Aaron's Rod (novel)
Encyclopedia
Aaron's Rod is a novel by D. H. Lawrence
, started in 1917 and published in 1922. The protagonist of this picaresque novel, Aaron Sisson, is a union official in the coal mines of the English Midlands
, trapped in a stale marriage. He is also an amateur, but talented, flautist. At the start of the story he walks out on his wife and two children and decides on impulse to visit Italy. His dream is to become recognised as a professional musician. During his travels he encounters and befriends Rawdon Lilly, a Lawrence-like writer who nurses Aaron back to health when he is taken ill in post-war London. Having recovered his health, Aaron arrives in Florence
. Here he moves in intellectual and artistic circles, argues about politics, leadership and submission, and has an affair with an aristocratic lady. The novel ends with an anarchist or fascist explosion that destroys Aaron’s instrument. Many incidents in the novel have direct parallels with events in Lawrence's own life.
The biblical title refers to the rod of Aaron
in the Old Testament, Moses
' brother who built the Golden Calf
in the desert for the worship of the Israelites. The rod, his divine symbol of authority and independence, finds its echo in the flute of Aaron Sissons.
Aaron’s Rod is in places a hastily written text some critics have argued with a bitter view of humanity, especially the relationships between men and women. But in recent years its brilliance has been accepted by many critics. Many critics group it with other political or leadership novels by Lawrence, such as Kangaroo
and The Plumed Serpent
that show a tendency toward some form of authoritarianism or fascism.
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
, started in 1917 and published in 1922. The protagonist of this picaresque novel, Aaron Sisson, is a union official in the coal mines of the English Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
, trapped in a stale marriage. He is also an amateur, but talented, flautist. At the start of the story he walks out on his wife and two children and decides on impulse to visit Italy. His dream is to become recognised as a professional musician. During his travels he encounters and befriends Rawdon Lilly, a Lawrence-like writer who nurses Aaron back to health when he is taken ill in post-war London. Having recovered his health, Aaron arrives in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. Here he moves in intellectual and artistic circles, argues about politics, leadership and submission, and has an affair with an aristocratic lady. The novel ends with an anarchist or fascist explosion that destroys Aaron’s instrument. Many incidents in the novel have direct parallels with events in Lawrence's own life.
The biblical title refers to the rod of Aaron
Aaron's rod
Aaron's rod refers to any of the staves carried by Moses' brother, Aaron, in the Old Testament of the Bible. The Bible tells how, along with Moses' rod, Aaron's rod was endowed with miraculous power during the Plagues of Egypt which preceded the Exodus...
in the Old Testament, Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
' brother who built the Golden Calf
Golden calf
According to the Hebrew Bible, the golden calf was an idol made by Aaron to satisfy the Israelites during Moses' absence, when he went up to Mount Sinai...
in the desert for the worship of the Israelites. The rod, his divine symbol of authority and independence, finds its echo in the flute of Aaron Sissons.
Aaron’s Rod is in places a hastily written text some critics have argued with a bitter view of humanity, especially the relationships between men and women. But in recent years its brilliance has been accepted by many critics. Many critics group it with other political or leadership novels by Lawrence, such as Kangaroo
Kangaroo (novel)
Kangaroo is a novel by D. H. Lawrence, first published in 1923. It is set in Australia.-Description:Kangaroo is an account of a visit to New South Wales by an English writer named Richard Lovat Somers, and his German wife Harriet, in the early 1920s...
and The Plumed Serpent
The Plumed Serpent
The Plumed Serpent is a novel by D. H. Lawrence, begun when writer was living at the D. H. Lawrence Ranch near Taos in U.S. state of New Mexico in 1924. It was first published by Martin Secker in 1926...
that show a tendency toward some form of authoritarianism or fascism.
Editions
- Aaron's Rod (1922) edited by Mara Kalnins, Cambridge University Press, 1988,ISBN 0-521-25250-4
External links
- Aaron's Rod - complete text with audio embedded.
- Digital facsimile at the Internet Archive