CAPE Literatures In English

Prose
Class Assignment
Teacher: Ms.Edwards
Student: Toni-Ann Morrison
Due Date: November 14, 2014

Instruction: Describe the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Morel and their
children. Use evidence from the text to support your beliefs about why their
relationships are this way.

Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence reveals the complex, perplexing and
seemingly inevitable dysfunctional relationships between the characters in the
novel. Throughout the novel the author does an exceptional job at revealing to the
reader, the interior emotions of each character, the dysfunctional relationships
existing among the Morels revealing the Oedipus Complex, which is blatant
throughout the novel and the order of the day in 19th century England-the subject
matter of miners. Interestingly Lawrences novel contrasts the sensuous natural
environment with that of cold, drab structures of industrial town and city life.
Subsequently a detailed examination of the relationships will portray the inner life
of the characters through their contact with the life outside.
Gertrude and Walter ought to complement one another with their very different
positive points, but in fact they, like the lower and middle classes, cant get along.
In Sons and Lovers, the lower classs hatred of snobbery and phony morality and
the middle classs concern with money and social advancement cause Gertrude and
Walter to come to blows. The problems and the misery involved in the life
of a coal miner are highlighted through Walter Morel and his harrowing
experiences. His wife Gertrude actually belonged to a lower middle class family

but by choosing Walter as her husband she too gets stuck in the working class,
where she is far from contented. Their living conditions are miserable and pathetic
in spite of the early excitement that they find in their marriage. Both were
infatuated with each other before their marriage. Gertrude especially was greatly
fascinated by Walter Morels carefree ways and the ease with which he approached
life. The working class atmosphere and the life of a coal miner was totally new to
her and she like a typical middle class orthodox woman, was completely bowled
over by the instinctiveness and spontaneity, which are characteristics of the
working class.
When Gertrude Coppard was twenty-three, she met the twenty-seven year old
Morel who was extremely handsome and in her words, had that rare thing, a rich,
ringing laugh.... He was so full of colour and animation, he was so ready and
pleasant with everybody...soft, non-intellectual, warm, a kind of gamboling. She
thought him rather wonderful, never having met anyone like him. In the
beginning even when they were lovesick, Gertrude knew perfectly well that
Morels values and preferences were totally different from those she were used
to. She was a puritan like her father, high minded and really stern. But in the
initial excitement this difference seemed rather thrilling and adventurous. It was
like the strong, irresistible pull that two opposites felt towards each other
Therefore the dusky golden softness of this mans sensuous flame of life, that
flowed off his flesh like the flame from a candle, not baffled and gripped into
incandescence by thought and spirit as her life was, seemed to her something
wonderful, beyond her. Gertrude also equally fascinated Walter Morel because of
her sophistication and lady-like behaviour, which were beyond her grasp and
expectations. Nevertheless they were married and led a happy life for the first nine
months. The circumstances, the surroundings and the people were alien and hostile
to her but she could perfectly live by herself, so long as she had her husband
close. But this bliss of togetherness did not last long enough to keep their
marriage going.
Their differences began to show up when Mrs. Morel started being conscious of
her superior class than that of her husband. She was a woman who was interested
in reading and longed to have constructive arguments on religion, philosophy and
politics with any educated man. Given such a mindset Morel was the wrong man
for her. ...she tried to open her heart seriously to him. She saw him listen

