David Herbert Law rence
Ⅰ．Brief Introduction to the W riter
1．Life Story
David Herbert Lawrence is an English novelist，storywriter，critic and poetof the 20th century，and perhaps the greatestnovelist from a working-class family．Lawrence was born in Eastwood，which is at a mining village in Nottinghamshire，central England．His father was a coal-miner with little education，who was a heavy drinker．His mother，once a school teacher，was from a middle class family，greatly superior in education to her husband．The differences in Lawrence's parents backgrounds often led to family conflict．His father preferred to spend his wages on drinking to deaden the pain of working long hours underground，whilst his motherwasmore concerned with the children's upbringing，welfare，and education．The mother thought she had married beneath her own class and desired to raise the cultural level of her sons so as to help them escape from the life of the coalminers．
The conflict between his parents resulted in Lawrence hating his father，possibly blaming him for the poverty and violence．He once wrote in a letter to the poet Rachel Annand Taylor，“I was born hatingmy father，as early as ever I can remember，Ishivered with horror when he touched me．”Lawrence's dislike of his father，also probably extended to the mining community in which he grew up，and perhaps to the Eastwood community itself．
His childhood was dominated by poverty and friction between his parents．Lawrence received early education at Greasley Beauvale Board School，near Eastwood．Later，after winning a scholarship in 1898，he attended Nottingham High School，which was the best school in his hometown．At school he showed his talent in painting．After High School，heworked as a pupil teacher for a few years and later he continued his study at Nottingham University．When he finished his study there，Lawrence found a job as a regular teacher at22．While teaching，he began writing novels and poems．His first novel The White Peacock was published in 1911，which launched Lawrence into a writing career．After hismother's death，he became seriously ill and gave up teaching．His Sons and Lovers，based on the life of his childhood，waswritten in this period．
In 1912 Lawrence went to see his former French teacher，ProfessorWeekley at Nottingham University，in the hope of getting a job as an English lecturer in German University．At Weekley's house Lawrence met Frieda，the Professor's wife，mother of three children．They two fell in love with each other and the lady left her husband and three children to be with Lawrence，and they travelled to Austria，Germany and Italy，before returning back to England．They gotmarried in 1914 after Frieda had been divorced．During the FirstWorld War Lawrence and his German wife were suspected as spies and watched by policemen，unable to obtain passports and were targets of constant harassment from the authorities．Thesewere very troubled time for the couple，Lawrence's novel，The Rainbow，was banned for its description of sex，with over 1000 copies of the book being destroyed on the street．This caused great financial hardship to Lawrence，and damaged his chances of getting further novels published in England．
After the FirstWorld War Lawrence left England．He lived in various countries around the world since then，including France，Switzerland，Italy，Austria，Australia，and New Mexico in the USA．During all these years ofwandering about，Lawrence kept on writing，suffering a lot and with enormous power of creation．He died of tuberculosis in France at44．
Lawrence was a prolific writer．He produced a large number of poems，stories，travel books，critical essays and several novels．His literary output also includesmany letters to his friends，which lively reveal his character．
2．Literary Career
Aswhat is shown above，Lawrence began his novel writing in his early twenties．His first novel TheWhite Peacock was a remarkable work of a talented youngman．His second novel is The Trespasser，published in the following year，in which Lawrence recreated the parallels between the changingmood of the scenes and those of the characters．Sons and Lovers，can be regarded as his first important novel．After the publication of it in 1913，Lawrencewas recog-nized as a prominent novelist．The beautiful countryside surrounding Eastwood，combined with themining industry，was the inspiration for his early novels，including TheWhite Peacock and Sons and Lovers．By reading his novels，the reader is struck by the vivid description of nature，of the rambling landscapes and of the atmosphere of the hills and dales of his native Nottingham．Lawrence's important novel，The Rainbow published in 1915，was about two sisters growing up in the north of England．Women in Love，published in 1920 is a sequel to The Rainbow．The two novels have been regarded as hismasterpieces．
