포우와 로렌스의 남녀관계 비교: ‘의지의 투쟁’ 개념을 중심으로

Abstract

This paper purports to compare the man-woman relationship manifested in Edgar Allan Poe's grotesque love stories such as “Ligeia” and “The Fall of the House of Usher” with that of D. H. Lawrence's later works, focusing on the concept of ‘the battle of wills.’ The concept is presented most clearly in the Poe chapter of Studies in Classic American Literature, but it can also be applied significantly in Lawrence's own works. Specifically, St. Mawr, “Princess”, and “The Woman Who Rode Away” can be argued to explore new ways of life possible on the American continent through the prism of the battle of wills. And in this sense, Lawrence can be called as an American novelist. It should be noted that in St. Mawr only after Lou decided to walk away from the liberal circle of Rico's world, and from the battle of wills with him, can she start a journey towards a new way of life in America. Even in America, she needs to refuse to be involved in a battle of wills with Phoenix, whose presumptious advance she successfully defeats. In “Princess”, the battle of wills between Dollie and Romero is dynamically presented against the vividly represented landscape of Rocky mountains. Their negative and fateful relationship, which has remarkable similarities to that of Ligeia and her husband, shows that Lawrence recognizes and dramatizes the difficulty of overcoming the battle of wills between different races in America. In “The Woman Who Rode Away” Lawrence makes another such attempt by presenting a white woman's journey towards the Chilchuis Indians after her conscious self's death, which seems to have occurred in the battle of wills with her husband. Lawrence's attitude towards both the woman and the Indians is remarkable in the sense that he responds sensitively to racial otherness while dismantling any racist prejudices.