AFRICAM SYMBOLYSM IN THE NOVEL “WOMEN IN LOVE” BY D.H. LAWRENCE

Abstract

The article studies the peculiarities of the African symbology in the novel by English writer, poet and literary critic D.H. Lawrence “Women in love”. This novel has repeatedly become the object of study in modern literary criticism. However, the influences of different cultures were not properly studied. The article aims to distinguish characteristic features of African symbology in association with ancient and modern art, to indicate the divine feminine principle which in connection with African symbology is related to the image of Ursula. West Africa, part of which was under the influence of Britain and was its colony, has always attracted the British primarily due to the originality of its culture, customs and rituals. D.H. Lawrence believed that the ancient African people had ancient knowledge, which in civilized countries was lost due to technological progress, industrialization, and democratic principles proclaimed in society. The divine feminine principle is revealed in the novel due to the symbology of moon which conveys truth about Universe that sometimes is ruined by those who does not take it for granted. Lawrence reveals the development and evolution of the hero by understanding African fetishism. He was able to point out the symbolic meaning of the Sun and Moon, masculine and feminine, the attempt of man to “destroy”, “refute” the power of the divine feminine, the recognition of the unique feminine essence (in Ursula). Rupert tries to apply his ideas and beliefs concerning the union with the woman taking into account her unique origin (marriage to Ursula as an attempt to create a union). The essence of religious worship was introduced into the text of the narrative through an appeal to an African figurine by Rupert. For others mental knowledge turned out to be understandable – their communication was reduced to commercialism and self-interest. An appeal to the cultural heritage of West Africa reveals the experience of physical and sensory knowledge of previous generations, which is transmitted through the mythological ideas of ancestors concerning the connection of all living and non-living things on Earth.