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D. H. Lawrences Language of Sacred Experience

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D. H. Lawrences Language of Sacred Experience

The Transfiguration of the Reader
Charles Michael Burack

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D. H. LAWRENCES LANGUAGE OF SACRED EXPERIENCE

Charles Michael Burack, 2005. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2005 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martins Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 1403968454 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Burack, Charles. D. H. Lawrences language of sacred experience : the transfiguration of the reader / by Charles Burack. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index. ISBN 1403968454 (alk. paper) 1. Lawrence, D. H. (David Herbert), 18851930Criticism and interpretation. 2. Religion and literatureEnglandHistory20th century. 3. Lawrence, D. H. (David Herbert), 18851930Religion. 4. Religious fiction, EnglishHistory and criticism. 5. Reader-response criticism. 6. Holy, The, in literature. 7. Religion in literature. I. Title. PR6023.A93Z573 2005 823 .912dc22 Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: November 2005 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America. 2005051026

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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To my loving parents, Ruth and Elmer Burack

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments Introduction One Two The Destruction Phase of Lady Chatterleys Lover The Revitalization Phase of Lady Chatterleys Lover

viii 1 13 31 51 83 126 156 159 186 195

Three Transformative Uses of Kabbalistic Concepts and Terms in The Rainbow Four Five Mechanistic and Yogic Discourses in Women in Love The Implosion of the Transformative Pattern in The Plumed Serpent

Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank Alex Zwerdling, John Bishop, and Robert Alter for offering valuable comments on various versions of the manuscript. I also want to thankVirginia Hyde for her valuable comments on the penultimate version. Moreover, I greatly appreciate the enthusiastic support of the D. H. Lawrence Society of North America, who awarded me their New Scholar Award 20002001 for three articles based on material from this book.The award encouraged me to complete the book. Special thanks to Jack Stewart, Carol Siegel, and Earl Ingersoll for their appreciation of my scholarship. I would also like to thank my dear family and friends. It was ultimately their continuing love, support, and encouragement that made this book possible! Finally, I am grateful to the journals Studies in the Novel, Style, and Mosaic for their reprint permissions and for their support of my work. An earlier version of chapter 1 appeared as Mortifying the Reader:The Assault on Verbal and Visual Consciousness in D. H. Lawrences Lady Chatterleys Lover in Studies in the Novel 29.4 (Winter 1997) 491511.An earlier version of chapter 2 appeared as Revitalizing the Reader: Literary Technique and the Language of Sacred Experience in D. H. Lawrences Lady Chatterleys Lover in Style 32.1 (Spring 1998) 10226. An earlier version of chapter 3 appeared as The Religious Initiation of the Reader in D. H. Lawrences The Rainbow in Mosaic 33.3 (September 2000) 16582.