A critical interpretation of “Myth—archetype” in Son and Lover

李月潔

Abstract：Son and Lover is one of DH Lawrences classics and is regarded as the authors own autobiographical work.The interpretation of the three protagonists，can be started from the mythological archetypal criticism theory.In the archetypal level，the author uses the mythological plot of “Oedipus” to analyze the characters.In psychological aspect，using Jungs psychological view，the author analyzes the personality prototype of the book.Finally，at the ritual level，the author interprets the turning point of the heroines sacrificial ceremony in the works.

Key words：Son and Lover；“Myth-archetype”；Oedipus

In this controversial work，one often interprets this unbridled love as “Oedipus” complex，a time-honored word that has been studied until today with no real result.On the other hand，the archetypal criticism of mythology consciously uses the research achievements of psychology and anthropology to study the religious，ritual，mythical and psychological factors in this literary work，and studies the mythological thinking and collective unconsciousness in literary narration.

1 Prototype Level

In fact，the Oedipus myth is used to analyze the novel Son and Lover，which is considered to be the best interpretation of the “Oedipus” complex in the novel.The mother，father，and Paul in the novel correspond to the king，queen and Oedipus in the mythology of Upper Oedipus.Through the numerous storylines，we also can find that the whole plot of the novel is also under the influence of these three characters.Interpreting the archetypes of the three protagonists，“it can be grasped by a theory of demystification” ，which is helpful to generalize and type the art of this novel better.

2 Psychological level

Carl Jung believes that archetypes are not genetic concepts or patterns of thinking，but rather a predisposition to certain stimuli in the same way.Personalization，as described by his individuation process，is all archetypes.The center and the origin，the shadow，the personality mask and the Anima are its differentiation.Anima is the image of the soul，the essence of human life or vigorous vitality.This is the heterosexual tendency in the male psychology，which often reflects that we are attracted by the characteristics of our own inner self.The mask is the regulator of the self and the external world，just as we are facing the world with a mask，representing our social personality.A personality that is not the same as ones true self.

Personalization is that when a person grows up，he must recognize all aspects of his whole process of self-growth，including beneficial and unprofitable aspects.The process of individuation is divided into two parts.Firstly，the individual adapts to the environment，and the mask of personality develops harmoniously with the shadow； then，the organization coordinates the internal characteristics of the individual to achieve the balance and unity of personality.Shadow，personality mask and Anima are symbolic projections of the prototype in the process of personalization.