The Captain's Doll
Encyclopedia
The Captain's Doll is a short story
or novella
by the English author D. H. Lawrence
. It was written in 1921 and first published by Martin Secker
in March 1923 in a volume with The Ladybird and The Fox.
The story chronicles the journey of fallen German aristocrat Countess Johanna 'Hannele' zu Rassentlow as she dates an English officer of unusual philosophy. The relationship develops into one of D H Lawrence's idiosyncratic 'wicked triangles'. The intimate relationship between Captain Alexander Hepburn and Hannele is intruded upon when the captain's wife Evangeline travels to Germany suspicious of foul play.
The plot unfolds with two parallel narratives; one in the symbolic domain, the other a traditional short story narrative about these protagonists. The concurrent symbolic tale that unfolds centers around the central image of 'The Captain's Doll'-after which the story gains its title. This doll is a striking portrait of the Captain, with his 'slender legs' and mesmerizing dark stare encapsulated in the silks and calico of a lifeless, inanimate object.
This doll is an ongoing motif throughout the story as it acts as a metaphor for the dehumanizing effects of war on Hepburn - an English gentleman who had been part of the war machine and in the aftermath has come to believe that 'we are worth so very little'.
Another profound metaphor and image employed by Lawrence is the great ' glacier
' described from afar to be 'cold, angry' and a reflection of the Captain's deep seated desire to subjugate Hannele and arguably conquer her 'physically, sexually and from the inside' as she muses in free indirect speech narration. The couple ascend the mountain together, and the sheer enormity of this natural wonder prompts discussion of the smallness of a human being in comparison, bringing the Captain to make megalomaniacal claims that he is indeed bigger than the mountain. He projects this onto the vast ice, its 'soft flesh like' described with uncanny similarity to the earlier descriptions of Hannele swimming in the lake near her new home in Austria.
Critics have debated the symbolic meaning of this ice monument, as the Captain's determination to conquer it points to the obvious metaphorical domination of Hannele who 'watches from below' as the crazed captain scrambles to the summit. Reaching the top, the Captain is invigorated, yet Lawrence's narration becomes quite introspective of the transformation of the captain's worldview implicitly coupled with description of this barren vista of ice-'a world of ice'-that is 'sufficient unto itself in its lifelessness'.
Akin to the gender commentary in The Fox
on how the war had created a paradigm shift in the social roles within English society, this compelling narrative imparts to the reader a more intimate account of the death of a spirit and the dissemblance of class. The introduction of 'D H Lawrence, Three Novella,' an anthology that collates The Fox
, The Captain's Doll, and The Ladybird
, makes a comparison between the poetic works of Wilfred Owen
and these stories as literary exploration of war that 'pity war'. This comes across in many of D H Lawrence's letters and implicitly in these texts, as each of the characters is in some way impacted by World War I
. D H Lawrence must have been a keen observer of the social and personal ramifications of WWI, having written and published soon after the war, in 1923.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
or novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
by the English author D. H. Lawrence
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...
. It was written in 1921 and first published by Martin Secker
Martin Secker
Martin Secker , born Percy Martin Secker Klingender, was a London publisher who was responsible for producing the work of a distinguished group of literary authors, including D. H. Lawrence, Thomas Mann, Norman Douglas, and Henry James...
in March 1923 in a volume with The Ladybird and The Fox.
The story chronicles the journey of fallen German aristocrat Countess Johanna 'Hannele' zu Rassentlow as she dates an English officer of unusual philosophy. The relationship develops into one of D H Lawrence's idiosyncratic 'wicked triangles'. The intimate relationship between Captain Alexander Hepburn and Hannele is intruded upon when the captain's wife Evangeline travels to Germany suspicious of foul play.
The plot unfolds with two parallel narratives; one in the symbolic domain, the other a traditional short story narrative about these protagonists. The concurrent symbolic tale that unfolds centers around the central image of 'The Captain's Doll'-after which the story gains its title. This doll is a striking portrait of the Captain, with his 'slender legs' and mesmerizing dark stare encapsulated in the silks and calico of a lifeless, inanimate object.
This doll is an ongoing motif throughout the story as it acts as a metaphor for the dehumanizing effects of war on Hepburn - an English gentleman who had been part of the war machine and in the aftermath has come to believe that 'we are worth so very little'.
Another profound metaphor and image employed by Lawrence is the great ' glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
' described from afar to be 'cold, angry' and a reflection of the Captain's deep seated desire to subjugate Hannele and arguably conquer her 'physically, sexually and from the inside' as she muses in free indirect speech narration. The couple ascend the mountain together, and the sheer enormity of this natural wonder prompts discussion of the smallness of a human being in comparison, bringing the Captain to make megalomaniacal claims that he is indeed bigger than the mountain. He projects this onto the vast ice, its 'soft flesh like' described with uncanny similarity to the earlier descriptions of Hannele swimming in the lake near her new home in Austria.
Critics have debated the symbolic meaning of this ice monument, as the Captain's determination to conquer it points to the obvious metaphorical domination of Hannele who 'watches from below' as the crazed captain scrambles to the summit. Reaching the top, the Captain is invigorated, yet Lawrence's narration becomes quite introspective of the transformation of the captain's worldview implicitly coupled with description of this barren vista of ice-'a world of ice'-that is 'sufficient unto itself in its lifelessness'.
Akin to the gender commentary in The Fox
The Fox
The Fox can refer to:* The Fox , a short novel by D. H. Lawrence* The Fox , the sequel to Inda, both by Sherwood Smith* The Fox , a fictional character produced by MLJ Comics in the 1940s...
on how the war had created a paradigm shift in the social roles within English society, this compelling narrative imparts to the reader a more intimate account of the death of a spirit and the dissemblance of class. The introduction of 'D H Lawrence, Three Novella,' an anthology that collates The Fox
The Fox
The Fox can refer to:* The Fox , a short novel by D. H. Lawrence* The Fox , the sequel to Inda, both by Sherwood Smith* The Fox , a fictional character produced by MLJ Comics in the 1940s...
, The Captain's Doll, and The Ladybird
The Ladybird
The Ladybird is a long tale or novella by D. H. Lawrence.It was first drafted in 1915 as a short story entitled The Thimble. Lawrence rewrote and extended it under a new title in December 1921 and sent the final version to his English agent on 9 January 1922...
, makes a comparison between the poetic works of Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC was an English poet and soldier, one of the leading poets of the First World War...
and these stories as literary exploration of war that 'pity war'. This comes across in many of D H Lawrence's letters and implicitly in these texts, as each of the characters is in some way impacted by World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. D H Lawrence must have been a keen observer of the social and personal ramifications of WWI, having written and published soon after the war, in 1923.
Standard edition
- The Ladybird, The Fox, The Captain's Doll (1923), edited by Dieter Mehl, Cambridge University Press, 1992, ISBN 0-521-35266-5