhuang Zhidi met Tang Wan'er, who had come to Xi'an from his hometown of Tongguan. Tang Wan'er is a very beautiful woman, originally a married woman, hooked up with Zhou Min after meeting the literary and artistic youth Zhou Min in the Tongguan Dance Hall, wanted to divorce her husband but in exchange for a severe beating, and then fortunately eloped with Zhou Min to Xi'an. Although Zhuang Zhidi was not handsome, because of his fame, he attracted Tang Wan'er at first sight.
Tang Wan'er holds a spirit of "dedication" to approach Zhuang Zhidi, close to the celebrity in his mind. She has no talent or fame, and can only rely on her own body. Zhuang Zhidi saw that the hunter was happy and soon mixed with Tang Wan'er. Since then, the two have pursued happiness in the chaos, trying to dispel the emptiness of the spirit, but they have sunk step by step, falling into the abyss step by step. Tang Wan'er only wanted to dedicate herself to Zhuang Zhidi, but Zhuang Zhidi saw one and loved one, and those women were also willing to dedicate themselves to him.
Liu Yue is a girl from the countryside of northern Shaanxi to a big city, first as a nanny in someone else's house, and then to Zhuang Zhidi's house. Liu Yue is young and beautiful, well-behaved and sensible, and is deeply loved by Zhuang Zhidi and his wife Niu Yueqing. After Liu Yue broke the scandal of Zhuang Zhidi and Tang Wan'er, she also dedicated herself to Zhuang Zhidi. However, Liu Yue was used by Zhuang Zhidi and introduced to the mayor's disabled son, who found a good mother-in-law for her.
In addition, the straightforward and spicy Ah Can and the gentle and virtuous Wife Wang Ximian also have a deep affection for Zhuang Zhidi and love them so much that they can't help themselves. In order to preserve the reputation of Zhuang Zhidi, Ah Can even did not hesitate to destroy his beautiful face, which was lamentable. Tang Wan'er's ending was also not good, she was arrested by her husband and returned to her hometown, and she was beaten and still did not yield. After Experiencing all this, Zhuang Zhidi was like a dream, more confused, and his body fell uncontrollably at the station.
After Jia Pingwa wrote "Waste Capital", he first read it to Professor Fei Bingxun of Northwest University. After Professor Fei looked at it, he thought that this work spent too much ink on that aspect of things, and it might cause trouble after publication. As a result, Jia Pingwa deleted some descriptions, and while deleting them, he indicated "how many words are abridged here", and when published, he used boxes instead of deleted content.
After the publication of "Waste Capital", the supply was in short supply, the price of a single book once rose to 80 yuan, and as long as the newsstand played the sign "Here there is "Waste Capital"", there must be a long queue in front of it, and luoyang paper is expensive for a while. However, the good times were not long, and in addition to causing great controversy among the people, "Waste Capital" also attracted mainstream criticism because "the theme of the work has no positive significance". Soon after, it was directly banned from reprinting and confiscated the "Abandoned Capital" that was circulating in the market.
At that time, public opinion generally believed that the low-level descriptions in "Waste Capital" were too much and too exposed, which was harmful to the physical and mental health of adolescents, and the boxes in the book could be said to be intended to cover up, which would actually play an inducing role, making people think otherwise, and the impact on society was very bad. Of course, the most important thing is that the idea of the whole work is always shrouded in "waste", and the characters in it are "waste". Chen Zhongzhong's "White Deer Plain" is also deeply influenced by "Madame Chatterley's Lover", but "White Deer Plain" learns the essence and presents a high-spirited side, not "waste".
Tang Wan'er, Liu Yue, and Ah Can, the young and beautiful women, pounced on Zhuang Zhidi one by one, but this neither made them get anything, nor did it really liberate Zhuang Zhidi. So, we don't just have to ask: What is all this for? Other than indulgence for the sake of indulgence, it must be difficult to find other answers.
Although "Madame Chatterley's Lover" spends more ink on the affairs of men and women than "Waste Capital", and describes it more delicately and vividly, it is by no means to write "sex" for the sake of writing "sex". Each of these depictions serves to shape the characters, express ideas, and advance the story.
For example, connie and Mellers have been combined several times, each time different, each time written with deep meaning, and it is not like "wet a large piece" like in "Waste Capital". After the first union, Connie walked to a new world full of vitality and vitality, saying goodbye to her dead and heavy self. The second time, Connie was baptized inside and moved to tears. After the fourth time, Connie and Mellers really know each other, respect each other, and love each other... The whole process is gradual, a combination of spirit and flesh, and the thought is exuberant.
In addition, it is worth noting that the content of "Madame Chatterley's Lover", although not as complicated as "Waste Capital", has a very deep connotation. Many of the characters and scenes in the novel are symbolic, such as the lifeless manor house of the Chatellas to symbolize the gray industrial civilization, clifford, who has lost the function of men, symbolizes the modern man who has been damaged by industrial civilization, and Clifford in an electric wheelchair symbolizes the inseparable relationship between modern people and industrial civilization.
In contrast, there is another kind of healthy and upward characters and scenes, the forest keeper Meles symbolizes sound humanity, the beautiful forest symbolizes the vitality of nature, and the combination of Connie and Mellors symbolizes the revival of humanity and the rebirth of life. After being baptized by "sex" and love, both Connie and Mellers are saved. Connie stopped being depressed and headed for a whole new life. Meles also took on the responsibility of supporting his family, walking out of the forest and embracing the modern society he once hated.
In short, although "Madame Chatterai's Lover" spends a lot of ink to describe that aspect of things, it is not written for the sake of writing, nor does it stay at that level, but has a very deep thinking about society, life, emotions and other issues. After reading this work, I believe that everyone will think that life can continue only when the body and mind are harmonious; and there is a certain balance between the body and the mind, and they respect each other.
It is precisely because "Madame Chatterley's Lover" not only has a beautiful story and delicate description, but also contains profound connotations, washing people's hearts and exciting upward forces, this work can withstand the test of time and social judgment, influence generations of writers and readers in a hundred years, and become a classic that has always bloomed in the grand garden of world literature.
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