D.H.Lawrence and his Sons and Lovers

Sons and Lovers was regarded as his autobiography, actually, I strongly agree with this view. I’d like to compare the novel with Lawrence in the following three aspects: family background, the shackle of class and Oedipus complex.

First is the background. As to D.H.Lawrence, he was born in a family which his father was a miner who hardly received any education, instead of his mother with well education and her personal ideal of the politics or philosophy. Compared with Sons and Lovers, the hero’s family is similar with Lawrence’s-----vulgar father, well-educated mother. The father who works as a miner, nothing like to do but drinking, his words usually can be rude no matter what to his wife or his children; the mother, a well educated lady, fell in love with Mr. Morels accidently, but the reality finally defeated her romance, the humble and mediocre life struck her dream of being honorable. All in all, these situations are reflection of Lawrence’s life, not only the characteristics of parents but also the surroundings, like working in the mine, living a strapped life and so on.

Secondly, to a certain degree, I’d like to compare Lawrence as a combination of both William and Paul (the eldest son and younger son in the novel). As William, he was a man who grew in such family and had a strong will to break the shackles of his class. William was gifted, he was successful in both his academy work and interpersonal relationship, and he escaped from his lamentable family to London. The mentality of William just like Lawrence’s that a canary in the cage who tried to get away to the broad sky. So in this aspect, I think Lawrence purred his feel to this character subconsciously: the disgust of his father, admiration of his mother, struggle to free himself from the mournful family. All these characteristics are based on author himself experience. Of course, these stuffs also connected with the society at that time, which class you came from can be the first to affect who you were or how you were, in order to change your social status, the most important was to change the class you belonged to. All these ideology created both Lawrence and his William.

Last but not the least I want to point out is Oedipus complex which showing explicitly in the novel, peculiarly on Paul, the younger son who faced the difficulty when his love countered to Miss Miriam, the deeply love towards his mother----Mrs. Morel, which was clanged his tightly. He can find his true love until one he emancipated himself from his mother’s love. Paul would be entangled with dilemma every time when he stayed with Miriam; he could not love her from heart as his will and another hand, he can’t abandon his love to his mother. As a generally thought, Mrs. Morel was regarded as Lawrence’s mother----Lydia, Miss Miriam was recognized as Lawrence’s first girlfriend----Jessie. In this point, Lawrence endowed his Oedipus complex on his Paul, in the novel, the agonized and miserable love was showed incisively and vividly.

From all above, we can see distinctly, the novel----- Sons and Lovers is an autobiography of Lawrence himself, not only on the background of the society, family, but also the personality of the leading character. From the novel, we can have a glimpse of Lawrence’s private life; a talent suffered from his anguished and miserable love, and shackle of class.

 

第二篇：儿子与情人 英文简介

在二十世纪的英国文学中，现代著名小说家戴维赫伯特劳伦斯可以说是最富创见、争议最多的作家之一。他在世时，曾因一再触犯当局而多次受到官方迫害，作品几度遭禁。他敢于打破十九世纪前辈作家的传统创作方法，以其独特的风格，抒情的笔调，细致的心理刻画，书写原始的美和自然的美，企图表现人类本能的力量。他认为工业化的西方文明过度强调人们的才智，剥夺了人们自然地、肉体的本能，使人们丧失了人性。他相信西方文明正处于没落阶段，并反对一切私有财产观念，这就直接违背了西方多少年来的传统文化和习惯势力。无怪乎他除了受到了官方的迫害之外，还遭到评论家的抨击和谩骂，目为异端邪说，甚至在他死后几十年中，还受到种种非难和歪曲。不过，近年来，他受到越来越多的人重视，被推崇为二十世纪英国文学最重要的代表作家之一。

劳伦斯1885年9月十一日出生于英国诺丁汉郡附近的伊斯特伍德村，父亲是个煤炭工人，母亲出身清教徒家庭，受过相当教育。由于矿区生活艰苦，家庭经济拮据，父亲经常酗酒，母亲满腹辛酸，所以劳伦斯的童年生活并不美满，幸亏母亲对他偏爱，才算有个安慰。19xx年12月，他母亲故世，这对他是一大打击，也是一大解放。他决心开始新的生活。他结识了欧内斯特维克李教授的夫人，比他大六岁的弗利达，两人一见钟情，不到几个星期便一同出走到欧洲大陆。19xx年6月他们回到英国，七月正式结婚。不久，第一次世界大战爆发，劳伦斯公开谴责战争，因而受到当局监视。19xx年九月，他出版的《虹》里揭露了国内的黑暗，触犯了当局的战时“利益”，于是此书遭到禁售、销毁的厄运。劳伦斯受此打击，几乎一蹶不振。此后他曾与弗利达浪迹天涯，到处寻觅逃避现实的绿洲，但终未找到。19xx年3月2日，他因患肺病而溘然长逝。

劳伦斯虽然只活了短短四五十年，但他给后人留下了一大笔文学遗产。除了作诗、绘画、翻译、写作游记和剧作外，他的主要精力都放在小说创作上，一共写了六十多篇短文小说，七篇中篇小说和十部长篇小说。其中《儿子与情人》是他的成名作。

通常人们把《儿子与情人》看做是一部带有自传性质的长篇小说，因为故事内容取材于劳伦斯的早年生活。本书贯穿了劳伦斯三点主要思想：一是哀叹和抗议由于工业发展造成自然环境的污染；而是对社会地位的强烈自卑感，决心挣脱所属阶级的枷锁；三是因为不能正确对待婚姻与性生活的矛盾而感到苦闷。

