The Conception of Love in Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure (1830) and D.H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers(1913)

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the conception of love in the Victorian and Edwardian ages taking Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure and D.H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers as an examples . In the first novel love was prohibited, just for self-interest and sexual desire, relationships were controlled by society and the conventional marriage. , in the second novel which was marked by the changes of the British society from the conservative to the permissive one. Love was permitted, thus it was abnormal in the same time; as new kind of love had emerged. The controversial issue this dissertation seeks to answer is the distinction between the 19th and 20th century England in terms of social facts and literary representations, togather with the shifted of British society to a permissive one, pointing on, the difference between Hardy’s and Lawrence’s visions of love is explored . This research aims to show the difference between love in the Victorian and the Edwardian eras by analysing the two works refering to society norms and beliefs..