The Prussian Officer and Other Stories (1) (English Edition)

D. H. LawrenceAug 2024

Rating 4.2
Word count
20K words
Chapters
13

Tags

Foreign Literature Homosexual DesireDesire and RepressionHuman NaturePsychological ConfrontationPsychological InsightPower OppressionShort StoriesEnglish OriginalGerman SettingWartime

Summary

This volume is another classic collection by D. H. Lawrence, author of Lady Chatterley's Lover. It is in English and suitable for English-language enthusiasts. The title story, The Prussian Officer, is set in a military barracks during wartime, yet it contains none of the carnage of battle or the smoke and blood of army life; instead it depicts a tense psychological confrontation between a Prussian officer and his orderly. The story is an unusual psychological novel of restrained, unspoken homosexual love—and, more strikingly, the two men are a sadomasochistic pair. When Lawrence finished the story and sent it to the director Garnett, he told him it was a short story that surpassed his previous work. In this work readers can see Lawrence's characteristic subtle psychological description and analysis, his sympathy for lower-ranking soldiers, and his earnest, sincere pursuit of the true meaning of life.

Editor's review

This is the first volume of the English edition of Lawrence's short-story collection, including "The Prussian Officer" and several other works, and is suitable as a starting point for entering Lawrence's world of short fiction. The title story is set in a military camp but does not lay out bloody battles between armies or the smoke of military life; instead, it focuses on the sustained psychological confrontation between a Prussian officer and his orderly, writing the hidden undercurrents of emotion between obedience and resistance, intimacy and oppression, and also expressing the author's sympathy for the situation of lower-ranking soldiers. Lawrence's skill in detailed psychological analysis is fully displayed here: the narration often enters through details of action and setting and gradually approaches the characters' inner world. The English original preserves his syntax and rhythm and is suitable for English lovers as material for literary close reading. It is recommended to read one story through first to grasp the overall atmosphere, then go back and examine key passages closely, noting how the narrator advances changes in the relationship without stating them directly.

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Reading tips

  1. Read the title story "The Prussian Officer" first to grasp the tone of psychological confrontation in the whole book, then read the remaining pieces.
  2. After each story, summarize the changes in the characters' relationship in two or three sentences to check whether you have grasped the narrative focus.
  3. Slow down at delicate psychological passages and mark key verbs and sensory details to appreciate Lawrence's method.
  4. If reading stalls, learn the gist of the story first and then return to the original, so that frequent stops for unfamiliar words do not cost you your feel for the language.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. The Prussian Officer
  3. I
  4. II
  5. III
  6. IV
  7. The Thorn in the Flesh
  8. I
  9. II
  10. III
  11. IV
  12. V
  13. VI

FAQ

What is the relationship between this first volume and the second? The two volumes belong to the same English-language short-story collection; the first volume is the starting point for entering the selection, and the second continues its arrangement. Reading in volume order is recommended for grasping the overall rhythm and range of subjects in Lawrence's short stories; if time is limited, you can first read the title story in the first volume and then decide whether to continue.
Is "The Prussian Officer" a war story? Although the setting is a military camp during wartime, the work barely writes about bloody battles between armies or the smoke and blood of war. Its core is the tense psychological confrontation between a Prussian officer and his orderly. It is closer to a psychological novel, concerned with power, obedience, and hidden emotions rather than military action itself.
Will this book be difficult if my English reading ability is average? The original syntax is somewhat complex, the psychological description is delicate, and the narration often advances through details, so it suits upper-intermediate to advanced English readers who read slowly. Those with an average foundation can first use a Chinese translation or annotations to understand the plot, then return to the English original to close-read key passages; it should not be treated as an introductory English reader.

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About the author

D. H. Lawrence Author · British · 1885–1930

D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930) was an English novelist, poet, and essayist, and one of the most important and controversial writers in twentieth-century English literature. Born into a mining family in Nottinghamshire, he is best known for novels such as Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love, and Lady Chatterley's Lover. His work explores human nature and relations between the sexes amid modern industrial civilization, and several of his books were banned for their candid descriptions. This site holds nine of his works, mostly English-language story collections, including The Prussian Officer and Other Stories, The Woman Who Rode Away and Other Stories, and England, My England and Other Stories, each in several volumes, as well as a Chinese translation of Women in Love. These works display his delicate psychological portrayal, his attention to conflicts of class and desire, and a restrained, symbolic narrative style.