Abstract
This paper analyzes D.H. Lawrence's short story ”The Prussian Officer” (1914) by drawing on the problematic distribution and formation of power, operated intrinsically in complex psycho-sexual matrices. The essay first traces the physic and physical apparatuses in the officer-orderly relationship, based on the Hegelian master-slave narrative, and it argues for the failure of equilibrating the power dynamics within the psychic horizon. Furthermore, probing the tension of oppositions and paradoxes of subjection, a theory already elaborated by Judith Butler, the essay contextualizes two theoretical discourses, subjection and intersubjectivity, to examine Lawrence's story where the formation of subjectivity (subjectivation) emerges and splits and where sexual/physical sadism and masochism (sadomasochism) both merge with and diverge from each other, thereby enacting a problematic re-constitutive dynamics of modern subjectivity. The paper attempts to provide a view in which Lawrence presents a product of intersubjective collapse into the terrifying modern psychic life.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
