The Blind Man Essay, Research Paper

In D.H. Lawrence’s story, “The Blind Man,” a man realizes what life is all about. Through the help of three very strong characters, Maurice, the blind man, figures out that you never realize all you have until something is taken away from you. Today, people take things for granted. Whether it be a person or an ability, they never begin to understand the worth and and meaning of peoples actions until they are denied the right to take these certain things. Lawrence does a great job stating these facts.

In this short story, Lawrence describes the difficulties that Isabel sometimes has to go through. She often feels as though she would like to escape from the world and just have her husband for herself. Although, Isabel in this story really doesn t like her life she is very much in desperate love with her husband and there relationship. However, Maurice in the story let out moods that had depressed Isabel. But this was taking too much out of Isabel, she often felt as though there was nothing she could do.

And sometimes he had devastating fits of depression-a black

misery, when his own life was a torture to him, and when his

presence was unbearable to his wife. The dread went down to

the roots of her soul as these black days reoccurred….. She

would give anything to escape.

When Maurice had devastating fits of depression, she felt the pain deep inside her. It was almost as if she was trapped inside this life that was sometimes pleasant and sometimes unbearable. She wanted to escape. However, did she want to escape forever, or just until this depression had run its course? Isabel seemed content in her life, she just felt it difficult to watch her husband experience such depressions.

Isabel felt very split apart between two men–Maurice and Bertie. Bertie was a good friend foe Isabel’s. He was a relative of hers and throughout her whole life he had been a brother figure to her. She had a lot of feelings for him but not as much as she did for Maurice. Bertie was a gentleman, but whenever a woman got too close, he decides that he should end the relationship. Maurice was a lot different he was a very hot-blooded and sensitive. He was kind of person that let his body tell him what to do.

It troubled Isabel to know that the two gentlemen didn t get along. These were two very significant men in her life and they didn t even like to see each other.

She felt that if only each could have the clue to the other there

Would be such a rare understanding between them. Bertie

adopted a slightly ironical attitude, very offensive to

Maurice…..resentment which deepened sometimes into stupid hatred.

Isabel thought if they got to know each other and got to be friends that they would understand the different aspects of each other. When Isabel’s husband returned from France, for the second time, she thought out of her own judgement and for her husbands to no longer see or be friends with Bertie.

Maurice was a kind of person who liked everything his way or at least until he became blind. When he had became blind he really found out what his life was really like through losses. One example is when Isabel got a letter from Bertie. Bertie has asked Isabel of what she thought of there relationship. Where they still friends or not? Maurice knowing how much Bertie means to Isabel invited him over for dinner. Maurice put aside his dislikes and thinks about his wife and her needs. Throughout the conversation between Maurice and Bertie, Maurice tried to make Bertie understand how his life had been changed.

Isabel tells me that you have not suffered unbearably from

the loss of sight No, not unbearably, but there are

compensations…..You cease to bother about a great many

things…..And that is a relief, but what is there in place of the

bothering? What replaces the activity?…..There is something,

I couldn’t tell you what it is.

In this conversation, Maurice is trying to explain how he is dealing with life. As they are having this conversation Bertie is trying to find some answers to his own life, but because of his unstableness life he cant see it himself.

In the last scene of Lawrence’s story, Maurice finds the friend in Bertie, but these feelings are not the same feelings as Bertie has for Maurice. Maurice asked Bertie to touch his face. Bertie goes with doing this but is very hesitant. By Maurice making Bertie doing this was so that Maurice could find Berties true identities.

I thought you were taller…..Then he laid his hand on Bertie Reid’s

head, closing head, closing the dome of the skull in a soft, firm grasp, gathering it, as it were, then, shifting his grasp and softly closing again,

with a fine, close pressure, till he had covered the skull and face of the

smaller man…..The hand of the blind man grasped the shoulder, the arm,

the hand of the other man…..Bertie tried to escape.

In this passage, Bertie’s face is touched by Maurice. After having touched his face, Maurice feels, as he knows Bertie much better. Bertie is very startled by this whole thing with him and Maurice. He would do anything to stop this from happening. He will do anything to keep his real self-kept hidden away.

Lawrence’s purpose in the piece of writing was to interpret how people take their lives for granted. People really never realized what they have until something happens. When you look at your life to see what it has in store for you, you look at things you have and you don t have and you get another true meaning of life. Don t think you can live your life of all you have dreamed of because you can never truly figure out what has happened until you meet a point in you life that has failed. The thing Lawrence was trying to say in his story was look at you life of what you have not of what you could have. Never take anything for granted because one day it can all be taken away.