FREE ESSAY ON DAVID HERBERT LAWRENCE

DAVID HERBERT LAWRENCE

David Herbert Lawrence As a twentieth century novelist, essayist, and poet, David Herbert
Lawrence brought the subjects of sex, psychology, and religion to the forefront of
literature. One of the most widely read novels of the twentieth century, Sons and Lovers,
which Lawrence wrote in 1913, produces a sense of Bildungsroman1, where the novelist
re-creates his own personal experiences through the protagonist in (Niven 115). Lawrence
uses Paul Morel, the protagonist in Sons and Lovers, for this form of fiction. With his
mother of critical importance, Lawrence uses Freud's Oedipus complex, creating many
analyses for critics. Alfred Booth Kuttner states the Oedipus complex as: "the struggle
of a man to emancipate himself from his maternal allegiance and to transfer his
affections to a woman who stands outside the family circle" (277). Paul's compromising
situations with Miram Leivers and Clara Dawes, as well as the death of his mother,
display the Oedipus complex throughout Sons and Lovers. At an adolescent age, Paul's
oedipal love towards his mother is compromised by a young lady named Miram Leivers. This
profound situation puts Paul to the emotional test of Oedipal versus physical love. As
Kuttner goes on to state: "Paul's admiration for his mother know no bounds; her presence
is always absorbing. Often at the sight of her, 'his heart contracts with love'" (278).
Paul's maternal relationship defines the Oedipus complex. Miram pulls Paul away from his
mother, while Paul's mother, Gertrude, sees Miram as a threat to her son. Paul, even
though Miram is around, still will not commit totally to her because of the strong ties
between mother and son. Paul says to his mother, "I'll never marry while I've got you - I
won't..." (Lawrence 240). Lawrence wrote frequently of Paul's love belonging to his
mother and only his mother (212). Though Miram Leivers could not truly find Paul's heart,
another woman named Clara Dawes provides more stress on Paul's maternal relationship.
Although Paul loved Clara, he still kept his attraction toward his mother. "Everything he
does is for her, the flowers he picks as well as the prizes he wins at school. His mother
is his intimate and his confidant" (Kuttner 278). Clara tried desperately to win Paul
over, but her social sophistication was too much for him. Paul tells his mother: "I don't
want to belong to the well-to-do middle class. I like my common people the best. I belong
to the common people" (Lawrence 250). Clara shows frustration with Paul because of his
maternal devotion. Again Lawrence displays the Oedipus complex through Paul to his
mother, "And I shall never meet the right woman as long as you live" (341). Paul's
Oedipal love would be tested once more by him dealing with the death of his mother. Paul,
though, was tough enough in handling this dilemma. R.P. Draper recognizes the loss of
Paul's mother as: Their special, private, intimate grief over the impossible dream, and
the magnificence of the woman, and the devotional quality of Paul's love, render the
deathbed scenes poignant and innocent (292). The verification of Kuttner's statement is
seen as Lawrence has Paul react to her death in this manner: "my love - my love - oh, my
love! My love - oh, my love!" (384). Lawrence also writes of Paul's continuing love for
his mother: "Looking at her, he felt he could never, never let her go. No!" (385).
Kuttner Implies: "But death has not freed Paul from his mother. It has completed his
allegiance to her. For death has merely removed the last earthly obstacle to their ideal
union" (280). The love that Paul feels towards his mother would never die. He loves her
just as much when she died as he did when she was still alive. Paul continues life having
a maternal devotion that no other woman would ever be able to fill. Throughout the novel,
Paul is seen as one who lives for his mother. Mark Spilka explains: "For if Paul has
failed in his three loves, he has drawn from them the necessary strength to live" (293).
Sons and Lovers was written with Lawrence almost defining the Oedipus complex through
Paul. With this in mind, Kuttner gives this insight about the novel: Sons and Lovers
possesses this double quality to a high degree. It ranks high, very high as a piece of
literature and at the same time embodies a theory which it illustrates and exemplifies
with a completeness that is nothing less than astonishing (277). Psychologists of today
still accept the Oedipus complex as a viable explanation for the love and fascination
that male children display towards their mothers. Lawrence successfully created an
educational novel as well as an easily readable and interesting novel. Literary critics
tend to speculate that Sons and Lovers was written by Lawrence as somewhat of an
autobiography centering Paul's life around his own. Whether or not this is true will
never be determined, though it will continue to remain a favorite topic for critical
analysis for years to come. **** works cited: **** :Draper, R.P. "D.H. Lawrence on Mother
Love." Essays in Criticism 8 (1958): 285-289. Rpt. In TCLC. Ed. Dennis Poupard. Vol. 16.
Detroit: Gale, 1985. 293-294. :Kuttner, Aldred Booth. "Sons and Lovers': A Freudian
Appreciation." The Psychoanalytic Review. 3 (1916): 295-317. Rpt. In TCLC, Ed. Dennis
Poupard. Vol. 16. Detroit: Gale, 1985. 277-282. :Lawrence, D.H. Sons and Lovers. New
York: Barnes & Noble, 1996. :Niven, Alastair. "D.H. Lawrence." British Writers. Vol. 7.
1984. 87-126. :Spilka, Mark. The Love Ethic of D.H. Lawrence. (1955): 244. Rpt. In TCLC.
Ed. Dennis Poupard. Vol. 16. Detroit: Gale, 1985. 
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