Abstract

Mrs. Morel, a main figure characterized by D. H. Lawrence in Sons and Lovers, suffers from Narcissus Complex resulting from her early childhood and the disillusionment of her marriage. In Sons and Lovers, her Narcissus Complex brings devastating effects to the Morel family: the domineering attitude ends her peaceful marriage to Mr. Morel; the possessive desire leads to William’s death; the manipulative love destroys Paul’s loving ability. This paper employs Otto Kernberg’s theory of Narcissus Complex to fully analyze Mrs. Morel’s Narcissus Complex in Sons and Lovers and gives a new horizon to the study of the novel.

Key words: Sons and Lovers; Mrs. Morel; Narcissus Complex

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1 Introduction-1

2 The Origin and Theory of Narcissus Complex-2

3 The Effect of Mrs. Morel’s Narcissus Complex on her Marital Relation-4

3.1 Mr. Morel: an invisible man in the family-4

3.2 The bitter marital relations between Morel couple-5

4 The Influence of Mrs. Morel’s Narcissus Complex on Mother-child Relationship-7

4.1 The dominant influence on William’s growing process-7

4.2 Mrs. Morel’s intervention in William’s love affair-9

5 The Disastrous Impact on Paul’s Love Affairs-10

5.1 Mrs. Morel’s carping at Paul and Miriam-10

5.2 Mrs. Morel’s intervention in Paul and Clara-11

6 Conclusion-12

References-13