The Fox; The Captain's Doll; The Ladybird: Cambridge Lawrence Edition

These three novellas (each 70+/- pages) are packed with the detailed structure and depth Lawrence displayed in his masterwork novels. Each is in essence a concentrated variation of the more familiar works, exploring the interior emotions and spirits of the various characters in unconventional or transitory settings. Though not difficult, these stories should be read slowly to appreciate everything Lawrence is conveying, from the spare dialogue, the reflected and projected emotions, the environment and related symbols, to the historical background and setting. While each could be extended or more fully developed (which Lawrence himself did in revising "The Fox") there's plenty of value in the characters and plots as they are.

Penguin is reissuing all of the D.H. Lawrence works in an attractive new format featuring hauntingly beautiful cover artistic works. The first story is this slim volume is "The Fox" which has been made into a motion picture. It is the most famous of the stories. The Fox deals with two young ladies named March and Banfield who live together on a scruffy dairy farm raising cattle and chickens. Their lives are bleak. It never becomes overt whether they are lesbians although they do sleep in the same room. Into their lives comes a young soldier named Grenfel. His family once owned the old farm house in which the young ladies reside. Grenfel resembles a fox with his red hair and hunting ability. He slays the old fox who has been ravaging the hencoop. Grenfel swears love for March and turns the girl against the thin and ill Banfield. A tree is felled by Grenfel killing Banfield and leading to possible marriage with March. This is a complex triangle with Lawrence's close observation of nature and human psychology. It is subject to many interpretations. Without question the bleak story reflects the sadness and despair evident at the end of the Grreat War. The Captain's Doll is another complex tale. A former German countess makes her living making dolls. She is in love with an English officer who is married with two children. One day Major Hepburn's foolish wife arrives from England. She believes he is having an affair with the German mistress' Hannele's business associate. The wife falls out of a window and is killed. Hepburn returns to England meeting Hannele years later at a German ski resort. Hannele plans to marry a fat and old Austrian. When she and Hepburn meet their fiery love is rekindled. They plan on marrying as the story ends. The major symbol is the Doll which has been fashioned by Hannele to look like Hepburn. She is a feminist who demands to be loved as an equal partner; he refuses to be a doll or object of adoration by any woman. When he discovers that the doll has been sold by Hennele they agree to wed. The image of the cold glacier and the wintry scenes are wasteland imagery. The characters seem to exist in a deadly dreamlike state. The war has blasted all hopes for the idyllic days of pre-1914 Europe. Lawrence's vision is a dark one. There is hope only in love and in the peace of death. The Ladybird deals with a young aristocratic woman named Lady Daphne who becomes infatuated with a German officer prisoner of war named Count Dioys (he represents raw passion and love as did the Greek god Dionysus). Daphne's husband Basil is a POW. She has lost two brothers in the war and has given birth to a stillborn child. She visits Dioys who has given her a thimble representing his family. At the bottom of the thimble is a serpent and at the top a ladybird or ladybug. the snake of temptation and violent love invades the sterile hothouse soul of Daphne. She remains wed to Basil in her postwar life but saves the nights for passinate love

In " The Captain's Doll" the reader experiences a relationship that is not well-accepted by society. The Captain Hepburn and his mistress Hannele. The love in an affair is not a twosided love, usually one person ends up giving themselves more than the other person involved. Hannele questions herself throughout her relationship with the Captain and the intergery of their love. He does not want to love her and all she wants to do is love him. The story is very easy to read and short. It is a great book and I truly recommend it.

I had to read this book for a literature class, and it was chosen to be our favorite by far. The discussions deepened from lesbians, co-dependancy, and control. Of the three main characters we actually found five. Each lady has a different personality depending on what name she is called by. We may be reaching but it was interesting backing it up with the text. If you enjoy D.H. Lawrence you will love this novella.