THE THEME OF OEDIPUS COMPLEX IN D. H. LAWRENCE’S SONS AND LOVERS
THE THEME OF OEDIPUS COMPLEX IN D. H. LAWRENCE’S SONS AND LOVERS By Lisbern Shawn Fernandes, EG-1913, MA-II,EGO122 (D.H. Lawrence as a Novelist) Oedipus Complex was postulated by Sigmund Freud - it is a complex of emotions whereby a child develops an unconscious sexual desire for his mother and secretly wishes to eliminate his father. Lawrence’s novel Sons and Lovers deals with this complex and it forms one of the themes. However, Lawrence’s treatment of this complex is problematized in order to create a dramatic effect. The novel is about the relationship between Gertrude or Mrs. Morel and her children, particularly her three sons, borne out of her disastrous marriage with Mr. Morel. Although it is a love marriage between Mr. and Mrs. Morel, their marriage starts to go down the hatch, no sooner than later Mrs. Morel finds Mr. Morel incompetent to be a good husband to her. She is aghast at her drinking habits, squandering his earnings and loitering with his friends. ...