D.H. Lawrence’s The Fox

It is said that D. H. Lawrence was one the most controversial figures in English literature in the twentieth century. In a 2002 article, Doris Lessing called Lawrence “a misogynist and a scumbag.” Still she is forced to concede, “But pick up a Lawrence tale and the old magic begins working…I was seduced while resisting the man’s message, which seemed to be a recommendation to find a strong personality to submit one’s self to.”

Director David Grammer’s new stage adaptation of the original novella The Fox will undoubtedly inspire admiration for its contemporary sensibilities, while eliciting cries of outrage from Lawrence purists, but the point must be made that although his chauvinistic views have been excised, his poetry has been restored.