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Rethinking Lawrence and Nietzsche concerning the Idea of the 'Will to Power'

Although a wide-ranging influence of Nietzsche is recognized in Lawrence's work from the early days on, Lawrence's initial interest in the philosopher, culminating in Women in Love, presents a very negative view of the concept of 'the will to power'. He regards it as a desire to dominate others, which could be considered as a case of a misreading and oversimplification of the philosopher's thought. Nietzsche's 'will to power’, however, is a theme which has developed into a grand narrative that covers a wide variety of ideas such as the basic principle of all organic life and natural phenomena, the discipline of self-overcoming as well as the conquest, domination, and exploitation over other existence. The philosophy of 'the will to power' has also provoked a lot of controversy. Walter Kaufmann interprets the idea as a self-overcoming will of an artist, a saint, or a philosopher who aspires to be an overman, rather than as a will to command and rule others. Yet J. P. Stern argues that 'conquest' is an intrinsic feature of the Nietzschean 'will to power'. The issue, however, is far from being resolved even in the twenty-first century. Considered in this context, Lawrence's disapproving view of 'the will to power' belongs to a line in the historical controversy over the idea. The problem is that, despite his overt dismissal, he has been deeply engaged in a literary exploration of the power politics of assuming power by dominating others in the 'leadership period' of the mid-twenties. Notwithstanding the mixed reviews of the complex nuances and multi-faceted nature of the ideas of Nietzsche and Lawrence, there is found an essential affinity and analogy in their thought and language surrounding the subject of 'the will to power'. Later, both men were involved in disputes over their intellectual or imaginative roles in the rise of Nazism. They were both prophets who diagnosed the problems in the moral, religious, and philosophical convention of Europe and had a premonition of cataclysms in the immediate future.