deferentially but without understanding. This killed her efforts at a finer intimacy,
and she had flashes of fear. This explains her later fondness for the congregational
clergy man Mr. Heaton and the urge for educating her children. Morels zest for
outdoor life and his work culture punctuated by a drink is not appreciated by Mrs.
Morel and with her education and refinement she vainly expects her husband to be
her equal. Later also it is said that with her high moral sense and religious instinct
she was too much his opposite. When the poverty of the family too started
revealing itself to Mrs. Morel, her disillusionment with him began to take a
concrete shape. It culminated in her complete estrangement with him. The spark
was ignited when Morel cropped her first born Williams beautiful curly hair and
after that incident she almost ceased to fret for his love and reduced him to the
status of an outsider. Walter Morel ceases to be the caring husband either. His
callousness goes to the extent of throwing her out when she was pregnant. In spite
of the poverty and difficulty in making ends meet, Morel continues with his
drunken reveries and fails to care for the family in any way. Even after becoming a
family man, he comes across as a working class man who is irresponsible, careless
and fun loving. He is, at one level, a man broken by an uncaring, brutal industrial
system.
However, Gertrude finds herself intellectually, socially and emotionally defeated
and betrayed. When the novel begins their relationship is more or less over. She
had kind of got used to her lonely life and her only hopes, if any, rested on her
growing children. So it is understandable enough that she turns to her children,
Sons mainly, for comfort, hope and companionship. Thus we can say that it is the
working class conditions, doubled with the failure of Walter-Gertrude relationship
that contributes to the psychological and Oedipal theme of the novel. This key
relationship, which falls into pieces because of proletarian poverty and misery,
determines the other relationships in the novel, whether they are mother-son,
father-son or man-woman relations.
The Beginning of the Oedipus complex appearing in William and Paul is
exemplified in the relationship between the parents. The boys witness an abusive
marriage in which Walter Morel often comes home drunk after squandering the
familys income gambling. All of this causes the boys to hate their father and be
sympathetic and protective towards their mother. In their mothe, the children see
someone who is good and pure. She in turn keeps her sons all to herself from their

father. By this act, Gertude Morel I unconsciously molding her sons into what she
wants, so eventually they can take the place of her husband. She is clearly unhappy
in her marriage, so she tries to live vicariously through her sons. This is the
stimulus that allows the oedipal attachment to form in the two boys.
William is the oldest son and the mothers favorite. He does everything he can to
please her. Sibling rivalry exists between William and Paul as they compete for
their mothers affection. Mrs. Morel becomes jealous of Williams female
companions and he eventually moves to London. Williams moving to London was
his unconscious way of trying to break free from the oedipal attachment to his
mother. In London, William meets a girl by the name of Lily. They become
engaged but William is not happy. He has a misogynistic attitude towards her. It is
very clear Lily does not possess the good qualities he sees in his mother and it
angers and frustrates him. William exhibits classic symptoms of displacement.
When William voices his dissatisfaction with Lily, his mother asks him to
reconsider marrying her. He responds, Oh well, Ive gone too far to break it off
now (Lawrence 130). These conflicted feelings that William is experiencing are a
sign of his apparent struggle to rid himself of the oedipal fixation and the reader is
not surprised when William eventually gets sick and dies.
After William dies, Paul takes his place as his mothers favorite. By her actions,
one would think she thought of him as a suitor. This is evident when she accepts a
bottle of perfume spray from him. Pretty! she said in a curious tone, of a woman
accepting a love-token (Lawrence 69). As Paul reaches adulthood, it is quite
evident the Oedipus complex has taken him over. His relationship with his father is
strained and he becomes jealous of him. He even asks his mother not to sleep with
the father anymore (Lawrence 215).
By applying psychoanalytic criticism to Sons and Lovers, one can gain a better
understanding of the text. What may at first look like unbelievable behaviors can
be understood and recognized by using this type of criticism. Psychoanalysis
adequately explains the relationships within the Morel family. It also allows us to
see the Oedipus complex, which is so blatant throughout Sons and Lovers.

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instinctiveness and spontaneity, which are characteristics of the

working class.
When Gertrude Coppard was twenty-three, she met the
twenty-seven year old Morel who was extremely handsome
and in her words, had that rare thing, a rich, ringing laugh....
He was so full of colour and animation, ...he was so ready and
pleasant with everybody...soft, non-intellectual, warm, a kind
of gamboling.... She thought him rather wonderful, never
having met anyone like him. In the beginning even when they
were lovesick, Gertrude knew perfectly well that Morels values
and preferences were totally different from those she were used
to. She was a puritan like her father, high minded and really
stern. But in the initial excitement this difference seemed
rather thrilling and adventurous. It was like the strong,
irresistible pull that two opposites felt towards each other.
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Therefore the dusky golden softness of this mans sensuous flame of life,
that flowed off his flesh like the flame from a candle, not baffled and gripped
into incandescence by thought and spirit as her life was, seemed to her
something wonderful, beyond her. Gertrude also equally fascinated Walter
Morel because of her sophistication and lady-like behaviour, which were
beyond her grasp and expectations. Nevertheless they were married and led a
happy life for the first nine months. The circumstances, the surroundings and
the people were alien and hostile to her but she could perfectly live by
herself, so long as she had her husband close. But this bliss of togetherness
did not last long enough to keep their marriage going.
Their differences began to show up when Mrs. Morel started being conscious
of her superior class than that of her husband. She was a woman who was
interested in reading and longed to have constructive arguments on religion,
philosophy and politics with any educated man. Given such a mindset Morel
was the wrong man for her. ...she tried to open her
heart seriously to him. She saw him listen deferentially but