The Rainbow tells about 3 generations of the Brangwans，a Nottingham family of farmers，especially about the relationship between men and women in marriage．In the novel，the Brangwans have four generations lived on their own land and concentrated their minds on their farming work．Tom of the family，the first of the main charactersmarries Lydia，a Polish doctor'swidow，who has a small daughter Anna．The marriage is happy in the main．When Anna grows up，she falls in love with her stepfather's nephew，Will，a lace-designer and awood-carverwith a strong artistic imagination．Themarriage between the two ismuch less happy．After a happy honeymoon，Anna begins to find Will's habit of being too fond of hiswife．MoreoverWill is such a loyal Christian that he becomes choirmaster and restores carving．Anna is jealous of this religious and creative spirit of his and succeeds in destroying it．But in doing so，she turns him from an original artist into a mere craftsman．Their union degenerates into that of bed-fellows at night in-stead of intimate companions in daylight．Meanwhile，Anna becomeswholly absorbed in bringing up her 6 children．Ursula，their eldest daughter，grows up into amodern woman，whowants to have her independence．But her love affair with Anton，a young army engineer and a descendant of another Polish exile，ends in frustration．Her lover deserts her and she loses her degree at college．After a serious illness，she sits by her window，watching a rainbow，which is a symbol of“the rounded perfection of relationship between men and women”．
In this novel Lawrence focuses his exploration on relationships between men and women，especially those ofmarriage by analyzing psychological development of the major characters with the attempt to crack the shell of circumstance and probe nearer the essential source．Thus he illustrates a terrible social corruption that accompanies the progress of human civilization．According to him，themechanical civilization is responsible for the unhealthy development of human personalities，the perversion of love and the failure of human fulfillment in material relationships．By reading vivid description of the emotional conflicts and psychological tensions of the characters，readers could feel the threatening shadows of the disintegration and destructiveness of the whole civilized world．As a matter of fact，Lawrencemakes his first try to combine social criticism with psychological exploration in this novel writing．
Women in Love continues the story of The Rainbow，which is about the two sisters Ursula and Gudrun．Ursula becomes now a teacher at a grammar school，and Gudrun is an artist trained in London．Ursula's love affaire with Rupert Birkin，a young school inspector，ends happily in marriage after some conflicts．But the close relation between Gudrun，who is passionate and impulsive，and Gerald Crich，a rich，ruthless and handsomemine-owner，who ismore fitted to running a business efficiently than to opening himself to another in love，ends in tragedy．The ideal relationship between love andmarriage advocated by Lawrence in this novel should be a pure balance of two single being．The novel is rich in its symbolic meanings．Gerald Crichmakes themachine his god and establishes the inhuman mechanical system in hismining kingdom，who is the symbolic figure of spiritual death and represents thewhole set of bourgeois ethics．Whereas Birkin，a self-portrait of Lawrence，who fights against the cramping pressures ofmechanized industrialism and the domination of any kind of dead formulas，is presented as a symbolic figure of human warmth，standing for the spontaneous Life Force．The individual consciousness is subtly revealed and the strands of themes are intricatelywound up，whichmakes the novel a remarkable one．
Lady Chatterley's Lover，written while he was in Florence，Italy，is his last novel．It tells of the love affair between Lady Chatterley，a wealthy，married woman，and a man who works on her husband's estate．Sir Clifford Chatterley，an aristocratic industrialist who owns coalpits and a large family estate，is paralysed from the waist down by a war wound，and is estranged from his wife Constance，who has a brief and unsatisfactory affair with Michaelis，an Irish playwright．Then she is drawn into association with Oliver Mellors，her husband's gamekeeper，and their contact develops into love．Though Sir Clifford Chatterley has agreed to hiswife having a child by anotherman，he refuses to divorce her because he thinks that the gamekeeper is socially inferior for her tomarry．Constance and Mellor decide to go away together．The paralysis of Sir Clifford Chatterley is a symbol of the moribund power that has ruled the country and defiled the landscape，whereas the gamekeeper，Mellors，seems to incorporate all the qualities the author admires—robust，independence，creative intelligence and the ability for growth and change．By presenting an old romantic story about a dissatisfied aristocratic lady who deserts her half-man，half-machine husband to find love with a man of nature，Lawrence not only condemns the civilized world ofmechanism that distorts all natural relationships betweenmen and women，butalso advocates a return to nature．
The book was banned for a time in both UK and the US．His frank discussion of sex in this novel is the chief reason why it was banned and why he had been accused of pornographic writing．The full text of Lady Chatterley's Lover was published in England in 1960，thirty years after Lawrence's death．It was this novel that made Lawrence a household name after death，all around the world．
3．Theme of His Novels
3.1 Strong Reaction against the Mechanical Civilization
