Another Inner Shackles

In D. H. Lawrence's novel Sons and Lovers, the protagonist-Paul Morel's Oedipus complex has been expounded comprehensively and profoundly by literary critics. This thesis attempts to adopt psychoanalysis to expound Paul's narcissism which is covered up by his Oedipus complex with Otto. Kernberg's theory on narcissism; to probe the origin of Paul's narcissistic injury by observing his abnormal symbiotic relationship with his mother in whom he has implicit faith and ignores or even despises his father in order to obtain his mother's lasting love and concern from his early childhood; to analyze that women are regarded as his stepping stone for self-fulfillment by examining his relationship with his mother and his two lovers. When they become completely useless, he cold-bloodily discarded them without any hesitation and walks towards a vast new world. His sentimental attachment undoubtedly is always self-centered, which finally proves that he is a typical narcissist. The thesis penetrates Paul's inner world from an angle based on narcissistic theory, which provides a new insight into this literary figure and another perspective for understanding the novel.