Masculinity and Manliness Presented by D.H. Lawrence’s Novella “the Virgin and the Gipsy”
The way a man presents himself and the actions he commit often have a way to meddle with women. In the novella, “The Virgin and the Gipsy” D.H. Lawrence presents a compelling story in which a virgin youth, Yvette Saywell, is in complete mesmerisation by a gipsy whom she barely knows. Lawrence presents the readers with the psychological mindset of Yvette, to have an understanding of the emotions she goes through every time she encounters the gipsy. Masculinity is often associated with being different from other men, as presented in the novella. Yvette does not like the common boys that are attracted to her; instead she falls in love with a man she knows little about. Men and their masculinity are presented by their charming looks and being different from the rest of the crowd, sense of longing for sex, and intriguing mysteriousness in “The Virgin and the Gipsy”.
The gipsy possesses charming looks based on the descriptions Yvette gave about him. Charming looks do not only mean appearance however, it also means the way a man peers into a woman’s eyes. An example of this is when Yvette sees the gipsy for the first time “”Don’t the pretty young ladies want to hear their fortunes?” said the gipsy on the cart, laughing except for his dark, watchful eyes, which went from face to face, and lingered on Yvette’s young, tender face.”(Pg. 34) The way the gipsy presents himself to Yvette is sexually appealing because of how different he is from the other men she has ever met. She is completely turned on from how he is nothing like the men she knows. For instance, Lawrence demonstrates her feelings on their first meeting, “She met his dark eyes for a second, their level search, their insolence, their complete indifference to people like Bob and Leo, and something took fire in her breast. She thought: “He is stronger than I am! He doesn’t care!””(Pg. 34) to further emphasize just how deeply attracted she is to the gipsy. A man’s charming looks can often instantly stun women,
The gipsy possesses charming looks based on the descriptions Yvette gave about him. Charming looks do not only mean appearance however, it also means the way a man peers into a woman’s eyes. An example of this is when Yvette sees the gipsy for the first time “”Don’t the pretty young ladies want to hear their fortunes?” said the gipsy on the cart, laughing except for his dark, watchful eyes, which went from face to face, and lingered on Yvette’s young, tender face.”(Pg. 34) The way the gipsy presents himself to Yvette is sexually appealing because of how different he is from the other men she has ever met. She is completely turned on from how he is nothing like the men she knows. For instance, Lawrence demonstrates her feelings on their first meeting, “She met his dark eyes for a second, their level search, their insolence, their complete indifference to people like Bob and Leo, and something took fire in her breast. She thought: “He is stronger than I am! He doesn’t care!””(Pg. 34) to further emphasize just how deeply attracted she is to the gipsy. A man’s charming looks can often instantly stun women,
Cited: Lawrence, D.H. (David Herbert) 1885-1930 “The Virgin and the Gipsy” Balbert, Peter. "Scorched Ego, The Novel, And The Beast: Patterns Of Fourth Dimensionality In `The Virgin And the Gipsy '.."Papers On Language & Literature 29.4 (1993): 395. Literary Reference Center. Web. 6 Dec. 2011. Broadus, J.R. “D.H. Lawrence.” Dictionary Of World Biography: The 20th Century(2000):1-5. Literary Reference Center. Web. 6 Dec. 2011 May, Charles E. “The Virgin and the Gipsy.” Masterplots II: British & Commonwealth Fiction Series(1897):1-3 Literary Reference Center Web. 6 Dec. 2011