Masculinity and Male Domination in D.H Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s lover

Abstract

The article explores masculinity and male domination in D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover. It investigates what might be called gendered sexuality in the novel arguing that the book is a celebration of masculinity.  Through the cross-class liaison between the aristocratic Constance Chatterley’s and Oliver Mellors, the gamekeeper on her husband’s estate, Lawrence presents us with a tale of male domination and usurpation of the female subject.  The writer employs the metaphor of colonization whereby the female subject is reconnoitered, conquered, and subdued.  The paper follows the working of the colonization metaphor throughout the novel and concludes that –within the context of the novel- male domination is liberating for the female subject.