Theme of Oedipus Complex Education vs Learning
D.H.Lawrence was
considered a maverick when a series of novels- The White Peacock (1911),
The Trespasser (1912), Sons and Lovers (1913), The Plumed Serpent (1926)
and Lady Chatterly’s Lover (1929) written by him were published.
He used the medium of novel as a vehicle for communicating his own vision of
life. As a fiction writer he exhibited his genius but it was his prophetic
vision that really created waves in the world. One of the most disputed men of
genius in the history of modern English novel has been excessively praised as
well as excessively abused. Eminent critics like T.S.Eliot have condemned him
as an uncultured man insensitive to social morality. But, many of them in
recent times have defended him against the charges of immorality.
Sons and Lovers
is an autobiographical novel, as autobiographical as Arnold Bennett’s Clayhanger
and the first half of Charles Dickens David Copperfield. It has
its roots deeper in Lawrence’s childhood and youth. It is replete with his
haunting remembrance, recollections and relationships. Perhaps, the pen with
which Lawrence wrote his masterpiece was certainly dipped in his own blood. John
Middleton Murray rightly observes,
‘Sons and lovers’
appear as the gesture of a man who makes the heroic effort to liberate himself
from the matrix of his own past.
If we make a
comparative study we find, Paul Morel- the protagonist bears a clear and close
resemblance with his own creator. Like Paul, Lawrence was also a weak and
sickly boy and was brought very close to his mother when he suffered from
pneumonia. The persistent atmosphere of disharmony and the regular bickering of
the parents laid a great strain on Lawrence. Like Paul, Lawrence too was an
introvert. He too had fits of depression and melancholy and a nameless horror
filled his soul. A striking similarity
is found between the parents of Paul and those of Lawrence. Walter Morel is an
image of his father Arthur John and Gertrude Morel is none other than his
mother Lydia John.
The affair between Paul
and Miriam has its roots in the affair between Lawrence and Jessie Chambers.
Even Clara who is called as adaptation by many critics stands for a real human
who came in contact with Lawrence and Jessie Chambers. Lausie Burrows is the
model of Clara. She bears strong physical and mental resemblance. Lawrence
writes about her in the letter,
When I think of her, I
feel happy with a sort of warm relations….
The critics further
points out that Sons and Lovers is autobiographical in other
elements also. The story is set in Bestwood which is a close replica of
Lawrencs’s native village Eastwood. The setting presented with a most powerful
sense of atmosphere and of physical detail of the rhythm of work and life of
miners is a realistic depiction of that of Eastwood. It also gives us the
relation between an industrial future and agricultural past of the early 19th
century England by presenting the very quality and reality of living. Graham
Hough remarks,
Sons and Lovers is a
catharsis achieved by hearing an actual experience-reliving it over and over
again.
Considering the letter
written by Lawrence in 1910, he describes his family life which echoes in the
present novel. According to him, he was born hating his father and there
developed a bond between his mother and him which was more than a relation
between mother and son. Similarly, Paul Morel hates his father and shares a
relationship with his mother more than that of a son. Moreover, the love
triangle of Paul, his mother and father and then the triangle formed by Paul,
his mother and Miriam can also be seen in Lawrence’s own life.
Graham Hough
points out that,
Sons and Lovers is
autobiographical not only because it mirrors Lawrence’s personal life but also
it mirrors Lawrence’s relationship with the age, his relations too with his
predicament and circumstances.
Hence, Lawrence is
primarily drawn to this manner of presentation, not a man with his destiny but
a man in a particular situation. His whole personality jostled with the age. He
was rooted in a particular soil.
Sons and Lovers
echoes the tension of the time, disintegration in human relations and a gradual
disappearance of values due to over emphasis on science and industrialization. James
Joyce in his autobiographical novel tries to construct a self contained
world outside him whereas; Lawrence projects Sons and Lovers from
the very centre of his passionate existence so that it may act sometimes
tentatively, sometimes fiercely and sometimes desperately. Graham Hough again
points out that without looking Lawrence’s personal life Sons and Lovers cannot
be appreciated because,
Lawrence is like Byron
in being a writer whose person can never be successfully dissociated from his
works.
The White Peacock, Kangaroo
and
The Plumed Serpent contain long sections drawn directly from
Lawrence’s own life. Woman in Love is full of recognizable portraits.
The same sort of things occurs in his short stories as well. If Lawrence is
incapable of writing straight autobiography he is also incapable of keeping
himself and his friends out of his book. Sons and Lovers is so
much representative of Lawrence that it may be taken as a disguised
autobiography.
Meticulously Complied and proficiently written blog on
ReplyDeleteD.H.Lawrence's Autobiographical Elements
in Sons and Lovers.
Very lucid article on Sons and Lovers.
ReplyDeleteIt may be fruitful to others to give a slight touch on the personal life of Lawrence.