RELATIONS OF DOMINANCE AND EQUALITY IN D. H. LAWRENCE

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is that Birkin repels Loerke whereas Gudrun feels attracted to
him as soon as she meets him.
Gerald, too, has a connection
with Loerke. As an artist Loerke is a utilitarian. His art
serves industry, it has no connection with social or really
»
artistic matters. His art serves capitalism. This is his link
with Gerald Crich, the mine-owner.
Ursula is perhaps the only
one of the group who does not have any real connection with
Loerke.
The artist represents a danger to both couples.
In
relation to Birkin and Ursula, he is the negation of everything
both want to discover in their new world.
He means corruption,
degradation, exploitation and all sorts of vices Birkin and
Ursula are trying to reject.
It seems that Lawrence purposedly
created this shadow of corruption at the end of the novel as a
way to remind the couple that they cannot escape easily from the
decadent old world. Decadence is everywhere. And Loerke's
presence in the couple's honeymoon seems to be like a ghost
haunting (or warning) them so as to say that before one builds a
new world, s/he cannot simply forget the old one.
S/he must
destroy it inside him/herself.
Perhaps Ursula and Birkin are
too naïve to think that only deciding to build a new world they
will be free from the decadenqe and corruption of the old world.
Birkin's rejection of Loerke may imply that in fact he is
rejecting his inner desire to be like Loerke or perhaps because
the artist represents a facet of his character he does not want
to show outwardly.
Both are seen as antagonists but in many
ways they resemble each other.
For instance, Loerke is a
conscious, active bisexual.
haIf-unconscious bisexual.
Birkin may be seen as a frustrated
At the hotel in the Alps Loerke is
with a tall blond man named Leitner, who is his partner.
He