"Of course it hurts; the thing is not minding that it hurts" Lawrence, played by Peter O'Toole, may be a philosopher, a charming fellow, and an idealistic young chap in the first half of Lawrence of Arabia, but the movie's brilliance lies in Lawrence's fanatical masochism (and moral downfall?). This film provides insights on the twisted pleasures of the human psyche. The desert location works on several levels: first, as dazzling eye candy, second, to establish an epic location, third, to observe the desert in its untamable nature, and fourth, as a barren wasteland that relates metaphorically to Lawrence's traits and philosophies. The movie does well to create an epic character, Lawrence, and compliment him with the desert; both hold the same mysterious power. The film also works in a sense of religious fanaticism. Lean constructs a movie as profound as classic literature, complete with innuendos, metaphors, and levels of interpretation.
The desert is the most powerful element in Lawrence of Arabia. For one, the desert perfectly characterizes the hero/anti-hero Lawrence. We first meet Lawrence as a perfect, genuine optimist with idealist passions and firm belief in his own abilities/ power. With a cunning move, Lawrence obtains an assignment in Arabia. He seems to fight with loyalty to both Arabs and English, but his motivations for his aid in the Arab rebellion against the Turks are never certain. His heroism almost irritates as he risks his life to go after a stray man. He seems to value life and has almost Christian sort of perfections. In Biblical form, Lawrence searches for the lost sheep. He leads people across the desert. He takes on mission after mission of impossible quests. Miracles happen under his supervision. These religious motifs grow irksome when Lawrence comments that the pillar of fire is leading him (a Moses reference). In front of him, there appears to be a cloud, and since he is traveling by day, I would have much preferred him to say, "look, the clouds lead us by day" since the story says they are lead by clouds by day, fire by night. But the Moses reference fails to characterize Lawrence (to the brilliance of the movie). Lawrence at this point seems to be too upright to be called a Moses figure. Moral ambiguity appears later, and when it does, Lawrence is both more and less like Moses. (Dang, that is good writing!)
With the moral ambiguity, Lawrence admits to delighting in murder, we find at least some explanation for Lawrence's masochist philosophies. Lawrence may enjoy the pain of the desert because it allows him to expiate his sins. But that does not excuse his delight in something so rotten and sinful as murder.
The desert complements this vast, mysterious nature of Lawrence. There is an untamable and raw element to both. There is something empty, but there is also something "clean" to each. Obviously, they both the desert and Lawrence are epic. The desert metaphorically explains and adds ambiguity to Lawrence's character.