The Rainbow

The expression "There is no kindness in Lawrence's characters, no tenderness�" is not supported from my reading of The Rainbow. For in The Rainbow, the strongest bond that unites generations of family and community stems from tenderness, unspoken as it may be. But if it is an unspoken tenderness it is because in the Brangwen family both the male and female characters think one thing while saying another and think one thing while feeling another. For example, Tom is said to "love anyone who could convey enlightenment to him through feeling" even if such feelings cause irrational passions in him just as his reading of Shelley and his relationship with Lydia do (Lawrence 2004). Thus far from lacking feeling and tenderness, Lawrence's characters are often passionately driven by them.

If observers find Lawrence's characters lacking in kindness or tenderness, it is because his characters quite often experience multiple feelings, emotions, and thoughts that are often left unexpressed even if they drive their actions. We see an unspoken tenderness that bonds the Brangwen's from one generation to another, while we see the patterns of relationships between males and females mirrors one generation to the next. This is true with respect to the relationship between Will and Anna and the one between Tom and Lydia. Anna refuses to accept a position as inferior to men. Lawrence uses Christian mythology, from which such values stem, to demonstrate this.

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a spell, then she answered his harsh, penetrating call with a soft leap of her soul." It is no accident that Will is depicted as harsh and penetrating while Anna provides the soft soul that enabled him to become more in touch with his own emotional sensibilities. It is plausible to think that were it not for women not only would there be no men but societies would remain uncivilized even if men somehow existed without women. This is primarily conveyed in The Rainbow by Lawrence in depictions of sexual union between males and females. Despite Lydia's more reserved emotions and feelings and Anna's more modern sensibilities, it is the kindness and tenderness women offer through sexual union that is portrayed as the bonding force of individuals, families and humanity itself. In the harsh reality of existence, men often are at war with other men in terms of business, competition for women, and outright conflict itself. However, women are able to allow men an escape from the harsh realities of existence through providing a refuge of tenderness and kindness in the sexual act. We see this in one depiction of Anna and Will, as they are removed from reality in the privacy of their bedroom. As Lawrence (2004) writes, "The curtains

Category: Literature - T