8/13/2019 Summary Sons and Lovers

1/4

Chapter 1: The Early Married Life of the MorelsThe novel thus far is told from a third person perspective, but the narrator is closest to Mrs. Morel. Thenarrator is partially omniscient; he can narrate the thoughts of Mrs. Morel, but not of the other characters.Throughout the novel the perspective of the narrator changes, so the best description of the narrative mode ofthe novel is probably third person omniscient.This chapter sets up the importance of the relationship beteen !illiam and his mother. Through the presentof the egg"cups and the ay that !illiam acts hen his mother is ith him, e can see that he is proud of andloves his mother very much. !e also see that she contributes to his en#oyment of the fair, as he is miserableafter she leaves.The hair"cutting incident also illustrates the ay that !illiam is the most important person to Mrs. Morel, sinceshe is illing to thro over her husband in favor of her son.!hen the narrator describes hy $ertrude li%es Morel, e see the importance of Morel&s difference from herfather. This theme ill come up again later hen e see that !illiam&s fiancee is very different from hismother.'n the flashbac% section of this chapter e see the first hint of the declining happiness of the Morels& marriage:(for three months she as perfectly happy: for si) months she as very happy.* This suggests that Mrs.Morel&s level of happiness declines steadily over the course of their marriage.This chapter contains many elements of foreshadoing. +or e)ample, e are told that Mrs. Morel thinksshelives in a house oned by her husband. The ambiguity provides a clue that her suspicion is incorrect and thatthe house they live in does not actually belong to Mr. Morel.

This chapter&s temporal organiation is -uite noteorthy. The flashbac% in the middle of the present"timenarration confuses the time reference; past and present blend since it becomes difficult to tell hen theflashbac% ends, or hen the present resumes.

Chapter : The /irth of 0aul, and nother /attleThis chapter mainly serves the purpose of providing more e)amples of the battles beteen Mr. and Mrs.Morel. 't also contains a fe e)amples of the themes that have already been noted.'n this chapter, the ay the narrative perspective shifts beteen characters is illustrated by a brief shift toMorel&s perspective: he insists to himself that the -uarrel is Mrs. Morel&s fault.Morel also reflects that having his family around him at meals ma%es the meals less pleasant. This suggeststhat Morel prefers to be separated from his family, in contrast to his ife, ho lives for her children.

Chapter 2: The Casting off of Morel " The Ta%ing on of!illiamThis chapter continues the theme of the constant lessening of Mrs. Morel&s love for her husband; Larencerites that her love for him ebbed in stages, but ebbed constantly.!e can see that Mrs. Morel does actually desire to have her hole family together as one. 3he thin%s that herhappiest moments come hen her children seem to love their father.More evidence of !illiam&s devotion to his mother is introduced here in the form of his presentation of theanvil. 4is breathless eagerness and her solemn pride underscore the intimacy and intensity of theirrelationship.They -uarrel, hoever, over !illiam&s dancing. This may be the beginning of a change in the relationshipbeteen !illiam and Mrs. Morel, as his acceptance of the dancing corresponds to his re#ection of his mother.This is especially evident hen !illiam goes to a fancy"dress ball; after an initial hesitation, he seems toforget about his mother completely.!illiam&s acceptance of the #ob in London seems the final step in his distancing from his mother. ccording toLarence, !illiam never considers that his mother might be sorry to see him go, only that she must be happyfor his success.Mrs. Morel does not ant her eldest son to become li%e his father5she refuses to let him enter the mines,and she disapproves of his dancing because his father danced.This chapter also provides the first te)tual clue that 0aul is vieed differently by Mrs. Morel. 0aul&s fits ofdepression come only rarely, but hen they manifest themselves, Mrs. Morel begins to treat 0aul differentlyfrom the other children.

1

8/13/2019 Summary Sons and Lovers

2/4

Chapter 6: The 7oung Life of 0aulThis chapter focuses on 0aul so that each event is narrated in its relation to him. !e are told, for instance,that all the children feel (peculiarly* ill at ease ith their father, but particularly 0aul. The use of 8peculiarly& inthis sentence suggests that it is someho unusual for the children to be against their father. nother e)ampleof the focus on 0aul is the family&s divergent opinions about the ash"tree: 0aul finds it an almost unbearablepresence. The disagreement about the ash"tree is representative of the conflict beteen father and children.

