Id Surpasses Superego

D.H. Lawrence (1885---1930) is one of the most important English writers in the 20^th century. He discerns the corruption and decay of the western society, and penetrates the repression that the modern industrialized society forces upon the natural exhibition of human instinct. He tries to eliminate the crisis in western society by reestablishing the relation between men and women. To Lawrence, the root of the crisis in modern English society is that the instinct of human beings is badly repressed, so to resume the natural relationship between men and women is the only way to rescue the western society. This ideal penetrates nearly all of Lawrence's works, but it only finds its full expression in Lady Chatterley's Lover. In a sense, the novel is the reflection of Lawrence's personality.In fact, Lawrence is the child of his age and society, so it is inevitable for him to bear the weakness of his times and society. Under the cruel modern industrial civilization, people's instinct and desire are gravely repressed, and the severe repression results in the alienation of the relationship between human beings as well as the split of the individual personality. Even when he is still a child, he begins to taste the bitterness of the alienation of human relationship. The unhappy marriage of his parents throws a shadow on his early life, and exerts a negative influence on the development of his personality. If we analyze Lawrence's personality with Freud's"tripartite model of the mind"theory, we will find that the three parts of his personality, namely, id, ego and superego, are not in balance; more often than not, id exceeds superego.This paper analyzes Lawrence and his last novel Lady Chatterley's Lover with Freud's"tripartite model of the mind"theory, and tries to explain why Lawrence cannot relieve the western society of the crisis; moreover, the paper sets forth the way to eliminate the crisis in western world from the perspective of psychoanalysis.