As a working-class boy，from his early time，Lawrence was sensitive to the deadness of bourgeois civilization that caused the distortion of personality，and the corruption of the will．According to him，under the mechanical civilization extraordinary glories in science and thoughtmight be achieved，and the societymight attain kind of prosperity，but human beings would be turned into lifeless matter，which would destroy both man and earth．So Lawrence waged a strong criticism against a civilization as such，which had been turning bad，mechanical and repressive．It is this concern about the dehumanizing effect ofmechanical civilization on the sensual tenderness of human nature that Lawrence wrote about all through his life．
3.2 Psychological Experience
Lawrence was one of the first novelists to introduce theme of psychology into hisworks．He believed that the healthy way of the individual's psychological development lay in the sexual impulse．Human sexuality was a symbol of Life Force．Repression of the sexual impulse would cause severe damages to the harmony of human relationships and the psychic health of the individual's personality．According to Lawrence's ideas of individual psyche，the disease of modern life caused damages to the healthy development of the individual psyche．Consequently the“social ego”would be stirred up to replace the primacy of the“active unconsciousness”in the human mind，thus turning the individual being into a kind ofmachine with a twisted desire to possess other persons．By presenting the psychological experience of individual human life and human relationships，Lawrence has opened up a wide territory to his novel writing．
3.3 Return to Nature
When he was young，he had been aware that the ancientwood in his hometown was steadily shrinking and that the beautiful landscape was destroyed by the dirtymines．Lawrence cherished a passionate love for the beauty of the natural world．The unnatual circumstances and themarch of civilization，which corrupted the natural unspoiled place，would inevitably suppress people's natural instincts，make people become artificial and mechanic-controlled and make people become unhappy being．In order to revive the natural instincts ofmen and women，Lawrence strongly advocated a return to nature，to a primitive way of living．
3.4 Human Relation
In all his life，he has been seeking the idealisthuman relationship between man and woman．To him，balance was the guiding principle in the relationship betweenman and woman，husband and wife for it would keep inner，individual self intact．He also cherished the ideal of forming a community where everybody would enjoy true love and freedom，free from social classes，from burdensome families，or from ideas of racial and religious superiority．Without a sense of community with one another，the individual would be a less complete being．Thus in his novels，Lawrence expressed the point that each human being was at once separated and yet a part of the whole，independent yet interdependent，a lone individual yeta social being．He then further pointed out the center of man's experiencemust be a perfect union with a woman in an ultimatemarriage．
4．Features of His Novels
4.1 The Combination of Social Criticism with Psychological Exploration of the Major Characters
Lawrence is a novelist who writes with a mission to diagnose the evils of society and suggest cures．In his novels he not only exposes the full hideousness of the industrial landscape，but also the wretched and meaningless life of the working people．His criticism is both profound and severe，revealing all the dead formulas that cause violence or cruelty in the society and the frustration or distortion in the life of the individual．For example，the first part of Sons and Lovers presents a brilliant realistic picture of the coal miners' life in the English Midlands．At the same time Lawrence lays his interest in the tracing of psychological developmentof his character．He was one of the first novelists to introduce theme of psychology into hisworks．
4.2 Human Relationships
In Lawrence's novel writing，he is chiefly concerned with human relationships，and with the relation of the self to other selves．He probes into various aspects of relationship—the relationship betweenman and his environment，the relationship ofman to God and to nature，the relationship between parent and child and the proper basis for themarriage relationship．In his opinion，themost important relationship is the one between man and woman．The core of his writing is to make this relationship free and healthy．He holds that the only way of saving the decaying civilization is through a rearrangement of personal relationships and a return to nature．
4.3 Frank Discussion of Sex
Lawrence advocates an absolute freedom of expression，especially sexual expression．He even calls for a complete emancipation of sex，declaring that any repression of sexual life based on social，religious，ormoral values of the civilized world would cause severe damages to the harmony of human relationships and human psychic health of the individual's personality．
Ⅱ．Brief Introduction to the Selected Literary Work
Sons and Lovers
1．Brief Summary of the Novel
The first part of the novel focuses on Mrs．Morel and her unhappy marriage to a drinking miner．Mrs．Morel，daughter of a middle class family，who is a strong-willed，intelligent and ambitious woman，falls in love with a warm，vigorous and sensuous coal miner ata Christmas party andmarries beneath her own class．After an initial stage of happiness in theirmarriage，the class difference between them starts to estrange them from each other．
