Analytical Essay of Maurice Pervin
“He seemed to know the presence of objects before he touched them. It was a pleasure to him to rock thus through a world of things, carried on the flood in a sort of blood prescience. He did not think much or trouble much. So long as he kept this sheer immediacy of blood-contact with the substantial world he was happy, he wanted no intervention of visual consciousness.” (pg.8)
Had the character Maurice Pervin not been blinded, perhaps stricken with another form of handicap such as deafness, this blood prescience would not have been captured as effectively as is the case of him not having sight. Without being ‘bothered by a great many things’ that the ability of sight allows a human being, Maurice was able to tap into a greater sense of awareness to the things he encountered. He has been granted a new awareness of how to perceive his atmosphere, finding serenity and tranquility of immediate contact in darkness. His blindness is in fact his greatest strength never a weakness, almost supernatural as if to be compared to Superman who possesses superhuman strength. In addition to other attributes that make up Maurice Pervin such as being over-sensitive, passionate, and having feelings that are quick and acute, blindness fits perfectly within this character’s make up. As if to see things for what they truly are on an emotional level was a gift that he already possessed only heightened by his inability to now see with his eyes. D.H. Lawrence builds Maurice up as a very strong and capable man whose fears fall in the same category with most men. He did not fear darkness, which he is forced to live in after his war injury, the emotion and stirring feelings of fear he holds are met by the lack of control he has over things he cannot change. That is his weakness. “Then it would beat inside him like a tangled sea, and he was tortured in the shattered chaos of his own blood. He grew to dread this arrest, this throw-back, this chaos inside himself. He seemed merely at the mercy of his own powerful and conflicting elements. How to get some measure of control or surety, this was the question.” (pg. 9) With such an acute sensitivity and immediate blood-contact with the world, Pervin’s emotions beat like tidal waves as a feeling of powerlessness stirs within him at the moment he does not have control. Maurice takes great satisfaction in the absorption of his marriage, in letting everybody and everything fade into insignificance outside this connubial felicity. He is fully aware however that his wife has needs outside of this happiness they share together.
Had he forced her to do without this need for intellectual stimulation she encounters with Bertie, a man whom he despises, she would eventually grow to resent him. Maurice, having this acute sense of feeling towards emotion, understands that inviting Bertram to the Grange is the only way to satisfy his wife’s needs. Yet it is a false act of acceptance for their relationship, Maurice initially feels a sense of overwhelming anxiety when Bertie arrives. He feels within his blood a fear of the unknown, but he must let this relationship between Bertie and his wife exist for the benefit of Isabel even though he cannot control the outcome. Sociologically this other man has always been a threat to Maurice. (He did not meet him in the past, upon introduction to Bertram’s character, Lawrence writes of the two not liking each other. He never states they met, going further at the end of the story when Maurice touches him and says “I thought you were taller.” It is very possible that Isabel spoke of Bertie to Maurice and vice or versa and the two men did not like each other off of the impression they gathered from Isabel. Given the circumstance of a man that my wife grew up with that she favored for characteristics not found within me, I would feel the same level of resentment and dislike for this man still lurking around after she has gotten married an started a family. It is border-line disrespectful and Bertie should have been met with a punch instead of a handshake.)
How could he not have looked at Bertie as being a threat? Here is the case of another man holding the affection of his wife, he has no idea what this man looks like, Lawrence never hints that Maurice knew of Bertram’s weakness with women, he only states that they knew of each other and held ill feelings towards one another. Maurice knows his wife has two sides to her coin, she loves and is compassionate as is he, yet she has an irresistible urge to carry on an intellectual relationship with this other man. The fact that he could not see this man for who he really was weighs heavy in the feelings of anxiety he held towards the dreaded meeting of the three. The feeling that beat within Maurice’s blood exists because he knew that Bertram does indeed lust for Isabel, he knew there was a bond between Bertram and Isabel that he could never match. Maurice is sure that his connection with his own wife is real, that the marriage is real, that the love is real. He is unsure if the outcome of being face to face with this forever lurking threat will destroy the bond he has with his wife. This is something that immediate blood knowledge cannot show him, he must let this play out, without control. “Bertie seemed uneasy, there were dark circles round his eyes. Isabel, rich with her approaching maternity, leaned looking into the fire. Her hair curled in odd, loose strands, very pleasing to the man. But she had a curious feeling of old woe in her heart, old timeless night-woe.” (pg. 14)
The married couple leaves the story in a state of happiness, Bertie surely fading into insignificance as everyone else before him. After the scene in the barn when Maurice finally discovers Bertie for the lowly unthreatening man that he truly is, we see his power for what it is. He has an enhanced sensation within his touch that gives him the ability to read things for what they actually are. Maurice is only human, explaining the fear he felt towards this invisible threat. He was able to sit and talk with Betram in the home prior to them touching each other in the barn, during that time he could not see Bertie for his true self. Intellectually Maurice did not want to bother with conversation and grew very agitated to a point where he removed himself from conversation all together. It must have been very difficult to sit across from this man, pestering him with question after inquisitive question, the whole while not knowing that this man is in fact a lowly, unthreatening creature. Within Pervin’s mind old feelings of visualization which he had abandoned more than likely took him over, curious to know exactly what this threat looked like. Would he be able to come in and swoop his wife away, or would she find this need for intellectual stimulation from this invisible man far outweigh her need for him? Maurice almost gives up in a sense when he leaves to the barn, feeling a failure on the grounds of connecting with his wife intellectually. As if taking a leap off a bridge, he asked Bertram if he could touch his face, through that experience he now knows Bertie and is completely at ease with any and all relationships that may take place in the future. He now has knowledge that this man is not a danger to his marriage, welcoming Bertie with open arms.