Paul’s Pursuit Of Self:Interpretation Of Sons And Lovers From Lacan’s "the Mirror Stage Theory"

As a novelist, story writer, poet, translator, and dramatist, David Herbert Lawrence is one of the most significant but controversial English writers. Sons and Lovers, one of the considerably crucial and influential novels in the twentieth century, is deemed as one of his masterpieces and also a semi-autobiographical story of his. Instead of focusing on radical techniques of prose like other writers such as Virginia Woolf and James Joyce in the early nineteenth century, Lawrence creates the innovative novel which traces the psychological development of Paul Morel, the young hero in Sons and Lovers.This thesis tries to use Lacan’s Mirror Stage Theory to identify Paul’s pursuit of self in order to discover the root of his torture-the split between the soul and the body because of pursuing the so-called "perfect image" in the mind of his mother.Chapter One starts with the literature review of the novel from different perspectives at home and abroad, such as Marxism, Feminism, Psychoanalysis which mainly depends on Freud’s theory (Oedipus Complex) and so on. Then, Lacan’s Mirror Stage Theory is mainly introduced.Chapter Two proposes the important conception-"other" in terms of Lacan’s theory, especially his Mirror Stage Theory. Mrs. Morel, as the most crucial "other" for Paul, played a significant role when he was a little boy and since then in Paul’s mind his self had already been "formed". That is to do whatever his mother favored. Just like the baby in pre-mirror stage, Paul failed to distinguish himself from his mother.Chapter Three mainly talks about the influence from Miriam and Clara, also as "other", to Paul. After encountering them, Paul gradually began to form his own opinion unconsciously that was a bit difference with his mother’s but he still insisted on pursuing his self formed in the former period, which makes him suffer a lot. Here, Paul’s situation resembles that of the child in the mirror stage very much who can tell the difference between himself and his mother. Chapter Four refers to the failure of Paul’s self-pursuit. Due to the intervention of "the father"-his real desire and the death of his mother, it is impossible for Paul to find the ideal self according to his mother’s desire. Therefore, Paul became even more agony.The last section is the conclusion of the thesis. It aims to further point out that during the process of people seeking approval in the eyes of others, it is also more important to follow one’s own desires and gain the approval of one’s own ’I’ or ’self’.