Sons and Lovers

It is safe to say that DH Lawrence definitely had some 'Mummy' issues.

  'Sons and Lovers' was published in the early 20th century and it explores the lives of the fictional Morel sons, William and Paul, the latter especially and their relationship with their mother, Gertrude Morel. The novel delves into the heavy influence that Mrs Morel has over the lives of her sons, an influence that hinders them from forming lasting relationships with other women.

  Whilst writing the novel, Lawrence was well aware of Sigmund Freud's 'Oedipus complex' in psychoanalytic theory. This can be summarised as the idea of children (boys in particular) not losing the emotional attachment that they have with their mother during infancy as they grow up. The theory states that this emotional attachment can develop into incestuous feelings, where boys begin to feel sexual envy and hatred towards their fathers for having their mothers. Freud also mentioned that as a result of this complex, a son will feel that he belongs only to his mother and he will also have the desire to sexually possess her. This theory is very evident in Sons and Lovers, which is why it is slightly disturbing that the novel was partly based  on Lawrence's relationship with his own mother.

  The novel was very controversial when it was first released as some critics claimed it was 'obscene' in parts. Reading Sons and Lovers as a 21st century teenager, I found it quite mild in terms of sexual descriptions compared to some of the supposed 'literature' of today. Lawrence used a lot of naturalistic imagery for such moments with 'blossoming' and 'blooming' flowers that are red and pink to allude to sexual intercourse and parts. However, one critique of this is that I found these descriptions too ambiguous at times and it was sometimes hard to follow the story. Lawrence also utilised a lot of opposites in the novel's language, e.g; light vs dark which sometimes acted as pathetic fallacy and love vs hate to showcase Paul Morel's conflicting feelings for the women in his life.

  The character of Gertrude Morel really annoyed me because I found her quite selfish. In my eyes, she is simply a woman that is dissatisfied with life and with delusions of grandiose. As a result of this and the fact that she no longer loves her husband, she transfers these marital feelings unto her sons, treating them more like lovers than sons (hence the title), not wanting to 'share' them with other women and this leads to serious emotional consequences for both sons. All of the other characters irritated me in some way or another as well; Miriam with her weakness, Mr Morel for failing to do something about his wife's unnatural attachment to their sons, Clara Dawes with her faux superiority and so on.

  Sons and Lovers is a very interesting read and despite some saying that it is 'boring' with no story, there is in fact one, albeit it an infuriating one. I see why it is seen as a masterpiece of English literature and I really recommend it if you want to know more about Freud's Oedipus complex.  However, it definitely left me feeling slightly uneasy and I won't be re-reading it anytime soon.

Rating 3/5 ***

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sons-Lovers-Penguin-Popular-Classics/dp/0141197722/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1358092487&sr=8-3