A Psychoanalytical study of Sons and lovers

Feminist theorizing of the 1970s were largely influenced by the psychological models of sexuality, which
were in turn effected by the work of theorists as Freud and Foucault. Their discourse on sexuality has
enabled to broaden the understandings on gendered subjectivity or the structures of femininity and
masculinity. Sexuality and power plays a key part in every aspect of human experiences, including
literature. The psychoanalytic fiction in literature emerged in the beginning of 20 th century. D.H
Lawrence is one of the modern authors who have been influenced by Freudian theories. The present
paper aims to critically analyze the treatment of sexuality primarily through Freudian psychoanalysis as
it is presented in D.H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers.

INTRODUCTION

Published in 1913, Sons and Lovers is one of the most autobiographical novels of D.H. Lawrence.
Twentieth century rural England saw a breakdown of morality and taboos on sex. Consequently, this led
to formulation of certain theories of which Freud was the one. Set against this atmosphere, the novel
therefore is considered as a Freudian novel. The book is divided into two parts. The first part of the novel
deals with Mrs. Morel frustrating marriage life with a drunkard miner who not only fails to fulfill her
Bourgeois dream but also torture her physically and mentally. With a desire to find fulfillment, she
substitute her passion towards her sons, first William and then Paul. William however drifts apart from
family and takes a job in London. When William dies a few years later, she is broken and her attention
shifts towards Paul as she doesn’t want to lose him as well. From that moment onwards Paul becomes her
only hope in life, and the two begins to live for each other.

Part II focuses on the adulthood of Paul till the death of Mrs. Morel. It also deals with his development of
sexual relationship with, first Miriam Leivers and then with Clara Dawes. With Miriam, he initially had
an extremely platonic relationship for years. Mrs. Morel, however dislike Miriam so Paul eventually
leaves her. Then he meets Clara who is strong and mature, fulfills his repressed sexual desires but he
cannot marry her since she doesn’t want to divorce her husband. Clara says him to go back to Miriam and
express his love. For a brief period they seemed happy but he eventually breaks off with her as she
realizes that her soul doesn’t belong to him and it’s his mother whom he loves most. Unable to find
fulfillment he detaches himself from everyone and devotes his time to Mrs. Morel during her sickness.
When she dies, Paul is crushed and, after a final excuse from Miriam, he proceeds alone with the
remembrance of his mother at the end of the novel.

The Psychosexual development- Oedipus complex in Paul

One of the most influential theories of twentieth century is Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic
theory, Oedipus Complex used in his ‘Interpretation of Dreams’ (1899) and which has been freely
explored by writers like Lawrence. Freud transformed the way the world looks at sexuality. According to
him, during the early development stage, as children grows up, they derive sexual desires which they first
focus in the parent of opposite sex. He developed this theory for the explanation of the formation of id,
ego and super-ego. The castration anxiety makes them identify with the father and desire for the mother.
In the novel, Paul’s relationship with his mother is passionately disturbing. He fails to make satisfactory
relationship with either woman, Miriam and Clara, other than his mother. In case of William, there’s a
reverse Oedipus complex. He is more devoted to career and drifts from family. Thus, Paul replaces him to
become a responsible son. He also describes himself as ‘man of the house’ during Mr. Morel’s accident.

Mother-fixation is a central concept in the novel. Mrs. Morel transfer of dissatisfying feelings one after
another, firstly from marriage to William then from William to Paul projecting the various oppositions at
play is similarly contributing to the oedipal theme. Paul seems confused with his sexual identity. As when
he and his mother go to Nottingham together, Lawrence describes them as lovers having an adventure
together. Mother and son are one; the husband is completely effaced and the father exists merely as a rival
(Sons and Lovers, 90). He aptly describes Paul’s failure to suppress his attraction towards Mrs. Morel
leading to serious emotional conflicts. He cannot love Miriam due to his mother’s opposition as Miriam
absorbs Paul completely without leaving her any share. Then he goes to another women Clara for sexual
fulfillment and his rise to manhood, but this too is rejected as Mrs. Morel considers her a fallen women.
Thus in either way Paul can’t find satisfaction and his relationship with his mother becomes so intimate
that it almost seems sexual. Paul’s fixation on Mrs. Morel and his hatred towards father contributes to his
confused sexual identity and his failure to love women in a normal way.

