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Gerald's strange comment about the drowned couple

posted 16 years ago by mlraymond
11 replies | jump to latest

Perhaps it's explained in the novel, which I have never read, but I've seen the movie three times and have always been struck by the strange and unforgettable line that the grieving Gerald says, on beholding the drowned bodies of his sister and her husband.

" She killed him."

Nothing in the movie indicates to me that he hated his sister Laura, and he kept calling her name frantically while trying to rescue the couple in the growing darkness. Then he makes this seemingly inexplicable remark, that no one responds to, and is never referred to again.

Is it supposed to indicate a basic distrust of and fear of women, even a presumably beloved younger sister?

Any thoughts on the matter are appreciated.

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[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] flutterby-7 16 years ago

More obviously, Laura has wrapped her arms around her husband so the image is that she has not only caused him to drown because he was trying to rescue her, but also that she may have actually held him underwater so he couldn't resurface. It's the classic Siren, luring men to their deaths by appealing to their sexual desrire.

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[–] illuminate9 15 years ago

His comment echoes Birkin's: (approximating) "I don't mind dying. It's that the dead cling to the living and won't let go."

Also note: There is a rhyming cut from the dead bodies to the post-coital bodies of Rupert and Ursula -- entangled exactly the same way. Lawrence had a lot to say about sex and tiny deaths long before George Bataille came on the scene.

[–] unknowntomyself 15 years ago

I took it to mean that love killed him, his love for her meant that he tried to save her, resulting in his death

[–] jakob3 12 years ago

That's Gerald (no, that's DH Lawrence) talking out his misogyny. Again.

[–] mmsbk 10 years ago

Yes indeed. I am grateful for being made to read DH Lawrence at school, it made feminism inevitable for me.

[–] ShannonTriumphant 11 years ago

It was pure ignorance about how people drown. She panicked and tried to climb up him to get out of the water. These things are a reflex, not a plan! See my comment on "How did they drown?".

Your thoughts about Gerald's mistrust of women (and marriage!) are spot on. He was obviously traumatized by something in his past, no doubt a thing done by his mother or female caretaker. or his father hated women and conditioned Gerald to do the same.

She deserves her revenge, and we deserve to die.

[–] mmsbk 10 years ago

..." something in his past, no doubt a thing done by his mother or female caretaker. or his father hated women and conditioned Gerald to do the same. "

The blaming of mother or 'female caretaker' is right spot on in the DHL 'mother is always to blame' camp. The general devaluing and systemic misogyny of entire societies is , much more likely don't you think?

[–] ShannonTriumphant 10 years ago

It's been a long time since I read anything by Lawrence. But I recall many spirited discussions (this was during the height of the Women's Movement) about whether we should read DHL's work, given his obvious misogyny.

My contention was that, if we ruled out all authors who offended us, there'd be none left or they would agree with us so thoroughly that it would become boring!

The thing that bothers me most is when a filmmaker has an obvious axe to grind and uses a particular author, as Ken Russell did, to belabor their point of view.

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[–] mdcordova-1 10 years ago

I think it has 2 meanings,
1-As often happens in drowning panic, the victim will clutch at anything they can and will take another down with them. They train you about this in 1st aid. 2-His deep love for her and refusal to stop diving for her resulted in his death.
I wonder too- it is hinted by the author that she was she the more reckless one-coaxing him to swim at night in dangerous water? i.e. Eve tempting with the apple? Women seem to be the dangerous "other" in this story.

[–] midnight_muse 8 years ago

I wonder too- it is hinted by the author that she was she the more reckless one-coaxing him to swim at night in dangerous water?

In the book, it is a child (Diana Crich) who drowns, falling into the water during a party at night, along with the young doctor (IIRC) who dove in to try to save her. The 'She killed him' line is in the book too but refers to the drowning victim pulling the rescuer under.

Not that it isn't still laden with symbolism of course. Diana is a name for the moon goddess, and in a different scene in the book, Birkin tries to destroy the moon's reflection in a pond by throwing rocks at it.

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