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heart seriously to him. She saw him listen deferentially but
without understanding. This killed her efforts at a finer
intimacy, and she had flashes of fear. This explains her later
fondness for the congregational clergy man Mr. Heaton and
the urge for educating her children. Morels zest for outdoor
life and his work culture punctuated by a drink is not
appreciated by Mrs. Morel and with her education and
refinement she vainly expects her husband to be her equal.
Later also it is said that with her high moral sense and
religious instinct she was too much his opposite.
When the poverty of the family too started revealing itself
to Mrs. Morel, her disillusionment with him began to take a
concrete shape. It culminated in her complete estrangement
with him. The spark was ignited when Morel cropped her first
born Williams beautiful curly hair and after that incident she
almost ceased to fret for his love and reduced him to the
status of an outsider. Walter Morel ceases to be the caring
husband either. His callousness goes to the extent of throwing
her out when she was pregnant. In spite of the poverty and
difficulty in making ends meet, Morel continues with his

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Sons and Loves: The Working.Ciass Background 1 33

drunken reveries and fails to care for the family in any way.

Even after becoming a family man, he comes across as a

working class man who is irresponsible, careless and fun
loving. He is, at one level, a man broken by an uncaring,
brutal industrial system. However, Gertrude finds herself
intellectually, socially and emotionally defeated and betrayed.
When the novel begins their relationship is more or less
over. She had kind of got used to her lonely life and her only
hopes, if any, rested on her growing children. So it is
understandable enough that she turns to her children, Sons
mainly, for comfort, hope and companionship. Thus we can
say that it is the working class conditions, doubled with the
failure of Walter-Gertrude relationship that contributes to the
psychological and Oedipal theme of the novel. This key
relationship, which falls into pieces because of proletarian
poverty and misery, determines the other relationships in the
novel, whether they are mother-son, father-son or man-woman
relations.
_____ _____ ___ ___ --= --

L.

The problems and the misery involved in the life

of a coal miner are highlighted through Walter Morel and his
harrowing experiences. His wife Gertrude actually belonged to
a lower middle class family but by choosing Walter as her
husband she too gets stuck in the working class, where she is
far from contented. Their living conditions are miserable and
pathetic in spite of the early excitement that they find in their
marriage. Both were enamoured of each other before their
marriage. Gertrude especially was greatly fascinated by Walter
Morels carefree ways and the ease with which he approached
life. The working class atmosphere and the life of a coal miner
was totally new to her and she like a typical middle class
orthodox woman, was completely bowled over by the
instinctiveness and spontaneity, which are characteristics of the
working class.
When Gertrude Coppard was twenty-three, she met the
twenty-seven year old Morel who was extremely handsome
and in her words, had that rare thing, a rich, ringing laugh....
He was so full of colour and animation, ...he was so ready and
pleasant with everybody...sofr, non-intellectual, warm, a kind
of gamboling.... She thought him rather wonderful, never
having met anyone like him. In the beginning even when they

Sons and Lovers can be seen as a novel that epitomizes the

conflict between the unskilled, ill-educated working class and
the rigidly moral, emotionally and sexually inhibited middle
class. Walter Morel, a symbol of the working class, has the
positive qualities of instinct, warmth, and spontaneity. His
wife, Gertrude, a symbol of the middle class, embodies their
work ethic and their intellectual and social aspirations. Gertrude
and Walter ought to complement one another with their very
different positive points, but in fact they, like the lower and

middle classes, cant get along. In Sons and Lovers, the lower
classs hatred of snobbery and phony propriety and the middle
classs concern with money and social advancement cause
Gertrude and Walter to come to blows. Lawrence in his own
life and later novels sought a way of bringing these two social
realms into harmony. It can also be viewed as a working-class
novel, a novel that focuses on the everyday lives, trials, and
tribulations of unskilled, poor labourers. Through Lawrences