On Oedipus Complex in Sons and Lovers

On Oedipus Complex in Sons and Lovers 第8卷第4期 Vo1.8No.4 读与写杂志 Readand?tePeriodieal 2011年4月 April2011 OnOedipusComplexinSonsandLovers 边虹霞 (渤海大学外国语学院辽宁锦州121000) Abstract:SonsandLoversisanautobiographicnovelbyDavidHerbertLawrence.Sinceitca meout,variouscriticismswenton andon.BasedontheapproachofFreud'spsychoanalysis,thispaperintendstoanalyzethecaus esofOedipuscomplexinthis workaswellasitsembodiment. Keywords:Oedipuscomplex;psychoanalysis;Paul 中图分类号:I106文献标识码:A文章编号:1672—1578(2011)04—0002—02 Oedipuscomplexisaterminpsychoanalytictheory foundedbySigmundFreud,Austriapsychologistand psychiatrist.ThetermderivedfromtheThebanheroOedipusof Greeklegend,whounknowinglyslewhisfatherandmarriedhis mother.FreudintroducedtheconceptinhisInterpretationof Dreams:Oedipuscomplexisadesireforsexualinvolvement withtheparentoftheoppositesexandaconcomitantsenseof rivalrywiththeparentofthesamesex,acrucialstageinthe normaldevelopmentalprocess.Lawrenceappliedthis psychoanalysistoliterature.InSonsandLovers,withunique perspectiveanddelicatedepiction,heshowedprofoundlythe emotionofloveandhatredamongtheson.themotherandthe lovers.FromtheprotagonistPaul,readerscanseeclearlythe emergence,developmentofOedipuscomplexanditsimpacton Paul'slife. 1SymptomDuringChildhood Lawrencebelievesthataperson,fromhisbirth,cannot avoidtheeffectsofhisparents.Pau1.thethirdsonofthe Morels,wasweakwhenyoungandseldomplayedwithother boys.Healwaysstayedwithhismother.soMl'S.Morel'sway oflivingaffectedPauldeeply.Hewasbornsensitiveandcould undemtandhismother'sannoyance."hissoulseemedalways attentivetoher"f11.ToPauloncehesawhismother,akind ofresponsibilityandambitionwouldarise. AccordingtoFreud'stheory,boysprefermothersand alwayswanttomonopolizemother'slove.Meanwhile山eyenvy other'ssharingthemother'slove,andthetargetwhotheyare againstarenaturallytheirfathers.Paullovedhismotherwhile hatedhiscoarsefatherwhoalwaysgotdrunk.Whenhis parentsqua~eledheoftenprayed:"Lord.1etmyfatherdie." Whenhisfatherwasinhospita1.heusedtosaytohismother ioyfully"I'mthemaninthehousenow" A11thesebehaviorsofPaulsurpassedanormalchild's behaviorandpsychology.Paul'sattitude,whichtowardshis fatherwasfu11ofcontradictionandconflictswhiletowardshis motherwasconcentratedandaffectionate,composesthecontent ofaboy'ssimpleandexplicitOedipuscomplex. 2FailuresinLoveAffairs Paul'sattachmenttohismother,whichbeganfromhis childhood.influencedhisnormallovewithwomenwhenhe grewup.Hecannotlovethegirlheliked;hecannotkeep complete,naturalandharmoniousloverelationshipthatshould combinesoulandbody.norcanheestablishafamilv.isis showedseparatelyonhisrelationswithtwodifferentwomen.The intimacybetweenPaulandhisfirstloverMiriamhadbeen keptsoabstract.suchamatterofsou1.tIlathesawitonlyas aplatonicfriendship.Paul'ssecondloverClaraisamarried woman.11heirrelationship,oppositetohisformerone,wasset uponamutualsexualattractionlackinganymental communication. Thesetwoloveaffairsbothendedwithfailure.Loveisa unityofspiritandbody,butPaul'slovewiththetwowomen wasuncompleted.Andthisresultsfromhislovetowards mother,namelyhisOedipuscomplex.WhenClaraaskedPaul "Ifyoumakeanicelotofmoney.whatwouldyoudo?"He answered"GosomewhereinaprettyhousenearLondonwith mymother."AfterMrs.Morelexpressedherbitternesslikea 1over."hestrokehismother'shair,andhismouthwasonher throat…Withoutknowinghegentlystrokedherface."