D. H. Lawrence’s novel The Rainbow discusses a young woman’s inquisitive desire to explore the unknown world beyond her rural hometown. Unlike her husband and the Brangwen men who are content with the mundane nature of farming, the woman seeks liberation from her sheltered way of life. In her search for intellectual fulfillment, she is fascinated by the vicar, whose experiences and worldliness are beyond her scope of understanding, and resolves to achieve greater knowledge of the world. Lawrence employs juxtaposition and rhetorical questions to establish the woman's plight and capture her curiosity of the world outside her farming community. Furthermore, the usage of anaphora emphasizes her desire for new opportunities and experiences. By employing
…show more content…
Upon observing the vicar, the woman wondered, “What was it in the vicar, that / raised him above the common men as man is raised / above the beast?” (54-56). She is captivated by a specific attribute the vicar possesses but does not necessarily know what it is that she longs for; the woman is essentially drawn to the abstract possibility of becoming something greater than herself. The vicar’s worldliness and intelligence are characteristics “she could perceive, / but could never attain to” (42-43). Her fascination with this idea of knowledge drives her to continuously ponder, “Why—why?” (65); she wonders why the vicar is more powerful than her husband despite his frailty and how she too can obtain this “finer bearing” (42). Her curiosity further reveals her limited knowledge of the world, which only compounds her desire to overcome the experiential limitations imposed by her sheltered community. She believes knowledge can provide her some form of intellectual liberation, expanding her scope of freedom. The power of the woman’s curiosity, as revealed through rhetorical questions, ultimately fuels her desire for self-fulfillment, which is further explored through …show more content…
After spending her entire life in a provincial farming community, the woman desires another form of life with greater opportunities. Unlike the rest of the men who are content with the mundanity of laboring, the woman is curious and yearns to expand her breadth of social understanding by experiencing life beyond her hometown. After observing the vicar, she ultimately resolves to acquire social liberation through knowledge and seeks to become something greater than herself. By exploring the woman’s discontent with her current life, Lawrence reveals how the innate human desire for self-fulfillment manifests itself through curiosity and
Upon observing the vicar, the woman wondered, “What was it in the vicar, that / raised him above the common men as man is raised / above the beast?” (54-56). She is captivated by a specific attribute the vicar possesses but does not necessarily know what it is that she longs for; the woman is essentially drawn to the abstract possibility of becoming something greater than herself. The vicar’s worldliness and intelligence are characteristics “she could perceive, / but could never attain to” (42-43). Her fascination with this idea of knowledge drives her to continuously ponder, “Why—why?” (65); she wonders why the vicar is more powerful than her husband despite his frailty and how she too can obtain this “finer bearing” (42). Her curiosity further reveals her limited knowledge of the world, which only compounds her desire to overcome the experiential limitations imposed by her sheltered community. She believes knowledge can provide her some form of intellectual liberation, expanding her scope of freedom. The power of the woman’s curiosity, as revealed through rhetorical questions, ultimately fuels her desire for self-fulfillment, which is further explored through …show more content…
After spending her entire life in a provincial farming community, the woman desires another form of life with greater opportunities. Unlike the rest of the men who are content with the mundanity of laboring, the woman is curious and yearns to expand her breadth of social understanding by experiencing life beyond her hometown. After observing the vicar, she ultimately resolves to acquire social liberation through knowledge and seeks to become something greater than herself. By exploring the woman’s discontent with her current life, Lawrence reveals how the innate human desire for self-fulfillment manifests itself through curiosity and