虚构的贝斯伍德矿区位于德比郡和诺丁汉郡边界，自从十九世纪工业发展到资本家对工人大规模剥削以来，这个小矿村的矿工越来越多，因而建造了许多居民区，虽然房屋构造结实，还有小院子，但是后院却杂乱无章，垃圾成堆。对莫雷尔太太来说，生活在这里就是“同贫困、丑恶和卑鄙做斗争”。这种非人的生活迫使长子威廉到伦敦谋生企图出人头地。次子保罗十四岁就不得不到处求职，深深感到自己是“工业社会制度的囚徒”工厂厂房就像阴暗的矿井，而这个矿井正是他千方百计想逃离的生活陷坑。保罗所以有这种感觉，正是由于社会地位而产生的自卑感。父亲瓦尔特莫雷卡十岁时就做生意下井挖煤，被剥夺了受教育的权利，说话满口俚语，语句不通。他乐天知命，只图温饱，不认识自己受剥削压迫，但求几个儿子继承他当矿工。母亲出身中产阶级，当过教师，知书达理，说一口标准英语。当初莫雷尔追求她时，她并未考虑到一旦下嫁矿工，就会失去中产阶级的一切享受，在社会、经济各方面都会受苦。当她终于认识到自己无法改变被剥削、被歧视的命运时，她才把希望寄托到儿子身上，一心指望他们能免蹈覆辙。威廉果然不负母望，初出茅庐就和贝斯伍德头面人物往来，后来干脆远走高飞，到伦敦就职，跻身上流社会，最后结识了一个冒充贵族小姐的姑娘，为了拼命攒钱巴结情人，过度工作劳累，终于病死。不久保罗得了肺炎，卧床七周，母亲日夜伺候，这才逐步把爱威廉之心转移到保罗身上，重新鼓起勇气活下去。然而这种畸形的母爱却在不知不觉重伤害了保罗，使他陷入了更深的苦闷中。

小说的后半部分环绕着保罗、他的母亲、艾米丽和克莱啦这四个主要人物的矛盾冲突发展。保罗这个生性腼腆、不合群的少年无意中认识了莱夫斯一家，居然同他们相处融洽、经

常去做客聊天，和她家男孩子在田间一起劳动，并教他家女儿米莲学法语。米莲生性羞怯，从母亲那儿受到宗教影响，又沉迷于传奇小说，一心向往纯洁的精神恋爱。她认为爱情是上帝的赐予，如果委身于保罗那就是做出重大牺牲，所以对他若即若离。保罗无法对付她这种暧昧态度，他不知道自己要的是肉体的满足，弄得终日苦闷不堪，而她却对性爱十分厌恶，甚至拒绝他的求婚，使他对他非常痛恨，但依然对她忠诚。她知道他拼命想摆脱她而摆脱不了，始终等着他向她屈服。不久，保罗迷上了有妇之夫克莱啦，并和她发生了不正当关系，尽管克莱啦成熟的性爱满足了他肉体上的要求，却没有得到他的心。至于保罗和他母亲的关系，更是错中复杂。他曾对克莱啦说，他一旦发了财，就要在伦敦郊区买栋漂亮的住宅，侍奉老母。他还告诉母亲，只要她在世一天，他就绝不会找到真正适宜做他妻子的女人。后来他母亲病重，他起初上能悉心照料，可是日子一久，他就越来越不耐烦，而且也不忍心看到母亲弥留期间与日俱增的病痛，遂与姐姐在牛奶参上过量的吗啡，促使母亲死亡。

小说将近结尾时，巴克斯特道斯因妻子与保罗私通，一怒之下打了保罗。但保罗仁仍内疚不已，在道斯贫病交加住院期间多次前往探望，要求对方原谅，并把克莱啦还给了丈夫。保罗在母亲死后虽然得到了自由，但颇有茫然若失之感，甚至产生了轻生的念头。米莲想通过和他结婚来挽救他，却被他一口回绝。至此，保罗由恋母而弑母，由依赖爱人和情妇到逐个摆脱，终于完成了一个男人阳刚型的性的成熟。劳伦斯的小说一贯有不了了知的特征，本书也不例外。有人认为这种没有结尾的故事引人入胜，耐人寻味。也有人说不合情理。但劳伦斯毕竟是诚实的作家，他并没有为读者加上令人欣慰的结局。莫雷尔一家的痛苦同当时所处的工业社会环境不误密切关系，他们的生活是社会底层的一个缩影。可以说本书也是劳伦斯对当时社会的批判。

本书在写作技巧方面的一个明显的特点是作者对自然景色，尤其是对花鸟的描写特别集中，而且经常出现。这是因为作者把自然景色的描写看成叙述人与自然关系的重要方法，所以不厌其详，不惮其烦。仔细阅读的话，我们可以看到书中有些片段是写的比较成功的，堪称情景交融，对刻画人物心理起到烘云托月的作用。书中这类描写比比皆是，不胜枚举，有的如恬静的田园诗，有的如素朴的风景画，读来回味无穷。

尽管如此，本书也不是尽善尽美的艺术精品，有些人物性格的刻画首尾不一，矿工瓦尔腾麽雷尔的心理变化就不能令人信服。小说结构也不平衡，这是因为劳伦斯写作时并不遵循十九世纪伟大前辈那种合情合理的方式，而是另辟蹊径，所以小说情节脉络不清，场景不匀。故事平铺直叙，没有高潮，虽然有些头绪，但重复太多，文字也不够精炼。然而，瑕不掩瑜，本书无论在思想上还是在艺术上都不失为英国现代小说中一部重要著作，在19xx年出版时，英美还没有一个作家的作品能与之匹敌。