There is a sense that 0aul represents all of the children; that narrating hat happens to 0aul suffices fordescribing the e)periences of all of them. This is created partly by the ay that all of the events in this chapterare told in relation to 0aul, and partly by passages li%e the folloing in hich the sub#ects 80aul& and 8thechildren& are used seemingly interchangeably. 0aul a%es, hearing thuds donstairs, and onders nervouslyhat his father is doing. 't seems that events li%e this begin from 0aul&s perspective and continue to includethe perspective of all the children.4oever, e also see further evidence of the ay that 0aul is treated differently from the other children; he ismore delicate, and Mrs. Morel realies it. 0hysically, 0aul resembles his mother, and li%e each of the children,he pic%s up on and shares her an)ieties about her husband.Even though 0aul is treated differently, !illiam is still Mrs. Morel&s favorite. 3he thin%s of him as a successfulyoung man in London, and imagines him as her %night in shining armor.

fter he brea%s nnie&s doll, 0aul feels resentful toard the doll. This is reminiscent of the statement aboutMr. Morel in Chapter : (4e dreaded his ife. 4aving hurt her, he hated her.*

Chapter 9: 0aul Launches into Life!e can see the ay the narrative perspective has shifted from that of Mrs. Morel to that of 0aul through theay Mrs. Morel&s trip to the hospital is narrated. The narrator describes Mrs. Morel leaving for the hospital,and then he describes her returning; the events that happen outside of the house seem to be outside thenarrative field of vision. 4oever, this is not the case later in this chapter, hen 0aul goes to ottingham toor%. This suggests that 0aul has become the primary focus of the narration.This chapter contains further e)amples of the identification beteen 0aul and Mrs. Morel: 0aul comforts her,and tal%s to her every day. 't seems as if their identification is e)tended to the point that they are sharing thesame life, and this is a motif that ill continue through the rest of the novel.!e also see further evidence of Mrs. Morel&s disappointment in !illiam, her favorite, in this chapter. 3he has

been previously disappointed in !illiam hen he ta%es up dancing, and here she is disappointed that he doesnot send them money. 3he also disapproves of the girl he is seeing and the pictures that she sends.

Chapter :

8/13/2019 Summary Sons and Lovers

3/4

Miriam&s unpleasant relationship ith her brothers causes her to speculate on the fundamental differencesbeteen omen and men. This may be an indication of the cruelty of her brothers or of Miriam&s sensitivity,rather than of some actual difference beteen all men and omen.This chapter begins to suggest that 0aul needs some connection beyond hat he shares ith his mother. 'nhis free time, 0aul is a painter, and he still needs his mother to do his best or%, as he tells her. /ut Miriamallos him to ta%e his or% to another level; she ma%es him feel an intensity he has never beforee)perienced.Miriam also seems to have some sense of this connection. 3he feels that, until she shos him the rose bush,

she ill not fully have e)perienced it herself. The connection beteen 0aul and Miriam may be one reasonthat Mrs. Morel disli%es Miriam. (3he could feel 0aul being dran aay by the girl.* 3he seems to vie Miriamas direct competition for her son&s love and attention.

Chapter >: 3trife in Love0aul continues to be Mrs. Morel&s favorite son, and he is the one she believes ill be successful. !e seefinally in this chapter the ay that this close relationship finally leads 0aul to abandon Miriam because heloves his mother best: (3he as the chief thing to him, the only supreme being.*0aul suggests that perhaps Miriam li%es Clara because of her apparent grudge against men. The narratorrites that Clara&s grudge might be one of the reasons 0aul himself li%es her; this seems to suggest that 0aulould appreciate a grudge against men, hich is a somehat puling idea.0aul begins to echo the actions of his father, after he argues ith his mother. 4e flings off his boots beforegoing to bed, #ust as Mr. Morel had done several chapters earlier. 'n addition, 0aul is happiest ith Miriamhile they are discussing his or%, #ust as Morel is happiest ith his children hile he is engaged ith someor%.'n this chapter e see Miriam&s ob#ectification of 0aul. 3he thin%s of him as an ob#ect ea%er than herself,and never considers him as an individual or as a man.

Chapter ?:

8/13/2019 Summary Sons and Lovers

4/4

in her grandmother&s cottage, it seems that he ma%es love to her for the first time. 0aul feels as he rideshome that night that he had finally moved past his youth. This vagueness of language is largely due to thestrict public morality that characteried society hen the novel as ritten. Larence&s boo%s, despite hisefforts at vagueness, often produced horror5many of them ere even banned because of their se)ualcontent.

Chapter 1: 0assion0aul continues to e)hibit physical similarities to his mother. t one point in this chapter he clic%s his tongue,and the narrator comments that Mrs. Morel shares the same habit.0aul&s relationship ith his mother also continues to be central. Miriam %nos 0aul ell enough to understandthat hether he has told his mother about Clara is an indication of the seriousness of his feelings for her. Thisillustrates the ay that his mother is still the most important oman to him, and the degree to hich otherevents in his life can be understood by the ay that they relate to her. 't is also very important that Clara getsalong ell ith his mother, as Clara understands, dreading the meeting because she realied 0aul&s intenselove for Mrs. Morel.

gain, there is no direct mention of se) in this chapter, but it is alluded to in Clara and 0aul&s discussion ofhether they are criminals, and in 0aul&s mention of Eve after they have been al%ing by the riverban%.

Chapter 12: /a)ter