Mornings in Mexico by DH Lawrence

by shamatha

Posted to What Are You Reading? on 2004-01-28 20:06:00

I’ve not read much of Lawrence, only one novel “The Plumed Serpent” which also dealt with Mexico.

“Mornings” is interesting. Lawrence has this obsession with ‘blood,’ in referring to identity, i.e. Indian vs. white. It’s not a racist thing. I’m not sure what it is, exactly. As I’ve said, I’m mostly unacquainted with the man’s work. Sometimes it appeals to me, sometimes it’s a bit heavy, in the metaphysical sense.

He does seem to view the indigenous North American’s in a refreshing light. He doesn’t despise them as primitives, nor does he romanticize them as such. He seems to view them with an unsentamental romanticism, or an unromantic sentamentalism, whatever I mean by that, if anything. He seems to believe that one race can never grasp the consciousness of another, the two cannot mix, one or the other will triumph and exterminate the other.

Whatever, his writing is incredibly powerful. Definitely an interesting lens through which to view America’s southern neighbor.