【1_Paul takeshismotherashislover,whichisalsoreflectedthrough hisappellationonher.Whenhewenttohospitaltoseeher, hecalledhismother"Little""mylove…'myPigeon".?en Paulwastoldofhismother'sdeath.hisOedipuscomplex comestoaclimax:hecriedoutinastrongvoiceoflovers "Mylove——myloveoh,mylove"hewhisperedagainand again,revealinghisgriefoflosinghismother. 3CausesofPaul'sOedipusComplex FreudpointsoutinhisInterpretationofDreamsthata boy'sOedipuscomplexonlyexistsinasubconsciousstate, whichcannotberealized,admittedbytheboyhimseIfandthe boywillnotputitintopractice.[21ButMrs.Morel'sabnormal loveforPaulevokesdirectlyhisOedipuscomplex.andwith timepassingby,thiscomplexrootsdeeplyinPaul'ssouland developspathologically.Shetookhersonasherspiritual lovingtargetandtriedtooccupyherson'swholeemotion.She madeupshylyandtraveledjoyfullywithherson;shefelt fidgetyunreasonableifhersonwasnotwithher;shedisliked Miriam,forwhichsheoftenshowediealousy,whichmadePaul wearyandagonizing.Sheevenmadeasolemnpledgeoflove: "I'venever_——_vouknow.Paul——I'veneverhada husband——notreally."【1]Itisobviousthatthemother's deformedloveisthesoilthatnourishedOedipuscomplex. Mrs.Morel'sinfatuationtohersonistheresultofher lonelinessinemotionandunhappymarriage.Fromamiddle— classfamily.Mrs.Morelwaswell-educatedandhigh—minded. Shewasrichinemotionwithromanticdreamsforlove.So whenshemetWalterMorel(Paul'sfather),awellset—up, erectandverysmartyoungman,shefe11inlovewithhimfor thefirstsight.However.Mr.Morelcamefrommineclassand aftertheymarried,theheavelabor,povertyandfamily's burdenputMorelinspiritualdepression.Hebegantodrink andbeathiswifeandchildren.Iust0thewife.Mr.Morel l0stgentlenessandconsiderationthatahu8bandshouldhave. Hebecameacoldworkingmachine.Thesense0flossbetween couple'slovemadeMrs.Morellonelv.Sheputal1heremotion andhopesonherson,hopinghersoncanplaytheI_0le0fher husband. WhenwesympathizewithtIlemotherwecanalsoseein tllisunhappymaJagethefather'stragedy.YoungM0relwas f下转6页1 — 2一 第8卷第4期 Vo1.8NoA 读与写杂志 Rcadand,vritePeriodical 2011年4月 April2011 thestudentslearningEnglishintheirsparetime Table3.Thestudents'learningtime,methods,mannersin sparetime(%) Learningtime(aweek)5hOUl~Ofm4hoursLessthan3hours Percentage104224672 LearningmethodsMp3Books Pereeraage9l63873 Learningnm1efsSelf-learringCooperativestudyOthem Percentage88.95952 Table3showsthesituationofthestudents'self-planning, self-controlandself-management.Morethanhalfofthe studentsonlyspendlessthan3houIlearningEnglishintheir sparetimewiththereasonthattheyusuallyhavemorethan 40lessonseveryweekandtheyhavenointerestinEnglish. Onthelearningmethods.65.9%ofthestudentschooseto learnEnglishusingtextbooks.Ontheonehand,itsuggeststhe textbooksaredifficultforthemwithtoomanynew vocabularies.Ontheotherhand,italsosuggeststheydon't knoworliketousesomeothermodernlearningmethods. 88.9%ofthestudentschoosetolearnbythemselves.witha fewofthemchoosingtolearnEnglishcooperatively.theyhave verylittleknowledgeintheuseofmetacognitivestrategyand autonomouslearning. 4Discussionandreflection Themostsatisfyingaspectofthepresentstudyisthatthe students'problemsinsecondlanguageacquisition,especially theproblemsintheuseofmetacognitivestrategiesand autonomouslearningareexposedandanalyzed. QuiteafewstudentshaveonlygraspedlittleEnglish knowledgewhentheystepintotheuniversity(SeeTable1), theyarenotreadyactuallyforhighereducationinEnglish. Whattheyneed,infact,istomakeupthebasichighschool Englishskillsatthebeginningofthefirstacademicyear.But unfortunately,nospecialattentionhasbeenpaidbythe teachersandthestudentsthemselves. Thedisparityofstudentsbetweenqualifiedandunqualified isnotclearlyreflectedintheEnglishteachingmodeinour university.Someso—calledpoorstudentshavenochanceto