Mrs．Morel has many arguments with her husband，some of which have painful results:on separate occasions，she is locked out of the house and hit in the head with a drawer．Estranged from her husband，Mrs．Morel takes comfort in her four children，especially her sons．At the very beginning，her oldest son，William，is her favorite，and when he takes a job in London and moves away from the family she is very upset．After the death ofWilliam，Paul becomes the focus of her life，and the two seem to live for each other．
Mrs．Morel is a very highly intelligent woman with unusually strong and vivid personality．She determines that her sons never become coalminers．They will be educated to realize her ideal of success and social esteem．As a result，her children gradually come under the strong influence of their mother in affection，desire and mental habits．They all become outstanding and successful．They see their father with their mother's eyes，despising their father，which causes bad effect on the development of their personality．
When Paul grows up，he falls in love with Miriam，who lives on a farm not too far from his family．They carry on a very intimate，but purely platonic relationship for many years．Miriam is a very beautiful，religious girl．She likes reading，from whom Paul could get inspiration of writing．Mrs．Morel does not approve of Miriam．She is jealous and afraid that the soulful girl will“suck”her son up，with nothing left for her．Paul is torn between the two lovers，hismother and Miriam．
Miriam is so religious that she could not devote herself physically to Paul．That is to say she can not satisfy Paul's sexual desire．From Miriam Paul could get what he needs for hismental development，but not physical love．Later Paul decides that he does not want tomarry Miriam，because he realizes that deep down he loves hismothermost，so he breaks off with her．Through Miriam Paul meets Clara，a married woman who lives separated from her husband．With the development of the story，Paul develops his rela-tionship with this lady，from whom Paul could get physical satisfaction．However there is almost no spiritual communication between them．Gredually Paul realizes that Clara is not the ideal woman he wants．
So far as you can see，Paul depends heavily on his mother's love and help to make sense of the world around him．As long as hismother is alive，he can not develop relationship with either girl．Near the end of the novel Paul'smother falls ill and he then casts away his mistress and devotes much of his time to caring for her．When she finally dies，he is broken-hearted．There is no one to love him or help him．The novel ends with Paul's rejection of despair and he is determined to face the unknown future．
2．Analyses of the M ajor Characters Paul
Paul is the hero in the novel．He is a light，quick，slender boy，tall with a shock of reddish light-brown hair．From his childhood，he is especially sensitive，artistic，and imaginative．His mother is a highly intelligentwoman with an unusual strong and vivid personality．Themother urges him towards success and to have a strong will．He dependents heavily on hismother's love and help to make sense of the world around him．Paul is hopelessly devoted to hismother，and that love often borders on romantic desire．His distorted relationship with hismother sounds like a straight-forward description of the classic Freudian Oedipus Complex．Miriam and Clara are two girl friends of Paul's．Miriam eagerly and flatteringly encourages his talent．Clara gives him physical satisfaction he needs．Three women in the novel contribute to the development of Paul．
Besides being a son and a lover，Paul is also a very important artist．In order to become an independentman and a true artist he has tomake his own decision about his life and work，and has to struggle to become free from hismother's influence．However he is proved to be incapable of escaping the overpowering emotional bond imposed by hismother's love，so when he grows up he fails to achieve a fulfilling relationship with either Miriam or Clara．At the end of the novel，Paul takes amajor step in releasing himself from his Oedipus Complex．He intentionally overdoses his dying mother with morphia，an act that reduces her．After hismother's death，he is left alone，greatly in despair．At the end of the book，Paul rejects his despair and determines to face the unknown world．We can say without the help of the three women，Paul could not have achieved his artisticd success either so early or so fully．
In the novel Paul is a volatile，gregarious and likeable young man．He is adored by girls around him and generally achieves a social success with most young people of his own age．At the same time，Paul is a representative of Masculinism．Sometimes he treats Miriam badly．He doesn't pay attention to the feelings of both Miriam and Clara．He cruelly refuses to develop his relationship with Miriam，which hurts Miriam deeply．When he and Miriam talk about Miriam's future job as a teacher，Paul shows his prejudice againstwomen．
M rs．Morel
