An Analysis on Paul’s Emotional Experience with Freud’s Psychoanalytical Theory in Sons and Lovers

HU JiaYi Fan Lijuan

【Abstract】David Herbert Lawrence is one of the most important and controversial writers. Sons and Lovers， one of .his most influential novels， is his first full-length and semi-autobiographical novel. This novel describes the growing process and the emotional experiences of a coal mine workers son Paul. This paper takes Freuds psychoanalytic theory as the theoretical basis. By analyzing three different patterns of relationships among Paul and three women， including mother Morel， lover Miriam and mistress Clara， this paper finally comes to a conclusion that the real love should be based on the harmony of the personality structure and the unity of the body and the soul.

【Key words】Freuds psychoanalytic theory; emotional experience; harmony and unity

David Herbert Lawrence is one of the most important English writers in 20th century， and he is also one of the most controversial authors. His main achievements include novels， dramas， prose， travel notes and letters. Sons and Lovers is the first novel of the British writer Lawrence. The background of this novel is Lawrences birthplace—Nottinghamshire mining area， Lawrence was born in a coal mine workers family. His father was bad-tempered and often abused his wife and children. Due to the misfortune of marriage life， his mother had  to  turn to her son for love， all these had an unusual influence on Lawrences mentality. Lawrences life experience has been revealed in the book Sons and Lovers in 1913. He described the life of the middle lower classes in British industrial society in the late 19th century and the complex relationship between the mother and the sons and the abnormal mentality between sexes under the specific circumstance by using the writing method of realism and psychoanalysis.

1. Pauls Emotional Experience during the Ego Period

The difference between Mother Morel and her husband leads that they cannot communicate with each other in spirit， gradually they no longer lives in peace in their daily life. Then Ms. Morel pours all her love on her son Paul， so Paul is tightly bound by her mothers love， and he cannot get rid of this kind of atmosphere when he grows up， and it seriously affects Paul to fall into a normal relationship.

At the same time， Paul loves his mother very much， and as an adolescent， he relies heavily on his mother， but it cannot be completely confirmed that Paul does not have the instinctive impulsion towards his mother， but it is certain that Paul feels very painful about the balance between the instinct and rationality. The female friends that Paul looks for are based on his mother. In fact， his mother also requires Paul that the woman he finds should take herself as the sample. Thus， Pauls personality structure is in a complex state， and it gets irreconcilable all the time.

Through the above， it can be seen that this kind of Pauls mental sign meets Freuds psychoanalytic theory— the ego of the personality structure theory. The affection between Paul and his mother is beyond the normal affection. Id is a part of thinking， feeling， judgment or memory which can be realized by itself. Freud thinks that the ego refers to the rationality and the judgment， it has to meet the requirement of the id， and it also has to conform to the reality to regulate the conflict between the two.

2. Pauls Carnal Experience during the Id Period

When Paul breaks up with Miriam， Paul knows a woman who is separated from her husband for three years— Clara. Paul is driven by his instinctive desire， he cannot resist the sensual temptation from Clara and cannot help having an affair with her， this makes Pauls instinctive desire released. Even though Clara is a married woman， she doesnt refuse Pauls love for her . But after a long time， Paul begins to feel tired of the sensual life; whats more， Clara wants to have intimacy with Paul in all situations which makes Paul feel worried. After Pauls mothers death， his life is on the brink of collapse and he feels lonelier than ever. But Paul knows that Clara cannot give him psychological comfort， and Clara also feels that her strength is melted， she cannot give Paul what Paul really desires for. So Clara returns to her husband. The reason why they breaks up is because they only focus on their instinctive desires and ignore the spiritual communication.

The sexual life between Paul and Clara corresponds to Freuds psychoanalytic theory— the id of the personality structure theory. The id is original， which includes the basic desire， impulsion and vitality for living. The id is the source of all mental energy， it acts by the principle of pleasure， it does not follow the public morality and the external behavior， the only requirement is to get pleasure and avoid the pain.

3. Pauls Mental Experience during the Superego Period

Paul is handsome and gentle， his presence satisfies Miriams spiritual desire. But their relationship seems to be unfair from the beginning. In Miriams view， Paul is well educated， she is afraid that Paul looks down on her just like her other brothers， she longs for his respect. Miriam is Pauls soul mate， he can talk about Michelangelo with her， read the poems and French， he is often inspired by her， the communication and the understanding between Paul and Miriam are beyond the sensuality. But at the same time， Paul is very depressed because of Miriams mental control. Paul has to suppress his instinctive desire and transforms it into mental love to respect Miriam and take care of her delicate and sensitive nerve. When Paul got along with Miriam， his spirit was in a dominant position， he has to keep awake and remind himself not to offend Miriam. This kind of Pauls mental signs can meet up with Freuds psychoanalytic theory— the superego of the personality structure theory.

Superego is the part which stands for the ideal in the personality structure theory， it forms in the process of growth through the internalization of ethics and internalizes the values of social and cultural environment， and its main function is to supervise， criticize and take control of peoples behavior. The characteristics of the superego is to pursue perfection， and what the superego follows is the “moral principle”. Freud thinks that the superego represents a limitation on the instinctive impulsion， it is on the opposite of the id， it does not only make the id delay， but also makes the id unsatisfied， it conducts the ego to limit the impulsion of the id. Paul controls his instinctive desire towards Miriam to protect her from hurt and maintains his pure love for her.

This paper gives a brief introduction of three patterns that Paul got along with three women， the end of these three relationships proves that the real love needs the harmony of the personality structure and the unity of the body and the soul， people whose id， ego and superego get unbalanced cannot find themselves and are easy to get confused. The personality structure should be completed which means the id， the ego and the superego should be in a balanced state， only in this way can people be on right track and find the true love. Neither the spiritual love nor the sexual association can find a balance between the id and the ego.

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作者简介：

胡嘉薏（1992-），哈尔滨师范大学西语学院，英语语言文学专业。

范丽娟（1968-）， 哈尔滨师范大学教授，研究方向：英国文学、女性文学、比较文学。