Representation of the Psyche: Conscious and Unconscious in the novel

According to Freud, conscious model includes everything that individuals are aware of. It
basically deals with the ‘ego’ and ‘super-ego’. Paul’s digressive view on marriage comes from the
consciousness of his mother’s failed marriage and on the top of that he knows that his mother would
disapprove of any girl that comes between them. In this way, his ego, the reality principles of life pleases
his id’s drives by clinging to mother yet remain socially accepted. The ego model is illustrated in his
confinement because the conscious overpowers the unconscious. Paul’s over consciousness of Mrs. Morel
is perpetuated in ways as rejecting his father; failure to love any other women. Likewise, Lawrence also
justifies Paul’s super-ego because it consciously teaches him to avoid incestuous relationship with mother
as such practice would be considered as immoral.

Freud in his ‘Beyond the Pleasure Principal’ (1920) articulated that in order to self-preserve the
ego’s instincts, the pleasure principal are often replaced by the reality principal. Paul cannot make love to
Miriam due to her extreme spirituality as against her sexuality. While in the other way, his id, the
‘pleasure principal’ motivates him to go to Clara for satisfying his sexual thrust as he is obsessed with her
sexuality. Paul’s id also manifests in one of the scenes where his sexual aggression comes out itself
during his intercourse with Miriam unconsciously and restlessly which is essentially projecting the
psychosexual frustration that developed since his adolescence.
We see the instinctual drive id also in case of Clara Dawes who is projected in the novel as a
disgrace, a sex-object of Paul as opposed to Miriam’s purity. Clara is one woman in the novel, whose
sexuality is questioned by many critics. Her libidinal desire is shown in the way she longs for intense
sexual experience with Paul which would free her from her husband. Contrastingly, the character of
Miriam is used to depict her conscious super-ego who only longed for spiritual communion with Paul and
her super-ego lead her to maintain a distance until and unless she explores Paul’s inner self.

Repression of instincts in the Characters

The state in which the ideas existed before being made conscious is called by us repression
(Freud, 1923). The history of human civilization is the history of repression of instincts which works both
through pleasure and reality principals. Eros (life instincts) and Thanatos (death instincts) are basic
instincts according to Freud. Eros contains ‘libido’ that drives what he calls as sexual energy. In a
particular scene, the author depicts how Paul as an adolescent by accidently gets to discover while
William and his girlfriend were making out. While in another time, as he grows up as a man he
experiences the same thing. Lawrence carefully showcases the child’s curiosity on sex and sexuality
leading to repression of his libido as a young boy. As he grows up this repressed libidinal desire is
manifested towards Miriam. But with her too there is a pitiful love-making and it seemed like there
always a veil in her face which detaches them. Then he turns to Clara for pent-up sexual desire which was
already repressed in him and that drives him to get intimate with her. The character of Miriam is a perfect
example of repressed sexuality among Victorian women which the society puts on.
Similarly, the author depicts Paul’s aggressive instincts at the end. Paul finds no satisfaction
neither from his girlfriends nor his mother and he is full of violent hatred. He becomes tired of watching
his sick mother every night dying in pain, a suffering which is intolerable to him and therefore he gives
her morphine in way to end her completely. He eventually realizes that he cannot live peacefully as long
as she is alive and his suicidal tendency shows up through this unconscious act.

Conflicts

Freud articulated that an individual suffers from two kinds of conflict; one is ‘individual-society
conflict’ while the other is ‘intra-psychic conflict’. At times, much of the behavior leads to conflict with
the society. Freud’s emphasis on sex as a driving force of human behavior significantly questioned the
Victorian standards of morality at that time. The society imposed certain scriptures for both men and
women. Paul similarly faces this conflict between desire reality and morality, as whenever he tries to
come close to Miriam, he somehow fails to do due her moral nature. Also, in one of the scenes Lawrence
depicts Miriam praying to God to for not falling in love with Paul. In a sexual intercourse with Paul, she
is projected as holding a cross as she is scared of losing her purity since sex in those times, was
considered as a sin.
Intra-psychic conflict is the opposition that occurs within self. Family forms a formative social
environment that shapes sexuality. In case of Miriam, her mother was a driving force of control and too
much of a control has lead to her psychosexual frustration. Lawrence depicts the way Miriam is torn
between guilt and morality after losing her virginity. Likewise, the drive for erotic pleasure placed Paul in
conflict with social norms of respectability and self-control. Sex is the only bone argument between him
and his two lovers. His view of sex is impersonal and solely for satisfying his id which is resulting in his
intimacy towards both women for libidinal desire. Although his ego continues to operates primarily due
to his oedipal relation with mother and so at the end unable to find satisfaction he finally goes back to his
mother, his first-love. His Oedipus development at the childhood had great impact upon his adult life as a
result of which he faces guilt and intra-psychic conflicts while trying to rise up to manhood.
Sexuality and Desire

