Dear all
S&L was
written exactly 14 years after Sigmund
Freud published his magnum opus Interpretation
of dreams where he propounded the concept of Oedipus
complex , psychoanalytically a dynamic
emotionality and possessiveness of a child to its parent of the opposite sex and vice versa.
As per the
proponents of the Freudian psychoanalysis,
Oedipus complex is construed as repressed sexuality. Its prevalence in
human society is argued by the Pro-Freudian modern psychologists as the reason
for idealization of man –women marital relationship to that of a parent- child
relationship syndrome, creating a structured identity complex among men and
women in their married lives leading to divorces and unhappy marriages.
In S&L, Lawrence
propounds over this theme by his intellectual subtlety through the portrayal of
the protagonists Paul Morel and his mother Gertrude Morel. Mrs Morel had a
terrible relationship with her husband , a collier, who gave her seven children and
paltry income to survive. Mrs Morel being from the higher class was magnanimous
in her character and behaviour and she was able to bring up the children
against the vicissitudes caused by a drunken miserable husband who gave her no
love and care. The struggles of a mother in a post industrialized 19th
century England - a time in English society where marriage was considered
sacrosanct and no scope and means for separation – is vividly portrayed in this
novel. As time passes, Mrs Morel develops a strong bonding with her son Paul ,
which gets reflected in her annoyance to
the passionate relationship Paul have with
two other women in her life, Miriam
and Clara. Paul on the other side realize that there is nothing beyond passion that his lovers could give him and
breaks off from them with a conclusion that true
love of man is always with his mother.
The Novel is
autobiographical in nature as Paul is the characterization of Lawrence himself
when he was torn between his love for his mother and his passionate
relationship with his lovers Jessie
chambers and later Frieda weekly
(subsequently Lawrence married Frieda).
In India, characterization
of the relationship complexity of a man with his mother on one side and his
sexual partner (Read wife or lover) on the other side is the basis of all Sas-Bahu serials and Lawrence’s theme is
relevant in today’s Indian society as well. Ask any man and women married in a traditional
Indian set up on this proclivity and they would have something to say.
Is the miserable Indian male getting strained in between true love and
passion with an Oedipus complex is not
the purvey of this writing nor I intend to pursue further on this speculation,
but the novel is 100 times worth reading on its hundredth year of publication….
A free downloadable version is available in Kindle.. good reading
Sanyasi