Relationships in Lawrence's Sons and Lovers

Relationships in Lawrence's Sons and Lovers

There can be no argument that D. H. Lawrence's Son's and Lover's is

a study of human relationships. Gertrude Morel, because of her turbulent

and odd relationship with her husband, ends up developing deep emotional

relations with her two eldest son's. The second eldest in particular, Paul,

is the receiver of most of this deep emotion. Because of these feelings and

the deeper-than-usual emotional bond between the two, Paul has difficulty

being comfortable in his own relationships. Paul's relationship with

Miriam is plagued by his mother's disapproval, jealousy, and Miriam 's own

spirituality.

Paul's relationship with Miriam is one where the love is not

allowed to flourish. Although there is no doubt that there is love between

the two, the forces around them create tension that suppresses it. Miriam

believes herself not nearly as beautiful as she really is. Because of this

she is always looking for things to love her. In the case of Paul she

believes that if Paul was to need her, if she could take care of him, "if

he could depend on her, if she could, as it were, have him in her arms, how

she would love him."(137) However, this is never allowed to happen. Paul's

mother Gertrude already occupies this space in his life. Thus the

relationship between the two is a struggle for an identity. The

relationship is a struggle between Paul and his mother and Paul and Miriam.

The main conflicts between Paul and Miriam are between physical-

spiritual differences and his mother. Miriam holds spirituality very close

to her. Thing with Miriam are always on a very spiri...

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giving in to his mother, he breaks it off with Miriam. We get the

impression that Miriam waits for Paul forever. It concretely ends when his

mother dies and he leaves to find himself.

Son's and Lover's is a study of human relationships. Paul is the

receiver of most of his mothers deep emotional feelings and has with her a

bond tighter than normal. Because of this Paul has trouble handling and

being comfortable with his own relationships. Paul's relationship with

Miriam was plagued by his mother's disapproval. If it wasn't for the

selfishness of his mother Paul would of most likely been happy with Miriam.

Work Cited

Lawrence, D. H. Sons and Lovers. New York: Viking, 1913. On-line. U of Virginia Electronic Text Center. Internet. 23 February 1998, www: http:Hetext.lib.virginia.edu/english.html.