Freud articulated sexuality only in terms of pleasure principal. He believed man is a creature of
instincts and having sexual drives are natural phenomenon which has been significantly showcased by
Lawrence in the novel. Sexuality is biologically dominant in human nature. Freud, in his Three Essays on
the Theory of Sexuality (1905) brings out the distinction between ‘sexual object’ which is the desired
object and ‘sexual aim’ which denotes the desired act. Likewise, in the novel, Lawrence uses a number of
metaphors/objects to project sexuality of the characters. Cherry symbolizes specifically the hymen, the
virginity of Miriam which Paul aggressively throws at her to release his frustrations. Similarly the color
of sunset metaphorically depicts climax of orgasm which was depicted in their second intercourse. The
core elements of female sexuality include passivity, masochism, inferiority, jealousy which according to
Freud stem primarily from female’s anatomy. Some of these have been reflected in the novel as well.

The spirit and flesh- Miriam and Clara

There has been control over sexuality through various ways as in case of Miriam who is a symbol
of chastity and purity in the novel. She fears to even love Paul and lose the so called notion of morality
that the society imposes on womanhood. While in context of Clara, her sexuality is greatly objectified by
the author. She is treated as an immoral woman who, separated from her husband, goes to sleep with a
man younger than her. Paul himself loses in her body and gets access to his pleasurable instincts only
through her sexuality.

Mrs. Morel’s weakness

Mrs. Morel too fall a victim of emotional conflict due to her oedipal love. Throughout the novel,
her jealousy towards Miriam who she believes tries to take the out the soul out of him and absorbs him
completely. She doesn’t want to share her only hope, Paul with Miriam.

Miriam’s sexual orientation

The sexual orientation of Miriam is very often seen asexual, individuals who lack in desirable
sexuality or any kind of sexual attraction. This is depicted in one of the scenes where Miriam, after
passively submitting herself to Paul, goes off to wash her private parts. Although she loves Paul, she has
no sexual desires for him and becomes a victim of passive submission in the process.

Power and Passiveness

Women’s bodies have been used as an instrument of exerting power. Just after Mrs. Morel’s marriage, we
see Mr. Morel’s financial condition is not that strong and every time he comes back home from mine, his
beastliness shows up in their intercourse. This becomes a way of releasing frustration, his masculine
power. Likewise, while analyzing passivity, Miriam is projected as among the most submissive character
who passively submits to Paul just to satisfy his libido.

CONCLUSION

Sons and Lovers is Lawrence’s finest masterpiece on the psychological bases of Freud’s view of
sexuality. Freud, however never seem to expertise on women’s sexuality which he regard as a ‘dark
continent’ of psychology which has being pointed out by feminist criticism. His over-emphasis on
sexuality, or more correctly, sexual essentialism as a major force of psychological conflict has significant
impact on society which was being largely criticized. The novel was also disapproved for its obscenity.
The response was sexual constructivism of Foucault which challenged biology. He articulated sexuality
more as a form of power and social control. Thus, we cannot reject the social constructivism altogether
since it is as essential as Freud’s essentialism. However, Lawrence tried attempting both. Although the
main focus of the novel lay on Freud’s understanding of sexuality, Lawrence however made it essential
for the readers to look at mind and body dualism i.e., the spiritual and the physical, through the characters
of Paul and Miriam. Nevertheless, Freud’s contribution to psychoanalysis and sexuality completely
changed the way the world look at it. The novel is a remarkable classic of psychosexual development.