The influence of lady chatterley’s sexual experienceon the development of her view about sexual needs in D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover

Oleh :
Anjar Dwi Astuti - C0397001 - Fak. Sastra dan Seni Rupa

ABSTRACT This thesis discusses the influence of Lady Chatterley’s sexual experience on the development on her view about sexual needs in D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover. The problem statement is what is the influence of Lady Chatterley’s sexual experience on the development on her view about sexual needs? This research is a library research with descriptive qualitative method. The data are divided into two kinds, the primary and secondary data. The main data of this research is taken from Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence, published in 1957 by Groove Press Inc. NY. It included the words, dialogue, phrases, sentences occurring in the novel related to the subject matter. Meanwhile the secondary data were taken from articles, essay, author’s biography and internet that had connection to the subject matter. The purpose of this research is to find out the influence of Lady Chatterley’s sexual experience on the development of her view about sexual needs. In order to achieve the purpose of this research, this research employed psychological approach, especially woman psychology and sex, supported by structural approach. Analysis on the data shows that Lady Chatterley has experienced a complex psychological phenomenon inside her as a result of other characters’ influences, especially Michaelis, Clifford Chatterley and Oliver Mellors. She is involved into a complex conflict soon after she realizes her father’s warning that there is a danger in living an intellectual life and devoid of sensuality. Based on joys of sex, the way she gets sexual satisfaction develops from sexual excitement to sexual desire and finally, sex in love that connected with her maturity as a woman. Her mad restlessness and depression occur because of her sexual unfulfillement and her immaturity. The conclusion that can be drawn from the analysis is that her sexual experience causes her to regard sex, firstly, as the solution to avoid a danger in living intellectual life—her sexual experience with Clifford and Michaelis—then develops into a need—her sexual experience with Mellors—because sexual activity is not just physical but it has symbolic consequences, and along with the development of her view about sexual needs, her maturity also improves. Through her struggle, she knows what she should do to get happiness and she believes that she can bring it into reality with Mellors beside her and the support from her father and her sister.