Mrs．Moral is daughter of amiddle-class family．She is strongwilled，intelligent，and ambitious．She has been shocked and disappointed by hermarriage to aminer，who is lower in class than her own．She is a fascinating compound of faults and virtues．On the one hand the mother is hard-working，thrift，uncomplaining and most important possessing intelligence and strength of will．She makes use of the most of the difficult situation，which makes her children proud of their home．Mostof allMrs．Moral devotes herself passionately to her children，especially her sons，seeing to it that they have every advantage she can give them，making the most of every talent with which they have，restlessly driving them onward and upward into a higher class，a better life．Themother does help her children become successful．
While on the other hand the mother's greatest virtue also involves her greatest fault．In the course of her intense and passionate devotion to them，she arouses her son's strong attachment，which is essentially unhealthy．Thus although she succeeds in making her boys succeed，she fails to establish them as self-sufficient and independent individuals．The boys depend heavily on theirmother's love and help，as a result they are incapable of escaping the overpowering emotional bond to live their own lives，to achieve a sound relationship with girls and to love their own lovers．Mrs．Moral partially creates and partially destroys her sons'talents and their hopes．
Mrs．Moral is a representative lady of her time in which women devote themselves to their children，have no economic independ-ence，have chances to receive education，take part in women organization and even work，although they are exploited by their husbands，sometimes they could still fight for their certain right as wives．So as a wife and a mother Mrs．Morel in the novel has to take care of her husband and her children，so she can'twork to support herself．Thus she has to dependenton her husband economically．Influence by Feminist Movement at that time Mrs．Moral also has chance to take part in women organization when children grow up．When she prepares herself for a lecture，which will be presented at thewomen society，she has new image in her children's eyes．
M r．Moral
Beforemarriage，Mr．Moral is a charmingman，warm，vigorous，well set-up，erect，and smart but uneducated coalminer．After hismarriage，estranged by his wife，he is gradually shown as coarse，brutish，and unrefined．He becomes an irresponsible breadwinner and a drunkard．He is easy to become angry as a result of hard work and poorworking environment．On the other hand Mr．Moral also has the good side．In the novel he is a handy man around the house，a strong and skillful workman with a jolly temper and a habit of singing cheerfully while he is doing little jobs of repairing．
With the development of the story，as Mr．Moral ages，he is separated from and rejected by the family，so he becomes very lonely and he drinks even harder and degenerates in spiritand personality gradually．Mrs．Moral's independence，pride，indifference，deprive him of hismanhood and strength．As a result，he becomes a“husk of aman”．Mrs．Moral's sinister effect upon her husband is clearly shown in the novel．
M iriam
She is one of Paul's lovers in the novel．She is a beautiful girl with black curls and the attraction of a shy，wild，quiveringly sensitive thing．Like her mother Miriam is very religious and with a strong will．She is intelligent and eager for knowledge．From her Paul could getwhat he needs for his spiritual development．Paul is flattered and fascinated by her mind and by her interest in his mind．In the novel whenever Paul has got an idea or drawn something，he wants to go to Miriam with the hope to get her opinions，which can help improve his own ideas and deepen his thought．With the development of the story，when Paul and Miriam grow up they are confronted with the issue of sex，Miriam's religious and spiritual habit preventher from being able to relax sexually and from being able to yield herself to the body's desire．The fact that Miriam's inability to relax and give herself to ordinary physical and social life turns Paul against her．Although Paul's mother plays a very important role in his decision to break off the relation with Miriam，Paulwith his giftof physical aswell asmental sees clearly that it is impossible for him to find any kind of ultimate happiness in a marriage to someone as purely spiritual as Miriam．
Like Mrs．Moral Mirialwants to possess Paul．She is eager for knowledge because this might be one way to free herself from the boring housework and limited life of the farm at that time．She wants to be a teacher because shewants to be independent and seek for equal right asman．
Clara
Clara is another girl friend of Paul．She is amarried woman，who refuses to divorce her husband but lives separately from him．She is a lady with mature beautiful，but she is very lonely．From this lady，Paul could obtain complete sexual satisfaction．With development of the story she is passionately in love with Paul，but there is no spiritual love between them．She thinks she could not understand Paul because there is something in Paul that is beyond her control．When Paul firstmeets her，he thinks she is a suffragist but at the end of the story she finally goes back to her husband，which shows Clara might not quite understand Feminism and not quite want to be a real suffragist．
3．Theme of the Novel
Sociologically the novel expresses the destruction of human nature by the industrial civilization．Lawrence portrays the inhuman working and living conditions of the coalminers and examines specifically the conflicting values of the working class and the middle class as represented in themarriage of Paul's parents．Thus，he explores the social and psychological causes that lead to the damage of family happiness and the repression of the healthy development of individual's personality．In this way he reveales the sickness of a whole civilization
