Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence

Readers can identify the point of view in of Sons and Lovers from the first line, “Then, some sixty years ago, a sudden change took place. The gin-pits were elbowed aside by the large mines of the financiers” (Lawrence 1). Lawrence writes Sons and Lovers in the third person omniscient of view, told by the godlike narrator. Readers discover that this narrator not only knows everything about the outer world of the book, but he also understands the characters’ inner worlds. A perfect example of the narrator’s point of view can be found in Chapter 6, “ … heart was full of happiness till it hurt.

His mother had to chatter, because she, too, wanted to cry with happiness” (Lawrence 88).

The narrator clearly displays knowledge of the character’s emotions, even though neither character expresses his/her thoughts. Furthermore, the narrator shares Paul Morel’s conflict of mind after his mother’s death. Although Paul does not speak of this conflict, the narrator unveils Paul’s deepest thoughts.

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Dialogue throughout the novel is used to represent many characters deepest thoughts. This creates a monologue in the narrative discourse. The disruption of the narrative voice is an attempt to aid the reader to grasp the reality of Paul’s dilemma more clearly and strongly. In the following example, Paul’s thoughts are clashing and are presented through direct thoughts and narrative representation, “‘What am I doing?’ And out of the semi-intoxicated trance came the answer. ‘Destroying myself’. Then a dull live feeling, gone in an instant, told him that it was wrong.

After a while suddenly came the question: ‘Why wrong?’ Again there was no answer, but a stroke of hot stubbornness inside his chest resisted his own annihilation” (Lawrence 279).

In conclusion, this third person omniscient point of view in Sons and Lovers creates additional depth. After reading Sons and Lovers, three distinct themes become evident. First, the title of the book suggests a prominent theme. Lawrence takes readers through the interesting webs of love and hate that form between people who have known each other their entire lives. An example of this hatred is when Walter displays his meanness towards a baby, “While the baby was still tiny, the father’s temper had become so irritable that it was not to be trusted. The child had only to give a little trouble when the man began to bully. A little more, and the hard hands of the collier hit the baby” (Lawrence 12).

Throughout the entire novel, characters are taken throughout this complex love, from the Morel family’s united resentment of their father to Mrs. Morel’s unhealthy attachment to her sons. Lawrence clearly uses this novel to throw a wrench into any idealistic ideas one may have about family bonds and unconditional love. The second theme demonstrated in Sons and Lovers is pride. In the novel, characters are either suffering from wounded pride or getting upset about others’ arrogance. Paul, Miriam, Mrs. Morel, Walter Morel, and Clara Dawes all have their egos bruised, and they constantly feel insecure in the presence of people who act superior to them. In Paul’s case, pride is one of the many things that keeps him from fully accepting Miriam’s love. Paul’s mother repeatedly explains who she wants him to marry, “Moreover, his mother suspected him of an unrecognized leaning towards Clara, and, since the latter was a married woman, she wished he would fall in love with one of the girls in a better station of life. But he was stupid, and would refuse to love or even to admire a girl much, just because she was his social superior” (Lawrence 174).

So, after reading the novel it becomes evident that while Lawrence suggests that pride is a necessary aspect of human experience, it can also can get in the way of personal growth. The final theme Lawrence illustrates is femininity. As the title suggests, Sons and Lovers focuses primarily on sons, not daughters. Nonetheless, the book still delves deeply into questions of femininity and how women are supposed to act. This is made evident when Paul finds it pathetic that Miriam is so scared of feeding a chicken. Miriam’s frightened nature stems from her natural shyness and from her cultural training as a young girl, “He waited grimly, and watched. At last Miriam let the bird peck from her hand. She gave a little cry of fear, and pain because of fear—rather pathetic. But she had done it, and she did it again” (Lawrence 87).

Furthermore, Lawrence provides us with numerous models of societal expectations for women, from the battle-hardened Mrs. Morel to the spiritual and somewhat naive Miriam. In conclusion, many of these examples address the controversy regarding female submission. The most compelling element of the novel is the setting Lawrence creates. When readers first begin the novel, they may believe that the setting will be focussing on the darkness of coal mines and company housing, “The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin” (Lawrence 1).

To the contrary, Lawrence actually sets most of this piece either in the Morel household or the beautiful English countryside, “The sun was going down. Every open evening, the hills of Derbyshire were blazed over with red sunset. Mrs. Morel watched the sun sink from the glistening sky, leaving a soft flower-blue overhead, while the western space went red, as if all the fire had swum down there” (Lawrence 26). His language becomes poetic when describing nature, which is a drastic change. Lawrence also contrasts the natural aspects of his settings, flowers and birds, with the unnatural aspects, coal mines and machinery. By doing so, he creates a clear distinction between the peacefulness and the joy that can be found in the cruel, cold world of the coal mines. This perfect balance can also be seen in Paul’s emotions. His feelings of love are equalized by his feelings of hatred, so the beauty of Lawrence’s setting is always counterbalanced by the ugliness of the modern world and the coal mines. As readers notice, the setting is the most compelling element, keeping the novel perfectly balanced.

Beginning Sons and Lovers, I was expecting the classic, intriguing D. H Lawrence novel. To my surprise, the work was not at all what I had envisioned. The novel was much longer than necessary. Lawrence often took a tediously long time to describe elements, weakening the reader’s interest. For example, he spent over five dull pages outlining almost every detail about the workings of Miriam’s family, only to unnecessarily introduce Agatha, who is completely irrelevant to the story. Lawrence writes, “She had an elder sister Agatha, who was a schoolteacher. Between the two girls there was a feud. Miriam considered Agatha worldly. And she wanted herself to be a schoolteacher” (Lawrence 116 ).

Additionally, I was not fond of the characters. Paul never seemed to stop complaining about his dissatisfaction with living because life did not live up to his standards, and neither did the women in his life. Also, Miriam was a challenging character to understand because I felt compassion towards her, however her constant lack of confidence was unbearable. Clara started off strong, a true feminist, but then she became just another dumb, annoying girl in Paul’s life. Similarly, the word choice hithered my engagement towards Sons and Lovers. Firstly, the dialect of northern England caught me off guard, which I found almost impenetrable. While there is nothing wrong with using regional dialect in dialogue, however a little goes a long way, and Lawrence definitely overused it.

The novel would have been been much improved if he would have merely hinted at the dialect. Lawrence’s syntax and, occasionally, vocabulary are even more irritating. I felt at times as if I was reading someone whose native language was not English. For example, “‘I didn’t’ — he began, but got no further, feeling weak in all his bones. She never reproached him or was angry with him. He was often cruelly ashamed. But still again his anger burst like a bubble surcharged; and still, when he saw her eager, silent, as it were, blind face, he felt he wanted to throw the pencil in it; and still, when he saw her hand trembling and her mouth parted with suffering, his heart was scalded with pain for her. And because of the intensity to which she roused him, he sought her” (Lawrence 107).

While the paragraph is not incorrect, it is just off. But, multiply this by a thousand, and you have the beginnings of an aggravation. Moreover, is “blood began to boil” not an uncreative, obvious cliché? Is “ … no one else made him in such fury” actually English? Can a bubble really be “surcharged?” And why the repetition of “still”? In conclusion, a century ago Sons and Lovers may have been riveting reading, but sadly that moment has surely passed.