关键词: D•H•劳伦斯; 意大利游记; 地域空间; 生态关怀

Abstract: The composition of D. H. Lawrence’s travel writings has much to do with his ecological idealism. From the perspective of spatial criticism and based on Lawrence’s travel experiences abroad and the writing background of his three travel books of Italy, this paper attempts to explore in detail his regional ecological consciousness implied in his three travel writings of Italy, i.e., Twilight in Italy (1916), Sea and Sardinia (1921), Sketches of Etruscan Places (1932). The authors of this paper find that Lawrence’s representation of the heterogeneous space and his spatial imagination of the regional space and the primitive civilization fully convey his critique of western industrial civilization together with his reflection on the relationship between human beings and their living environment. With a detailed reading of the three travel writings, we arrive at a conclusion that, by contrasting the two different spatial existences, i.e. the modern Britain and the ancient Italy, one being a civilized society while the other being a natural “place”, Lawrence presents the reader with his unique ecological consciousness of space; Italy, as a unique and amazing geographical space free from civilized restrictions and mechanization, is an important writing resource for his literary ambition, which is likely to fulfill his Utopian ideal of seeking for a new future for western civilization that has suffered from the loss of originality and vitality ever since the overwhelming spread of industrialization. Hence, the authors of this paper argue that Lawrence’s trip to Italy is a spiritual primitive pilgrimage as well as a journey of self-discovery, which in a forceful way exhibits his deep eco-ethical concern.

Keywords: D. H. Lawrence; travel writings of Italy; regional space; eco-concern