Psychologically the novel is a case study of the Oedipus Complex．It dealswith a son who loves themother too dearly and hates his father too despisingly．As a result this abnormal love brings a-bout a splitting personality in Paul，which in turnmakes him unable to develop love affair with either girls．
The novel also reveals psychic conflict in human relations．The conflict between the characters in Sons and Lovers can be interpreted in the psychological terms as a conflict between“social ego”and“active unconsciousness”．Mrs．Morel wants to possess her husband，but she fails．So she pitilessly destroys his manhood，driving him into a wretched state of degradation．She then turns to her sons for comfort．To some extent her love for her sons is a form of possession．She uses them as instruments of her will and drives the eldest son to death．Her affection to Paulmakes him impossible to love any other girl apart from hismother．Her love has deprived Paul of the right to an independent life of his own．Both Miriam and Clara attempt to possess Paul as well．While Paul tries his best to keep his soul independent．He struggles to break away from the possessive ties that have been around him．
In addition，the novel shows us the psychological development of the hero．As an autobiographical novel，by tracing the growth and development of a talented hero from childhood tomaturity，the novel shows the spiritual liberation of Paul in search for identity and fulfillment as an artist．In this sense Paul in the novel is actually the self portraitof Lawrence himself．This artist-as-hero theme tends to be subordinated to the psychological theme of the book．In the novel the process of Paul'smovement toward self-fulfillment is really the process in which he struggles to free his soul from hismother and to involve himself in the artistic creation．
Lawrence discusses bondage，or servitude，in twomajorways: social and romantic．Socially，Mrs．Morel feels bound by her status as a woman and by industrialism．She complains of feeling“buried alive”，a logical lament for someonemarried to aminer，and even the children feel they are in a“tight place of anxiety”．Though she joins a women's group，she must remain a housewife for life，and thus is jealous of Miriam，who is able to utilize her intellect inmore opportunities．Ironically，Paul feels free in his job at the factory，enjoying the work and the company of the working-class women，though one gets the sense thathewould still rather be painting．Romantic bondage is given farmore emphasis in the novel．Paul(and William，to a somewhat lesser extent)feels bound to his mother，and cannot imagine ever abandoning her or even marrying anyone else．He is preoccupied with the notion of lovers“belonging”to each other，and his true desire，revealed at the end，is for awoman to claim him forcefully as her own．He feels the sacrificial Miriam fails in this regard and that Clara always belonged to Baxter Dawes．It is clear that no woman could evermatch the intensity and steadfastness of hismother's claim．
Lawrence demonstrates how contradictions emerge so easily in human nature，especially with love and hate．Paul vacillates between hatred and love for all the women in his life，including his mother at times.Often he loves and hates at the same time，especially with Miriam．Mrs．Morel，too，has some reserve of love for her husband even when she hates him，although this love dissipates over time．Lawrence also uses the opposition of the body and mind to expose the contradictory nature of desire．Frequently，characters pair up with someonewho is quite unlike them．Mrs．Morel initially likes the hearty，vigorous Morel because he is so far removed from her dainty，refined，intellectual nature．Paul's attraction to Miriam，his spiritual soulmate，is less intense than his desire for the sensual，physical Clara．The decay of the body also influences the spiritual relationships．When Mrs．Morel dies，Morel growsmore sensitive，though he still refuses to look at her body．Dawes's illness，too，removes his threat to Paul，who befriends his ailing rival．
Sons and Lovers has a great deal of description of the natural environment．Often，the weather and environment reflect the characters'emotions through the literary technique of pathetic fallacy．The description is frequently eroticized，both to indicate sexual energy and to slip pass the censors in Lawrence's repressive time．Lawrence's characters also experience moments of transcendence while alone in nature，much as the Romantics did．More frequently，characters bond deeply while in nature．Lawrence uses flowers throughout the novel to symbolize these deep connections．However，flowers are sometimes agents of division，as when Paul is repulsed by Miriam's fawning behavior towards the daffodil．
Ⅲ．Latest Critical Commentary
《儿子与情人》是劳伦斯的一部长篇自传体小说。1913年首次出版，流传极广。作品通过现实主义和心理分析的写作方法，描写了19世纪末至20世纪初英国工业社会，中下层人民的生活和特定环境下夫妻间、母子间和两性间复杂、变态的情感纠葛。书中主要描述的是保罗的情感经历，他所生活的社会，以及他的心理发展过程。小说通过社会批判和心理探索，充分、深刻地暴露了资本主义工业化社会对人的自然本性和人的价值的摧残，大胆、细腻地描述了人们之间被扭曲的、畸形的爱，生动、具体地层现了一幅幅灵与肉之间相互冲撞的画面。保罗·莫瑞尔是小说的主人公，他的母亲出身于中产阶级，下嫁给了矿工出身的沃尔特·莫瑞尔，成为莫瑞尔太太。新婚的激情稍淡之后，由于出身和文化素养不同，莫瑞尔太太开始厌恶甚至仇恨丈夫。于是她把全部的感情都投入到儿子们身上，开始是大儿子威廉，在威廉死后，保罗成为母亲的最爱。母亲对儿子们的爱使他们的感情异常纤敏，从而影响了他们与异性之间的正常关系。开始保罗逐渐屈从于母亲莫瑞尔太太的影响，后来小说给我们展示保罗处于极度矛盾痛苦之中，他感到母亲的这种爱阻碍了他自己精神上、情感上的正常成长，他尽力地想挣脱母亲的束缚，和其他女人成功地发展男女关系，但却以失败告终。最后直至母亲患病死去，保罗在经历了一段时间的哀伤、无助和巨大的痛苦之后，才得到精神上的解脱。
