D.H.Lawrence's Ideas On Love Reflected In Sons And Lovers

David Herbert Lawrence (1885-1930) is a Britain writer in the early 20th century. However, his courage and ideas far exceeded his time. Some of his works, because of touching upon "sex"— the taboo of his time, were banned by the British government, bringing him a notorious name as an obscene writer. But he went forward in his own way. Today his works are well received by readers all over the world. What can account for such a drastic change of readers' attitude? A detailed study of his works reveals that they are not pornography. Instead, they explore ideal hetero-sexual relationship and reflect Lawrence's ideas on love — healthy and realistic ideas shared by readers nowadays.Most of his works focus on complicated hetero-sexual relationship. Lawrence holds that Western industrial revolution dries up the springs of human vitality. He advocates the principle of saving the decaying civilization through a rearrangement of personal relationships, especially a rearrangement of the relationship between men and women. In his view, perfect hetero-relationship should be built on spiritual communication, sexuality, active pursuit of love and independence, otherwise love would be fruitless. Lawrence's ideas on love are the essences of his romances, including his first famous work—Sons and Lovers, a novel revealing his ideas on love through the sprouting and failure of love between three pairs of lovers. Sons and Lovers, to a degree, is also autobiographic, and a detailed study of its theme will help us understand the author and his later novels. This thesis tries to analyze its social background, development and failure of love between three pairs of lovers in Sons and Lovers. It is hoped that this study will help our understanding of Lawrence's ideas on love and his later writings.