Humanistic Psychoanalysis Study Of Major Characters In Sons And Lovers

David Herbert Lawrence is generally regarded as one of the twentieth century's most significant and most original novelists. D. H. Lawrence focused his exploration on the relationships of human beings. In Sons and Lovers, Lawrence not only introduced psychology into his characterization but also focused his exploration on relationships between men and women.Karen Horney is a humanistic psychoanalyst, a psychoanalytic pioneer who freed herself and many others from the confines of a rigid, biologically oriented orthodoxy. Karen Horney is chiefly concerned with human relationships. Carl Rogers is the founder of "client-centered" therapy, a well-known humanistic psychoanalyst. Carl Roger's motivation theory supplements Horney's theory of motivation. Combining the theories of Horney and Rogers gives us a more comprehensive account of health and neurosis than either provides by itself.This paper tries to apply Horneyan mature theory combined with Rogers's motivation theory to analyze the three major Characters in Sons and Lovers—Mr. Morel, Mrs. Morel and Paul. Mrs. Morel develops perfectionistic defensive strategy in her childhood, which determines her offering "conditional positive regard" to Mr. Morel. In defense of the pain of being deprived love and acceptance of significant people in his life, Mr. Morel begins to estrange from his real self and becomes a predominantly aggressive type. With a overbearing father and long-suffering mother, Paul develops compliant defensive strategy and a morbid dependent relationship with his mother, which ruins his romantic relationship with Miriam and Clara.