1989年10月，中国首届劳伦斯国际研讨会在上海召开，标志着劳伦斯研究得到中国学者的重视。近年来学者们的研究对象涵盖劳伦斯的长篇小说、短篇小说、诗歌和文艺随笔。学者们关于《儿子与情人》这部作品的研究主要从以下几个方面入手:主题研究(包括心理探索、社会批判、宗教主题等)、劳伦斯女性人物研究、性爱情爱观的研究、女性视角研究和文体风格的研究等方面。
主题研究
心理探索—俄狄浦斯恋母情结:
劳伦斯被认为是英国文学史上最伟大的心理小说家之一，许多学者都认为《儿子与情人》中保罗与莫瑞尔太太之间的畸形的母子关系是对“恋母情结”的有力揭示。小说中莫瑞尔太太在对自己的丈夫彻底失望之后，用对儿子的爱来填补由于对丈夫的失意而造成的情感空白。试图从儿子身上得到她本来应该从丈夫身上得到的爱。她与儿子两人亲密无间的交织在一起。保罗也沉浸在对母亲的情感中，与母亲共同分享生活中的忧与乐。在保罗的父亲因工伤住院期间，小说中的这种俄狄浦斯恋母情结达到了高潮，保罗竟扮演起了父亲的角色。莫瑞尔太太和保罗都成为这一情节的受害者，当莫瑞尔太太看见米利亚姆与保罗交往甚密时，对米利亚姆充满怨恨和嫉妒，生怕这个姑娘会占据保罗的整个灵魂。保罗在成人之后，感情上完全处于母亲的控制之下，对父亲充满了仇视和憎恨。学者们认为保罗对母亲的恋情使他的情感年龄大大低于他的实际年龄，他在潜意识中把所有女人都看作是母亲的化身。在母亲与米利亚姆的感情冲突中，他觉得最重要的爱是属于母亲。甚至于在母亲死后，保罗还久久沉湎于对母亲的怀恋与思念之中，可以说在这部小说中，从弗洛伊德的心理分析观点看保罗的这种情结已十分严重。(崔建立，2001)也有学者在研究中指出保罗恋母情结的产生除了有心理方面的原因之外，更有社会及经济方面的原因。在当时正是资本主义工业化的非人劳动条件和生活状况破坏了家庭幸福，扭曲了人的自然健康发展。劳伦斯用这样一个不同寻常的恋母故事展示了西方世界中带有普遍意义的社会、政治及家庭问题。(吴方，2008)对于保罗与其母的情感关系和保罗与米利亚姆之间的爱情也有学者认为这是“柏拉图式恋爱”的一种表现形式。指出米利亚姆对人的精神的沉迷，以及莫瑞尔太太在精神上对其子的束缚，均表现出精神恋爱比重最大，最富有影响力。来自莫瑞尔太太和米利亚姆的精神之爱，使保罗在精神上逐渐趋于成熟，使他的精神世界逐渐丰满充实。“精神恋爱”是理想的人类世界的一种“创造性能源”，其力量并不亚于性爱的力量。持这种观点的学者们认为劳伦斯绝不是所谓“色情”作家，人们应该注意和重视他的“纯洁”的一面。(万莉，1998)
当然也有学者认为从俄狄浦斯恋母情结的角度来阐释《儿子与情人》颇为牵强。(胡亚敏，2005)他们认为，小说中莫瑞尔夫妇的孩子对母亲有一种几乎不正常的依恋，但这与其说是孩子们在无意识中对母亲有一种近似乱伦的情欲之恋，不如说是母亲对孩子感情的急切需求和操纵。家里的所有孩子，三个儿子，还包括女儿安妮，都很憎恨父亲。如果能用俄狄浦斯情结解释小说，那么与之相对的伊莱克特拉情结也可以用来阐释小说，真若如此，安妮应该爱恋父亲，痛恨母亲。但安妮同样鄙视父亲的事实说明孩子们对父母不正常的情感，是源于莫瑞尔夫人对孩子过于强烈的呵护和莫瑞尔本人的堕落和自暴自弃。小说一开始莫瑞尔夫人对莫瑞尔先生抱有极大的期望，希望他能努力改善社会地位和经济状况。但她渐渐发现丈夫并不能实现她的梦想，这时，她只能把希望寄托在儿子们身上:先是威廉，再是保罗。事实上，是她把儿子看做丈夫的替代品。当她不能改变丈夫时，她只能努力把儿子们塑造成她心目中理想的丈夫或男人的形象，是她把儿子看作能帮她实现梦想的情人。再者学者们还认为由于父亲的所作所为，孩子们只是痛恨、鄙视他而已，他们并不嫉妒父亲与母亲的性接触。除此之外虽然莫瑞尔先生在物质和精神方面都已堕落，但他在身体上曾让莫瑞尔太太获得过巨大的满足，并仍对她有吸引力，还是让她赞叹不已。因此学者们指出《儿子与情人》是从莫瑞尔夫人的眼光来看待事物的。她认为威廉和保罗既是她的儿子，又是她的情人，是她把母子关系同时又定义为情人关系。
近年来还有部分学者指出除了俄狄浦斯情结之外，社会因素也是导致母子间的畸形关系和保罗的爱情悲剧的重要因素。在葛丽娟(1999)看来，如果从社会学的角度分析母子之间的关系，就可以看出母亲是伟大而又可怜的，尽管婚姻不幸，她却努力把孩子们抚养成人，并且教导他们有教养、懂体面，而保罗对母亲的感激和敬仰是自然的，她有责任回报对母亲的爱。学者张礼龙(2000)在文章中指出莫瑞尔太太和她的孩子们的社会经济地位也是他们悲剧的原因。莫瑞尔太太渴望中产阶级生活却被丈夫欺骗从而失去了这种机会，所以她要克服生活中的困难努力使孩子们体面。婚姻的不幸使她只能从孩子们身上得到感情安慰，不料却给他们的情感生活带来不幸。
社会批判主题:
《儿子与情人》中不和谐的夫妻关系、畸形的母子关系使儿子们都不能摆脱自己的心理病症，不能建立起自己的爱情生活。在此我们看到的是资本主义工业化和非人的劳动条件、紧张的生活状态、冷漠的人际关系，这些扭曲了人们的精神世界，破坏了家庭的和谐，摧残了人们的身心健康。人们的不幸同西方现代化工业进程有着密不可分的联系，他们的悲剧可以说是英国工业文明的悲剧。(徐晓晴，2002)邓箐(2003)在文章中也赞同社会对家庭的影响，认为20世纪初工业文明导致的社会的不平等造成家庭的悲剧，而家庭的悲剧进而导致人物性格的扭曲发展。在作品中劳伦斯否定了工业文明，认为资本主义工业化进程不仅破坏了环境，更主要的是使人的身心受到摧残，个性、相互关系遭到扭曲。(陈光明，1999)同时作者对工业社会残害人性进行控诉，对现代人的悲剧进行反思。通过倡导和谐、健康的两性关系，揭示人性在工业文明中所受到的扭曲和残害以及促使人性的回归。在劳伦斯看来性绝不是卑鄙丑恶的，对性的彻底坦诚，和对精神肉体的和谐统一的追求，是治疗社会创伤的良药，是人类回归自然的标志，这也是劳伦斯对人类社会的哲学思考。
宗教主题:
美国当代社会学家施密特认为许多世界上最伟大的杰作都有基督教的主题或根基，Prickett(1996)也认为“圣经是核心的文学形式，是一切书籍的理式，一种新的、至高无上的体式”，圣经对劳伦斯的影响也是毋庸置疑的。怀特(2000)认为，圣经可以说是劳伦斯小说创作根源的一个主要因素。劳伦斯的《儿子与情人》也不例外，学者们认为劳伦斯就是想通过莫瑞尔太太来表达一种资产阶级的意识形态，并试图证明清教伦理道德观念是人们的道德准则及精神支柱。(覃艳容，2002)该书的背景是第一次世界大战之前，英国正处在维多利亚鼎盛时期。英国在海外的殖民地继续扩大，国内生产力迅速发展，生产关系剧烈变动。在这种动荡不安的社会背景中，人们的意识形态发生了危机。于是，当时的统治集团的文化精英们认识到了向公众宣扬道德伦理观念的重要性。因而，小说便承载了这样一种前所未有的社会历史使命。其结果是，维多利亚小说的创作始终受价值观念的摆布。贯穿该作品中的价值观念其核心便是“自我扩张”，而位于这个核心中的英雄人物就是“中产阶级”。它的意义在于每个人只要通过充分发挥其个人的能力，具有道德，勤勉工作且信奉上帝，便都有可能凭借个人的力量冲破阶级界限，即下层的人们可以跻身于中产阶级。学者们认为小说中莫瑞尔太太一方面代表着资产阶级的意识形态及清教主义的道德观，另一方面，在她身上渗透着一种深刻的资产阶级个人主义价值观，表现出了资本主义自我扩张的意识形态。莫瑞尔太太与莫瑞尔先生之间的冲突，揭示了劳伦斯的资产阶级个人主义价值观，因此《儿子与情人》不仅反映了劳伦斯深刻的清教伦理观念，而且表现了资本主义工业文明时期人的自我扩张的意识形态及道德观念之间的冲突。
莫瑞尔太太，一个气质优雅、意志坚强的中产阶级女子下嫁给一个缺乏知识、胸无大志、出身下层社会的矿工，因各自的理念及人生价值的迥异，由起初的恐惧、失望、挣扎继而发展至绝望，并由此而产生的夫妻间的冲突，表现了一个具有强烈个人奋斗思想的女子通过同命运的抗争最终实现了自己的理想。她的成功是“自助者，天助之”的清教思想的成功，是个人主义价值观的具体体现，是人与人对立时一种人战胜另一种人的超越，或战胜自我后并超越自我的渺小，而达到一种崇高的境界。她把她的个人主义价值观潜移默化地传授给了她的儿子们。保罗就在莫瑞尔太太的影响下开始他作为一个探索者和奋斗者的追求行动，希望通过“知识与意志”改变自身的社会现状，进入中产阶级。母亲去世后，保罗的精神支柱垮了，他因自己此时还未完全进入中产阶级社会而感到万分孤独与不安，这是他探索途中的最黑暗的时期。他坚信必须像他母亲莫瑞尔太太那样坚持稳定的价值观念、明确的态度、坚定的信心、不能退缩、不能就此认输，他坚信他能成功。在小说的最后他必须远离黑暗，走向光明。保罗在这种追求行动中意志如此坚定说明莫瑞尔太太思想价值观念的坚定，进而表明劳伦斯信仰的坚定性。
在《儿子与情人》这部小说，不难发现其中深刻的宗教内蕴和对基督教传统的挪用。首先是全书的叙事框架。怀特(2000)指出，《儿子与情人》阐述了世代的循环，结构上与《创世记》如出一辙。有学者则把它视为“在字面上围绕宗教旋转”的小说，不仅仅是因为书中有聚焦于保罗与米利亚姆关于宗教的多次讨论，而且因为小说框架是以宗教节日设定的，小说中的许多重要事件以及家庭聚会、远足等，都安排在诸如圣诞节、复活节、降灵节这样的宗教节日里。弗莱希曼认为，该小说立足于对圣经的参照，一个显而易见的事实是:小说中的人物都浸润着基于圣经的清教传统，所以对劳伦斯而言，用圣经话语思考他们、表现他们，完全是顺理成章的事，(qtd．in Wright 2000:73)弥漫于小说中的基督教话语体现出保罗深受基督教影响和劳伦斯的宗教观念。
然而，劳伦斯在小说中并不是试图证明清教伦理道德观念是人们的道德准则及精神支柱。恰恰相反，怀特(2000)认为，《儿子与情人》讲述了一个关于宗教解放的故事。支持这一观点的学者认为这种解放实质上是与传统基督教的分道扬镳，是对于清教传统过度压抑人性的一种反抗。不过，劳伦斯的目的绝非是彻底背离基督教，去皈依其他宗教或走向无神论，他仍然要坚守基督教的一些古老价值观。(熊沐清，2007)他是在与米利亚姆交往中开始走上“解放之路”的，最初他对米利亚姆家庭宗教氛围既被吸引又厌恶的矛盾心理。如果从宗教角度审视保罗与米利亚姆之间的关系，保罗要反抗的就是压抑——尤其是性压抑，是基督教传统在束缚着他的野性和生命本能的冲动。在与米利亚姆的交往中，米利亚姆的虔诚使保罗感到心中的宗教意识已渐渐淡去，自己已经逐步树立了这样的信仰，即人应该凭自己的内心来辨别是非，而且应该有耐心去逐渐认识自己心中的上帝。随着故事的发展保罗的人生信条也越来越清晰，那就是投入世俗的生活，融入生命的洪流，从生活的激情与生命的洪流中寻找自己心中的上帝。用书中米利亚姆略带夸张的话来说，“保罗是在借上帝为自己辩护，因为他想随心所欲，寻欢作乐。”(249)当米利亚姆看到保罗满面光辉，想起了耶稣的出现，并把保罗称为“变形的耶稣像”。(熊沐清，2007)
劳伦斯女性人物研究
根据劳伦斯的出生背景及创作思想，有的学者认为他笔下所塑造的女性可以分为追求精神满足的女性、追求肉体满足的女性、追求肉体与精神相结合的女性这三种类型。(田甜，2006)在《儿子与情人》这部小说中米利亚姆就是追求精神满足女性的典型代表。书中米利亚姆是保罗青梅竹马的恋人，她生性敏感，羞怯克制。她和母亲一样信奉宗教、鄙视肉体生活，最细微的粗俗行为也会使她感到痛苦。她想和保罗建立一种纯精神的恋爱关系，即使有时米利亚姆不得不放弃自己的贞操时，她也是把自己当作牺牲品奉献出来，正是她在性事方面的不足，使得保罗离她越来越远。米利亚姆占有欲强，保罗跟她在一起时，她总是想把保罗本能的爱情烈焰引进意识的细流，把保罗的整个灵魂、全部的力量和能量吸到她自己的身体里。在这种纯精神的恋爱中，保罗的心灵受到折磨痛苦万分，最终与米利亚姆分手。小说中还有一位精神女人，她就是保罗的母亲莫瑞尔太太。她由于对丈夫的失望而把全部的感情都倾注到孩子们身上，特别是儿子们身上，牢牢掌控着他们的心灵，她的这种过渡情感投入，严重地影响着孩子们发展成心理健康的男子汉。克拉拉在小书中可以说是追求肉体满足女性的代表，保罗第一次与她见面时，就因她是一个充满肉感的女性而引起了保罗的注意和极大兴趣。随着故事的发展，她的确能在性方面使保罗获得极大的满足，但在精神生活方面的贫乏，与保罗没有多少共同语言，以及只追求感官上的满足使得她与保罗之间充满激情的爱情没有维持多久。
