On The Critical Relationship Between The Subject And The Other In Sons And Lovers

Sons and lovers is regarded as one of the most representative works in the earlier writing period of D. H. Lawrence. Dozens of previous psychoanalytic researches have been mostly carried out from the perspective of the Freudian psychoanalysis to discuss the characters’ emotional issues. However, the Lacanian psychoanalytic review is always in need. With the help of Lacanian creative interpretations of the subject/o/Other, this thesis gives an account of the distorted emotions of the characters and the estrangements between them so as to reveal that the o/Other hinders the self-construction of the subject perpetually, and manipulates its desire with the devilish power. In this way, as long as the conflicts between the subject and the o/Other exist, the emotional imbalances and estrangements are inevitable destinies facing the characters in the novel.To sum up, the main characters, with Paul Morel as the prominent, are the pseudo-subjects whose self-constructions are repressed by the o/Other. The modern industrialized society is the big other that manipulates the characters’ desire unconsciously. The self-constructions of the subjects are impeded as they are enslaved by the fantasy of the small other. Meanwhile, the subjects are constrained by the overwhelming power of the big other, and then it has to yield to the unattainable desire. Consequently, the subjects fail in building the harmonious relationship with each other. This is the tragic destiny they have to face in modern industrialized society.