makeup,catchup.Theteachersshouldtakethestudents' learningexperiencesintofullconsideration. Thestudentsusuallyhavenoenoughawarenessand abilitytomakeandadjusttheirlearninggoals,plans,methods andmannersbecauseoftheignoranceofmetacognitive knowledge.Theyarenotpreparedtobeautonomoussecond languagelearnerswhileenteringintotheuniversitybecause theyhadbeendependingontheirteachersverymuchin middleschoo1. VictoriandLockhart(1995)think,studentsusuallygivethe useofsometeachingmaterials,strategiesandteachingtasks wrongunderstanding,becauseoftheignoranceofmetaeognitive knowledgeandthelackofpsychologicalpreparation.Ittakes muchtimeforthemtofinishataskwithpooreffectiveness. AccordingtoOxford's(1990)experiment,integratingmetacognitive strategytrainingintoroutineclassroomishelpfulforlearnersto finishlearningtasks.Itisalsohelpfulforthelearnerstomake outlearninggoalsandteachingmaterials. Ourfuturestudywillfocusonhowtostrengthenthe guidanceandtrainingofmetacoguitivestrategytoimprovethe students'autonomouslearningability,withtheultimateaimto improvethestudents'secondlanguageacquisitioninour university. References: [1lCohen,A.D.StrategiesinLearningandUsingaSecond Language[J].Beijing:ForeignLanguageStudiesUniversity,2000. [2]Cook,V.SecondLanguageLearningandLanguageTeaching [J】.NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,加01. 【3]RenWenge.ASolutionandChangetoFreshmen'Foreign LanguageLearningBelieffJ】.ForeignLanguageWorld,2000.3: 23-25. [4]RuanXiaoqin.MetacognitiveStrategyandAutonomous Learning:AnEmpiricalStudyonSomeTopNon-English Majors[J1.Sino-USEnglishTeaching.2006.6:63-67. [5]ZhangYanjun.AnExperimenttoCultivateLearners' AutonomousLearning[J].ForeignLanguageWodd,2004.1:54-61. 作者简介:孙晓婷(1971年5月),女,汉族,辽宁丹东人,辽东学 院外语学院讲师,英语语言文学硕士,主要从事应用语言学研 究. f上接2页) funofanimationintheromanticlove;hewassoreadyandso pleasantwitheverybody.butmoreoftenhewasadrunkenfa— therandanirresponsiblehusband.Everymorningheclimbed intogin-pitssingingmournfulsongandineveninghecame homedrunklosinghisfemper.Hiswife,aPuritan,pursuedfor anelegantspirituallifewhileMorelwasvigorousandimmerg— ingintheearthlysensuousjoy.Sotherebeganabattlebe— tweenthem.inwhichMoreltriedhisbesttoprotecthisself- esteem.,butfinallyhehadtogiveuphispositioninhisfamily forpeace.ThechildrenespeciaflyPaulwerealongwiththeir motherandagainsttheirfatherandevendidn'twanttoadmit hewastheirfather.Thefatherbecameanoutsiderofthis family.Thusthiscollier'stragedyattributesindirectlytohis son'sOedipuscomplex. ItisMr.Morel'scoarsenessandirresponsibilitythatcans— esunhappymarriageandhisson'SOedipuscomplex,while throughhismisfortunewecanseeclearlywhattherootofthis miseryis.Itistheindustrialcivilization.whichdeprives Morel'snaturalinstincts.Lawrencebelievesthatitisthe primeevilofindustrialrevolutionthatrestrainsanddeforms man'snaturalinstincts.Industrializationslayshumannature leadingpeople'smoralityandspirittoalowerstate.AndMr. Morelissuchatypicalinthelowestclass.Hewasdeprived ofacceptingeducationandworkedindarkpits.Hisvigorand enthusiasmwerekilledbyinhumanehardworkandheavy familyburden.Thushisspirituallifewaspale,whichisquite oppositetohiswife.Thiscausesconflictbetweenthehusband andwife.whichfinallyresultsintheirson'sOedipuscomplex. Sotherootofthisseriousmiseryiscapitalismaswellasin— dustrialization. References: 【1]D.H,Lawrence.SonsandLovers【M】.NewYork:Penguin Books,1979:75,262,262. 【2]SigmundFreud.InterpretationofDreams【M】.Beijing:Writ— er'sAssociation.1986:26. 作者简介:边虹霞(1980-),女,辽宁鞍山人,渤海大学外国语学 院助教,硕士,研究方向:英美文学. 一 6一