有学者认为劳伦斯在塑造妇女形象时，受到当时浓厚的父权中心思想的影响，致使他笔下的服从男人、服务于男人、全身心地依附男人的女人成为真正女性的典范。由于被贬低成男人的附庸，女人只有依靠男人的拯救才能获得新生，实现作为一个人的价值。而女人存在的价值就是充当母亲和妻子，女人的真正幸福就在于找到理想的男性，使其存在的价值得以实现。(金志茹，2004)小说中莫瑞尔太太将她全部的感情都倾注到儿子身上，儿子成为她活着的精神支柱，是她生命的全部。她活着就是为了向儿子保罗提供巨大的支持，向他提供一种运转不息的动力，从而将一位矿工的儿子激励起来，成为一名伟大的艺术家。莫瑞尔太太坚信:“他一定会在这个世界上干出一番大事业。不管他去哪里，她都感到她的灵魂与他同行。不管他作出何种设想，她都感到她的灵魂守护在一旁，随时准备着将工具递到他手里。”在这里一位把自己人生的全部目标和意义都定位在服务于儿子，从而全身心地依附于儿子的母亲形象跃然纸上。这也正是劳伦斯作品中所颂扬的母亲的形象:克己自制、宽宏大量，把全部的温情都奉献给儿子，欣喜地看着他们长大成人，并为此而感到骄傲，她们才是真正女性的典范。
也有学者认为小说中莫瑞尔太太，米利亚姆和克拉拉这三个主要女性身上体现出在当时英国妇女争取平等权利的斗争取得了部分胜利这一过渡时期，妇女们在经济、政治、受教育和爱情婚姻方面已取得部分的平等权利，但又未能得到完全的平等权利的社会现实。(张慧军，2008)莫瑞尔太太就是当地“妇女协会”的一员，她每周都参加这一组织举办的聚会，在那里她有机会展示自己的才智，赢得周围人的敬重。在孩子们眼中过去总是忙于家务的母亲有了新形象，对此孩子们总对她怀着深深的敬意。莫瑞尔太太身上体现的新女性思想还体现在对保罗生活的引导方面。她鼓励保罗从事艺术创作，在许多方面为他做出表率，鼓励孩子参加面试得到工作，当保罗在绘画比赛中获奖时，莫瑞尔太太表现得比保罗还高兴，她的态度使孩子更有信心。这样在母亲的正确引导和悉心指导下，保罗具备了成为艺术家的必要条件。
在经济上，莫瑞尔太太“靠丈夫挣的钱生活”因此她缺乏经济独立。莫瑞尔先生常常利用他作为养家糊口的人的地位，使莫瑞尔太太处于不利。莫瑞尔太太作为一个女性、身为一个母亲，为了照看孩子，不能外出工作挣钱养活自己，为了孩子们她容忍着丈夫对她的不敬与侮辱，为此她赢得了广大读者对她的同情。虽然在与其丈夫莫瑞尔先生相处时常常处于不利地位，但是莫瑞尔太太仍然能够因为丈夫“在经济上的不忠”而与他“争吵”。他们第一次发生争吵的中心问题就是莫瑞尔先生从她的钱包里偷钱。可以说莫瑞尔太太既是一个受粗暴丈夫和经济体制双重压制的牺牲品，(Salgado，2005)同时在思想上和行为上莫瑞尔太太又都超出了维多利亚时期对女性的期待，体现出新妇女追求幸福生活与命运努力抗争的一面。
米利亚姆因为是个女孩子而不能像家中的男孩子那样接受教育，对此她非常不满，这表明她希望获得和男人同等的受教育的权利。在米利亚姆身上我们看到，尽管那时的英国妇女已经享有了受教育的权利，但是这一思想尚未完全普及，男性受教育的机率和程度要远远高于女性。当保罗出现在她的生活中以后，就像莫瑞尔太太希望间接地通过儿子们的进步来实现自己的理想和抱负一样，米利亚姆渴望扩展自己的知识面并以此逃脱农场上单调、枯燥的妇女生活，指望着保罗能帮她逃离受奴役的状况，在她身上我们看到维多利亚时期女人们想通过男人们来实现自我的传统思想，同时表明当时妇女承认自己的依附地位和对男性主权的认可。另一方面米利亚姆太注重精神情趣，这实际上根植于其母的对宗教的深厚情感。这种对宗教的感情本身就是当时妇女对男人抉择一切，女人做饭、洗衣、料理家务的繁重乏味生活的不满，希望寻求一种方式对此进行补偿。对米利亚姆来说，像母亲利佛斯太太那样把自己献给上帝似乎就是在乏味的日常琐事中打发日子的最佳选择。在她身上体现了维多利亚时期的传统道德和宗教观共同作用下的精神女孩的形象。在与保罗交往的过程中，在米利亚姆的赞许与鼓励下，保罗逐渐走向成熟。就像莫瑞尔太太一样米利亚姆也成为保罗成长道路上的老师，发挥了维多利亚时期，有思想的新女性对他人思想的教育、引导作用。
米利亚姆除了受到来自自己家男人们的不屑之外，她还遭受了来自保罗的伤害。在保罗给米利亚姆上代数课的场景中，当米利亚姆不能完全理解保罗所讲的知识时，保罗对她大发脾气，随后又把铅笔扔到米利亚姆脸上。书中保罗虽然对他的失态表示出懊悔和羞愧，但这正体现出在保罗与米利亚姆两性关系中保罗残暴的一面。由此体现出当时在男女关系中男女不平等的社会现实。在米利亚姆与保罗谈论她未来的教师工作时，保罗认为妇女天生不适合干全职工作，他的这一观点表明他认为男女之间存在不同。由此看来小说的作者劳伦斯通过保罗给男女两性分配不同的角色，赋予男人至高无上的权力，而女人天生只能处于附属地位。劳伦斯通过保罗之口，间接地向人们传达了当时女性处于附属地位的社会现实。米利亚姆就上述保罗的观点产生疑问，这一举动表明当时妇女由于受女权主义思想的影响，已经开始思考男女是否平等这一问题，而不只是一味地接受维多利亚时期传统的男子一统天下的传统思想。小说的最后保罗为了摆脱情感的纠葛，主动提出与米利亚姆结束他俩多年的恋情，他刻意忽视米利亚姆的转变与成长，拒绝与她合作，在某种程度上，可以说保罗这个以自我为中心、残暴的男权主义者最后毁了她的爱。而面对这样的伤害，米利亚姆只得无奈的接受。
就象莫瑞尔太太在某种程度上被看作是女权主义者一样，克拉拉自己或是读者也都认为她也是一个女权主义者。当保罗对母亲提及克拉拉时，说她是一个女权主义者，说她之所以成为女权主义者的主要原因是她在婚姻中感情的失败。与莫瑞尔太太不同，克拉拉没有孩子，她因丈夫的残忍和不忠而离开他，自己挣钱养活自己，在经济上是独立的。她是一个思想先进的女人，一个敢在讲台上讲话的女权主义者。一开始克拉拉吸引保罗的主要原因是她所表现出来的基于参加妇女运动而获得教育才具备的特有气质，她身上的女权主义姿态使她不同于她的阶层的其他妇女，也就是克拉拉的自信、坚定，保持一副轻蔑的样子，且对保罗一点都不感兴趣，这与米利亚姆的胆怯形成鲜明的对比。然而保罗在与克拉拉相处的过程中发现她是一个精神生活贫乏，和自己没有多少共同语言，她所追求的纯粹是感官上的满足。对此Hilary Simpson(1982)认为克拉拉只是想满足她的性欲，她并不想像其他女权主义者那样去改变社会。
在克拉拉身上我们似乎看到当时妇女由于受传统思想的束缚，仅仅从形式上接受女权主义，而对女权主义的思想精髓并没有真正领会的社会现实。在保罗和米利亚姆谈论克拉拉的丈夫公开和另外一个女人同居时，我们看到当时男人可以公然地和其他女人在一起，不仅不会引起来自外界的评论，而且可以使妻子的处境难堪。而女人就不能像男人那样做，否则她的处境会更加难堪。这充分表现出当时在社会上男女两性不平等。小说的最后克拉拉重新又回到她丈夫身边。这一举动被评论家看作是明显反对女权主义的例子。事实上，克拉拉曾拒绝与丈夫巴克斯特离婚，后来虽然和丈夫离婚了，但是她从来就没有放弃他，在某种程度上仍然以道斯太太自居。在克拉拉在与巴克斯特的关系中，巴克斯特是从属的一方，他需要克拉拉，因此克拉拉掌控一切。于是在保罗——一个需要她的人与巴克斯特——一个依赖她的人之间，克拉拉选择后者是因为她选择了个人自由。(Simpson，1982)在克拉拉身上当时妇女因受传统婚姻观念和女权主义新思想双重影响，在思想和行为上表现出迷茫的社会现实显露无遗。(张慧军，2008)
性爱、情爱观的研究
在《儿子与情人》这部小说中，劳伦斯描述了三种情爱关系:保罗与米利亚姆的精神爱情、保罗与克拉拉的肉体爱情、保罗与母亲的母子情爱。这三种爱构成了社会上男女之间关系的缩影，形成了人与宇宙的平衡和联系。学者们指出在男女之间的爱情上，劳伦斯认为纯粹的精神之爱是没有生命力的。生命力根植于富有活力的肉体，而性爱正是最真切的肉体接触。一个生命在与另一个生命体的接触中才能增强自身的活力，恢复自己的生机。(郑达华，2003)只有人的原始本能充分复活，才能使人与人之间恢复和谐的关系。劳伦斯认为资本主义工业化破坏了人与人之间、人与社会之间和人与自然之间的和谐关系，他一生都在探求如何改变这一现实。因此有学者认为在《儿子与情人》这部小说中，劳伦斯通过反映夫妻之间、母子之间、情人之间残缺的爱，旨在探索男女两性和谐的关系完美的爱。(袁小华，2003;李升炜，2004)小说中保罗与母亲之间的畸形的爱阻碍了他自己精神上、感情上正常成长，然而他又无法摆脱这种爱的束缚。(王佐良，1997)米利亚姆与保罗之间的精神之恋和克拉拉与保罗之间的肉体之恋均以失败告终，充分显示出灵与爱分离的残缺的爱，终将导致爱情的破灭。米利亚姆和克拉拉这两个女人都没有使保罗的灵与肉进入和谐完美的境界，保罗在这两个人面前都没有成为真正的男子汉。在与米利亚姆恋爱时，他内心充满的是本能受压而导致的烦躁痛苦与怨恨;在与克拉拉接触时，则是情欲冲动造成的骚动不安及满足后的空虚迷惑与惆怅。(徐晓晴，2002)小说最后，保罗摆脱了畸形母爱对他的束缚，放弃他同米利亚姆和克拉拉两个女人之间残缺的爱，踏上新的人生历程，开始了他对完美人性的执著追求。保罗与小说中三位女性爱情的失败，间接反映出劳伦斯所追求的理想爱情是精神与肉体的统一，灵与肉的结合。而在小说中人与人之间的一些最基本的关系已经遭到破坏，作为个体的人其内部的精神与肉体的关系也失去了平衡，从而导致了人物关系的扭曲。(袁小华，2003)
女性视角
从女性视角出发的学者们回避了常规性的文学评论，他们认为《儿子与情人》描述了保罗与其母亲之间的母爱、保罗与米利亚姆之间的灵爱、保罗与克拉拉之间的性爱三种爱的形式。指出在母爱中，母亲是教导者、指路人，主宰着保罗的灵魂世界;在灵爱中，米利亚姆是精神的象征，是保罗艺术创作力的能源;在性爱中，克拉拉是肉体的象征，是保罗完善人性的物质基础。同时他们指出用这种方式，劳伦斯强调女性的力量以及他们在男性成长中所发挥的巨大作用。同时由于历史的根源和社会的因素，妇女在父权制的历史传统中都是男人的附属品，除了生育和操持家务之外不能享受“人”的任何权利，而工业化社会的到来剥夺了工人们“人”的权力，致使婚姻情感的不幸和不健康的家庭关系，而女人成为这些痛苦的承载者。(赵春回，2006)在小说中以男性保罗为中心的环境里，在这三位女性身上，人们看到他们的悲剧性。莫瑞尔太太面对丈夫的残酷，梦想着从儿子们那得到情感上的满足，于是她不幸的与儿子们建立了一种联盟，教导他们通过知识和意志来改变社会地位，进入中产阶级，希望通过孩子们实现自己的理想和抱负。结果她所得到的只是有利用色彩的回报而不是情感上的真正满足。米利亚姆也不满自己的命运，她想走向社会而不是呆在家里做些毫无意义的家务事，她想通过读书获取知识扩大自己的视野，她想找份工作自食其力而不是依靠男人。在与保罗的交往中，她的思想也在发展变化，而保罗在从她身上获取了自己成长所需要的感官纯洁和心灵交流之后，却冷酷地刻意忽视她的转变与成长，拒绝与她合作，最后毁了她的爱。保罗从克拉拉那里得到自己所需要的性爱后，以克拉拉不够深刻容纳不下他的灵魂，不如米利亚姆那样了解他为由，用拒绝与冷漠直面克拉拉对精神思想生活的渴求。这样保罗的所作所为使他成为男权社会的代表，妇女悲惨命运的根源。
文体风格研究
劳伦斯在作品中善于描写人物的内心活动，而要准确表达摸不着看不到的人物内心世界，就势必要借助于象征和暗示，这样在艺术风格和创作技巧上，劳伦斯的作品既有现实主义和自然主义的传统因素，又有象征主义的革新成分。学者们认为劳伦斯写作的最突出特点是运用象征表现人性。(刘维荣，1999)例如小说中的白玫瑰被看作是米利亚姆的纯洁，而把百合花看作是分开保罗和米利亚姆的东西。还有学者认为象征是人物与自然交流的媒体，莫瑞尔夫人在月光下观赏百合花的片段中，通过分析月亮、花儿和花香来分析人物内心感情，表达出她对青春和生活的向往。在保罗和米利亚姆在白玫瑰前的片段中，白玫瑰成为爱情和纯洁的象征。(李汝成、路玉坤，1998)小说中两次夜景描写和月光的象征意义以及月光意义的变化也引起了学者们的关注。在他们看来月光被看作是生命力的象征，在小说中两次对夜景的描写中，第一次夜景中所描写的圆月象征孕育保罗成长的母爱，给保罗带来了生命力。在第二次夜景描述中的残月，象征保罗的生命力在与米利亚姆的精神搏斗中已经消耗殆尽，只有找到新的依托，生命才能继续走向完善。而也正是在第二次夜色描写中，保罗有了新发现，预示保罗性的觉醒。(黄晓勇，1999)
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