Unconventional Relationships in D.H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers’ (1913) and the Rocking-Horse Winner (1926)

Abstract

The main goal of this dissertation is about analyzing the unconventional relationships in D. H. Lawrence’s novel Sons and lovers, and the short story The Rocking-Horse Winner, the exploration of Oedipus complex. This study aims to step up the traces of unconventionality in both the Novel and the short story under the light of Oedipus complex, where it originated back to Greek mythology of Oedipus, as well as it is theorized by Sigmund Freud besides supported by his disciples Jaques Lacan and Carl Jung. In Sons and lovers novel, it is clear to see the unconventional relationship between Paul and his mother, where her possession and jealousy destroyed his personality and he failed in building relationships. The Rocking-Horse Winner, celebrated several themes, and tackled numerous notions such as greed, luck, love, and materialism, that contributed in developing the protagonist oedipal drama, as he was obsessed by his unlucky mother, who was in fact, obsessed by money. This work questions if D.H Lawrence’s literary works Sons and Lovers and The Rocking-Horse Winner can be seen from a psychoanalytic perspective, and to what extent are Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers and The Rocking-Horse Winner an exploration of Oedipus complex theory. In order to answer these questions, this dissertation depends on analytical methodology that provides the reader with clear image about the theme.