An Analysis of Effective Teaching Approach of Mother Fixation in the Novel Sons and Lovers

Sons and Lovers is considered to be one of the most significant works of D.H. Lawrence which is being taught in many universities of Pakistan for several years. As a piece of art, undoubtedly, this novel transmits some moral values and an exact picture of life, but the central theme about the phenomenon of Mother Fixation exerts some undesirable impact on students’ perception for its being a taboo in our society. Thus the present study tries to explore the effective teaching approach of the Theme of Mother Fixation to Pakistani students. The approach is based on the notion that Freud’s Theory of Mother Fixation is in utter contrast with the family values of Pakistani society exercising a pernicious impact on students’ perception. Thus the present study aims at investigating the attitudes and opinions of teachers of the novel Sons and Lovers. It has adopted phenomenology as a research paradigm. Data were collected from all the universities of Quetta teaching this novel. The study examined some of the impediments that teachers face in literature class, while dealing with this theme as well as how they tend to overcome these hurdles. There is some evidence from the data that majority of the respondents expressed feelings of embarrassment and hesitation while discussing the Theme of Mother Fixation, especially in the presence of the opposite sex and preferred to avoid the sensitive aspect of incestuous relationships in the novel . The result has shown that the Theme of Mother Fixation, if handled properly while observing the ethical limitations of Pakistani society, would not harm the perception of the students about their family values. In addition to this, teachers cited valid concerns about giving a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the psychological aspect of the theme, taking into consideration the cultural restraints of Pakistani society.