Evi Baiturohmah. C0308033. A Psychoanalytical Study of Paul Morel’s Sexual Desire in D.H Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers. Undergraduate Thesis. Faculty of Cultural Sciences. Sebelas Maret University.
This research examines the sexual desire of Paul Morel, a male main character in the D.H Lawrence’s novel Sons and Lovers. This is a descriptive qualitative library research. The main data are the narrative and dialogue in the novel Sons and Lovers and the supporting data are books, journals, articles, and other academic writings.
This research aims to describe how Paul Morel’s sexual desire in the novel Sons and Lovers is constructed. It uses Freudian psychoanalysis approach to reveal the pattern of intimate relationships between Paul Morel and three most- significant women in his life: Gertrude Morel, Miriam Leviers, and Clara Dawes.
The result of the study shows that Paul sexual desire is constructed by his relationship with three women characters that posit different effect to him. Paul experiences Oedipus complex when he is a child. Later, the mother acts as the restraining force that restricts Paul from fulfilling his sexual desire with other women. Paul and Miriam’s relationship is the manifestation of the id versus the superego. There’s an endless battle between Paul’s raw desire and Miriam’s religiosity. Meanwhile Paul and Clara’s relationship is the realization of the id. The intimacy between them is solely based on pleasure principle and satisfaction pursuit.
Sons and Lovers is a rich and complex novel and based on the conclusion, it is recommended for other researchers to analyze the novel from different angles such as symbols, the definition of “love”, the women power, etc. It is expected that this research will enrich the scholarship in the theme of psychology and particularly in the theme of sexuality within literary works.
Keywords: id, oedipus complex, sexual desire, superego
