D. H. Lawrence and Sicily

Abstract

In November 1919, David Herbert Lawrence embarked on a new journey with his wife, Frieda. They left England, and all the pain and anguish it had caused them, behind, hoping to rejuvenate themselves and reawaken their souls, especially Lawrence’s. The couple settled in Fontana Vecchia in Taormina, Sicily, where Lawrence writes a number of fascinating works about the nature, the sights one can see, the animals, the various kinds of fruits, the wide range of personalities in the Italians and Sicilians, and the grand history and culture of Sicily, dating back to Greek civilisation. In his two travel books, 'Twilight in Italy' and 'Sea and Sardinia'¸ Lawrence opens up to his readers, exposing the more emotional side to him and revealing what he is thinking and feeling at that very moment in time whilst wandering around Italy and Sicily. The descriptions of his interactions with the locals and his eyewitness accounts of the landmarks are far too personal to be categorised as mere guidebooks. The author also delves deep into Sicily’s past, reverting back to its Greek roots with which he shared a close affinity. However, one particular Greek myth stood out from all the rest, the Persephone myth, the tale of the girl stolen away from her mother by the evil Hades, king of the Underworld. This story fascinated Lawrence so much that it transpired into his writing, particularly revealing itself in the novel 'The Lost Girl', and the poem 'Purple Anemones' in his collection of poetry written in Sicily, 'Birds, Beasts and Flowers'. Furthermore, with regards to Lawrence’s 'Birds, Beasts and Flowers', Sicily even led the author to turn his thoughts and ideas into poetry. From the vast collection that deals with elements such as fruits, reptiles, and animals, for the sake of my dissertation I have chosen three poems that I feel best represent Lawrence’s work: 'Snake, Bare Almond-Trees', and 'Medlars and Sorb-Apples'. The first poem dives deep into the psychological and the religious aspects of the animal in the title, while also showing traces of Hades from Greek mythology. 'Bare Almond-Trees brings' forth and enjoins two opposing factors: the primitive and the mechanical, and 'Medlars and Sorb-Apples' explores the themes of sex and love, themes which are heavily associated with Lawrence, and it also almost directly retells the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, along with a reference to Dionysus. Lawrence also writes a novella about motherhood and the difficulties of marriage, called Sun. Finally, towards the end of his journey in Sicily, ready to move forward and never look back, Lawrence discovers and translates some works by the Sicilian author, Giovanni Verga, an important figure who was key to Lawrence’s personal and professional life, as it opened up the doors that were deeply embedded into his subconscious, the memories of his childhood and his relationship with his father, who was a coalminer. Lawrence shared a deep affinity for the Sicilian writer, and this in turn, resulted in the translations, 'Mastro Don Gesualdo', 'Cavalleria Rusticana', and 'Little Novels of Sicily'.