The Double Tragedies Of Women In Sons And Lovers By D.H. Lawrence

D. H. Lawrence (David Herbert Lawrence) is the most unique and most controversial British writer in 20th century, known as "one of the greatest men in English Literature". He created a large number of excellent works that deeply explore family, marriage, and sex.Sons and Lovers is an early masterpiece of Lawrence. Because of the substantial use of psychoanalysis, it is also a masterpiece of psychological realism. The majority of scholars at home and abroad consider it as a best interpretation of "Oedipus Complex". Researches focus on "Oedipus Complex", opposition between men and women, soul and body, or the evils of industrialism. With the development of modern literary theory, researchers have been aware that the rich connotation of Sons and Lovers cannot be summed up just by the term of "Oedipus Complex".In this thesis, avoiding those conventional interpretations, the author reads the novel from a feminist perspective to analyze the main images of women, their life history, mental status, as well as their awakening and concession, and tries to explain the double tragedies of them. The first tragedy is the miserable life of women under patriarchal suppression, In a patriarchal society, women are economically dependent on others, and have low status in the family and society. Paternalism has brought untold suffering and bondage to women. They only serve as housewife and mother. They have to endure the pain of unhappy marriages, having no freedom to pursue their own happiness. Their thought is controlled by patriarchal ideology and religion. They live unconsciously and even lose themselves. Although the three female characters have some "new women" characteristics, such as independence and bravery, and they have a growing desire and action to change the unfortunate life, they compromise and give up in the end. They continue to pin their hopes on the men who caused their pain, never breaking through the barriers of patriarchy. They are at best "towards awakening". They are deeply hurt again, which constitutes the second tragedy of women. One reason for their tragedy is the patriarchal repression, and the second reason is women's own limitations. In the confrontation with the patriarchal ideology, women must liberate themselves first, and be self-reliant in order to get rid of the tragic fate of self-lose—awakening and resistance—compromise and concession.This thesis is divided into six parts, with four chapters coming between the introduction and the conclusion. The first part is an introduction of Lawrence and his Sons and Lovers, and the significance of the study.The second part is a literature review of Sons and Lovers, and feminism as well as the major concerns of feminist criticism.The third part describes the life of the three women in a patriarchal society. They each have their own misfortune. Especially in the marriage, they suffer great pain, which is their first tragedy. The basic reason of this tragedy is the patriarchal repression.The fourth part describes that the three women are coming to self-consciousness and resistance against the patriarchal repression. They begin to have "new women" features, and there is desire and action to pursue their own happiness.Part five discusses the second layer of the women's tragedy. Due to the women's own limitations, they fail to be truly awakened. They compromise and rely on men to be happy, but the result is only another hurt, which constitutes the second tragedy of them.Part six is the conclusion of this study. This thesis thinks that in the patriarchal society, women's fate is tragic. The root causes of the tragedy on one hand derive from the patriarchal repression, and on the other from women's own weakness, compromise and other limitations. If women are to recover from the tragic fate, they must be self-dependent and overcome their own limitations in the unremitting struggle against the patriarchy.