D.H Lawrence is a master of using symbolism. It is featured heavily in all his books. The stories dealing with social issues about life and moral unbelievers contain the most symbolism. 'The Virgin and The Gipsy,' is a prime example because it contains an enormous amount of symbolism. The first thing I noticed was the symbolism in the title. The reason Lawrence uses, 'The Virgin and The Gipsy,' and not, 'A Virgin and A Gipsy,' is very interesting. By using, 'The,' it gives the reader a sense of coupling between the two. It also gives the impression that the two are attracted to each other, perhaps suggesting that opposites attract. The anonymity of the word, 'The,' also conveys the feeling that the story is not about any particular two people, but it is in fact about general archetypes of people. It is not limited by two people it reflects the entire group. The title Lawrence chose could also could be hinting at the idea of Christian morality ( The virgin ) versus Paganism ( The Gipsy ). It conveys the feeling of contrast and slight conflict. This could relate to the inner conflict Yvette goes through as the book progresses.

Many of the characters in the book are compared to animals. The family are dogs. On page 30 the rector has a savage, doggish look. He is also called a mongrel. The dog is a domesticated. All the men in the family and their circle of friends are referred to as, 'domesticated house dogs, calling themselves men,'. This is a symbol of the life unbelievers. The mongrel is also not pure. It is a step down from a pure breed. The wolf is compared to gypsies. On page 24 the gipsy woman is said to be, 'a bit wolfish,'. The wolf is free, natural and pure . There is a part in the book on page 18 where Yvette describes a toad which sat outside the bee hive and whenever a bee came out it would gobble it up. Only one bee escaped. The toad is meant to be Granny and the bee that escapes symbolizes Yvette. It is ironic that the toad is killed when the farmer smashes it with a stone. This means that Granny is killed by the very thing she stands for

In Chapter 8 there is more about the family. The rector is described as having, 'fangs,' like a snake. Granny is depicted as a fungus, living off other beings. She sits there in her, 'blindness'. This is not only literal blindness. It is also blindness to life. There is also more about her resemblance to Victoria. The lace cap appears again and this time there is an observation about her lack of lips. She is made to be like The Queen. On page 75-6 there are a few sentences which prepare us for the symbolically potent chapter 9. On 75 it says that Yvette liked, 'to chip away at the pillars of the temple from the inside,'. The temple symbolizes institution, the rectory and possibly religion. Then on 76 there is the rather obvious symbolic prediction the gipsy woman makes. She says to Yvette, 'Be braver in your heart, Be braver in your body and listen for the voice of water,'. This is repeated three times. This is where you could criticize Lawrence for being too obvious with symbolism.

Now I will move onto the gipsy, as a symbol, and the symbols surrounding him. The gipsy is seen by Yvette as a life force. He has no roots. The gypsies wander around the natural country. It is a nomadic life. The gypsies have no class and or hierarchy. They are free; they lack responsibility. Yvette sees there lifestyle as rebellious and a revolt against society. On page 34 the gipsy woman says, 'The dark man ( the gipsy man ) will blow the one spark into fire again. The gipsies the actually start Yvette's inner fire and thirst for life. The gypsies have no religion either Religion is something Lawrence is against. He sees it as another thing that the life unbelievers have. But the story is not about that. Chapter 5 symbolizes a new beginning for Yvette. There is lots of pathetic fallacy in this chapter. Yvette's fantasies about the gipsy get portrayed in the landscape. There is a strong erotic undertone. On page 40, Yvette sees the, 'damp flower beds,'. On page 41 Yvette sees the, 'tall chimneys standing long and erect,'. On page 43 the gipsy offers Yvette his candlestick from the back of his cart. Both of these are strong phallic images. The whole landscape of the book is liberating. It is ironic how when the gipsy offers his candlestick, Cissie also wants a look. This shows again how she wants to escape her life here. Yvette on the other hand has made a breakthrough in her life. She is becoming aware of herself. But even so, she is still a virgin. On page 48, it talks about her, 'soft, dim virgin face,'. Her awakening is going on throughout the book. Her restraints are still in the back of her mind. She is often compared to a snowdrop. This is not only because she is a virgin, but because snowdrops are the first flowers to break through the snow after a snow storm. Yvette is breaking through the snow metaphorically. She is still virginal though. There is symbolic cleanliness in this book as well. In this book the rectors house, with its' spotless surfaces, is not clean. It is all a facade. They hide all the natural

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3983
Approximate Pages = 16 (250 words per page double spaced)