RELATIONS OF DOMINANCE AND EQUALITY IN D. H. LAWRENCE

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she alone will not bear the guilt.
She makes Siegmund feel
guilty too: "Siegmund writhed within himself with mortification,
while Helena talked as if her teeth were on the edge" (p.88).
The guilt is set so strong in Siegmund that he even says that he
knows he is "a moral coward". Helena does not help him to feel
better.
She adds: "'But you do continue to try so hard to
justify yourself, as if you felt you needed justification1" (pp.
88-9). One may think that it is not he who tries to justify
himself, but Helena herself who tries to make him feel guilty.
Siegmund, weak as he is, swallows what she says and feels
repressed or about to be repressed: "'I thought you were so sure
we were right," she said. He winced again. 'In myself I am.
But
in the eyes of the world (p.89). This means that he feels
afraid of other people's opinion, which certainly implies that
he is not so sure about his rightness in the affair with Helena.
Thus, Helena becomes more critical about Siegmund's character as
she diminishes him as a human being: "'What is myself?' he asked.
'Nothing very definite,' she said with a bitter laugh" (ibid).
With this statement Helena seals his destiny.
And from now on
Siegmund will start punishing himself.
She has hastened his
process of destruction.
They go for a walk. As the sun is very hot, Helena wears a
hat. Siegmund does not.
The scalding sun can be contrasted with
the moon.
The bright light of the moon does not hurt physically
only mentally, which implies the relation of power between the
woman and the man.
She does not protect herself from the
moonlight because it is her symbol, but in the sun she protects
herself.
Siegmund cannot protect himself against the moon
because near him the strong
. woman is an extension of it. In
the sun he does not want to protect himself.
The sun biting