D.H. Lawrence, Science and the Posthuman

Transcription

1 D.H. Lawrence, Science and the Posthuman

2 Also by Jeff Wallace CHARLES DARWIN S ORIGIN OF SPECIES : New Interdisciplinary Essays (editor with David Amigoni) RAYMOND WILLIAMS NOW: Knowledge, Limits and the Future (editor with Rod Jones and Sophie Nield) GOTHIC MODERNISMS (editor with Andrew Smith)

3 D.H. Lawrence, Science and the Posthuman Jeff Wallace

4 Jeff Wallace 2005 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act First published 2005 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin s 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 ISBN (ebook) DOI / This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wallace, Jeff, 1958 D. H. Lawrence, science and the posthuman / Jeff Wallace. P. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN Lawrence, D. H. (David Herbert), Knowledge Science. 2. Literature and science Great Britain History 20th century. 3. Science in literature. I. Title. PR6023.A93Z dc

5 To Nina and Robin

6 We wait for the miracle, for the new soft wind. Even the buds of iron break into soft little flames of issue. So will people change. So will the machine-parts open like buds and the great machines break into leaf. D.H. Lawrence, The Symbolic Meaning

7 Contents Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations ix x Introduction 1 Part I: Science 9 1 Thinking Matter Biological knowledge D.H. Lawrence and science Lawrence, science and humanist criticism Posthumanism 26 2 Science, Ideology and the New Born scientific Religious crisis and the New Theology Science and socialism: The New Age Science and gender: the New Woman 48 3 Writing Matter: Science, Language and Materialism Alert and didactic science Darwin, origins and the arbitrary Herbert Spencer: thinkability Ernst Haeckel: the language of substance T.H. Huxley: honeyed words William James: reality in the making Coda 96 Part II: The Posthuman 99 4 Posthuman D.H. Lawrence? Animals Anthropomorphism and the meaning of animals: Coetzee and Lawrence The White Peacock Women in Love and St. Mawr The Fox and Kangaroo: non-human human being Real encounters: porcupines and frogs 146 vii

8 viii Contents 6 Humans Eugenics past and present The solar plexus Cultures Sensual riches: the posthuman in Sons and Lovers and The Rainbow Machines Luddite Lawrence Mechanical and organic Deleuze and Guattari s Lawrence Aaron s Rod, Kangaroo, The Plumed Serpent: anti-capitalism and the posthumanistic To live beyond money : Lady Chatterley s Lover 227 Postscript: On Abstraction 233 Notes 241 Bibliography 251 Index 259

9 Acknowledgements In one form or another, this book has been a long time in the making. For their advice and constructive criticism in the early days of research, I thank David Amigoni, Roger Ebbatson, Rod Edmond, David Ellis, Graham Hitchen, Graham Holderness, Mark Kinkead-Weekes, Laura Marcus and Andy Mousley. With those days in mind, I would also like to dedicate the book to the memory of Kate Westoby, Ian Gregor and Graham Martin. More recently, Anne Fernihough and Rick Rylance know what a great deal I owe to them. A special word of thanks is reserved for Rod Jones; the value of his ideas and intellectual companionship over the years has been incalculable. I am also very grateful for the support and advice of Simon Dentith, Hywel Dix, Dominic Head, Kevin Mills, Andrew Smith, Diana Wallace, Martin Willis and John Worthen. Paula Kennedy and Helen Craine at Palgrave Macmillan have been very helpful, and I acknowledge with thanks the initial support of Emily Rosser. Andy Goldsworthy gave his very kind permission for the jacket image, and thanks are also due in this respect to Jill Hollis at Cameron Books. This book has been made possible by a grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Board, and by the financial support of the School of Humanities, Law and Social Sciences, University of Glamorgan. Finally, for their constant encouragement and forbearance, I would like to thank my wife Frances and my children Robin and Nina not forgetting Paddock, of course. None of them will be sorry that we are, at last, in a postposthuman phase. ix

10 List of Abbreviations Works by D.H. Lawrence A AR CP EP FU K LI LII LIII LCL MM P PII Poems PS RDP SCAL SL SM StM STH TI TN TR WL WP Apocalypse Aaron s Rod The Complete Poems of D.H. Lawrence Etruscan Places Fantasia of the Unconscious and Psychoanalysis and the Unconscious Kangaroo The Letters of D.H. Lawrence, Vol. I The Letters of D.H. Lawrence, Vol. II The Letters of D.H. Lawrence, Vol. III Lady Chatterley s Lover Mornings in Mexico Phoenix Phoenix II Complete Poems of D.H. Lawrence The Plumed Serpent Reflections on the Death of a Porcupine and Other Essays Studies in Classic American Literature Sons and Lovers The Symbolic Meaning St. Mawr and Other Stories Study of Thomas Hardy and Other Essays Twilight in Italy The Fox, The Ladybird, The Captain s Doll (more commonly known as Three Novellas) The Rainbow Women in Love The White Peacock Other works AAR ATP AV A-O CE CMT E Jane Harrison, Ancient Art and Ritual Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus H.G. Wells, Ann Veronica Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, Anti-Oedipus Henri Bergson, Creative Evolution Vivian Phelips (Philip Vivian), The Churches and Modern Thought Samuel Butler, Erewhon and Erewhon Revisited x

11 List of Abbreviations xi EC EGP FP GMN IH LA LH MaM MPN NT OS PC PP PR RU J.M. Coetzee, Elizabeth Costello John Burnet, Early Greek Philosophy Herbert Spencer, First Principles Robert Blatchford, God and My Neighbour Wilfred Trotter, Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War J.M. Coetzee, The Lives of Animals Samuel Butler, Life and Habit Henri Bergson, Matter and Memory T.H. Huxley, Man s Place in Nature R.J. Campbell, The New Theology Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species E.B. Tylor, Primitive Culture, Vol. I William James, Principles of Psychology William James, Pragmatism Ernst Haeckel, The Riddle of the Universe