The Eyes Motif in the Works of D.H. Lawrence :: Biography Biographies Essays

The Eyes Motif in the Works of D.H. Lawrence D.H. Lawrence's short stories The Shadow in the Rose Garden, The Prussian Officer and The White Stocking possess an eyes motif. This motif, along with a variety of other motifs, are used throughout the works of the author and adds depth to the stories. "The Shadow in the Rose Garden" possesses an eyes motif. The eyes as a "window to the soul" is an ever present reference in this work. First, Lawrence notes the "china-blue eyes" of Mrs. Coates, who is a "delightful, erect old lady." (70) Later, when the young woman sits down on the bench in the garden in front of the white roses and sees the man in front of her, she notices his eyes. Lawrence write: "She looked up, blanched to the lips, and saw his eyes. They were black, and stared without seeing. They were not a man's eyes" (73). The young woman was greatly disturbed by the man whose eyes "stared without seeing." After they began talking, the young woman noticed that his eyes "were the glistening, strange black eyes that she had loved" (74). This deranged man she was talking to reminded her of a man she once loved, who is not her husband because Lawrence makes reference to "his brown eyes" (75). Therefore, Lawrence writes, "Her eyes searched him, and searched him, to see if he woul d recognize her, if she could discover him. 'You don't know me?' she asked, from the terror of her soul, standing alone" (p.74). These lines incorporate the theme of the eyes as a 'window to the soul.' The young woman tries to reach the disturbed man's soul by searching his eyes. The eye motif in "The Shadow in the Rose Garden" can also be found in "The Prussian Officer." Many references are made to the eyes of the older Captain and the younger orderly in "Officer." Lawrence describes the character's eyes when he writes,"The eyes of the two men met, those of the younger sullen and dark, doggedly unalterable, those of the elder sneering with restless contempt" (5). This comes after the orderly becomes more aware of his Captain's affections and starts to show off with his girlfriend a little more. Future lines in the story also carry the theme of eyes as a "window to the soul": "The withering smile came into the Captain's eyes .