Becoming, Rheology and Deterritorialization: On Sensibility Illustration in The White Peacock from the Affect Theory

The White Peacock by D.H. Lawrence in the Victorian era distinguishes itself with delieantion in affect, different from other works with bold strokes of sexual love. The factors and the change of identity in affective entanglements between Lettie, George and Leslie reflect the great emphasis of the emotion involved in love on the representation of the subject. Dynamics of affect is pivotal in delineating the interplay between the self and the other, the rhizomatic “becoming” subjectivity, and the rheology within the narrative. This paper explicates the exerted power of affect as the change of intensity of life, the becoming to new identities attributed to affect, and the deterritorializaton and rheology in Lettie’s subjectivity by drawing upon Gilles Deleuze’s critique of affect theory by Spinoza. The examination of Lettie’s marital and romantic choices under this perspective insinuates the vicissitudes of Victorian women’s vitality amid the complexities of love, the ideological nomadism of female subjects, and their emancipation from the entrenched frameworks of subjectivity. The inescapable outcome of their life trajectories and innate capacity for treating different affect movement. Although the affective power leads to the hybridity and contradiction of her action, her subjective consciousness and desire of self-confirmation against regulated, traditional love ethics are elucidated. This paper shed lights on the analytical lens from the empowerment of the affect on the subjectivity, that experiences of life energetic flow vary across diverse contexts, reflecting the multifaceted nature of subjectivity.