Sons and Lovers Summary

Sons and Lovers Summary

Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence

Setting

The novel is set in the Nottinghamshire coalfields.

Main Characters

Mrs. Gertrude Morel- she is Mr. Morel’s wife and the mother of William, Paul, Annie, and Arthur.

Mr. Walter Morel- he is Mrs. Morel’s husband and the father of William, Paul, Annie, and Arthur.

William Morel- he is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Morel and the elder brother of Annie, Paul, and Arthur.

Paul Morel- he is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Morel and the brother of William, Annie, and Arthur.

Annie Morel- she is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Morel and the sister of William, Paul, and Arthur.

Arthur Morel- he is the youngest child of Mr. and Mrs. Morel and the younger brother of William, Annie, and Paul.

Miriam Leivers- she is Mr. and Mrs. Leivers’ daughter and the long-term girlfriend of Paul Morel.

Clara Dawes- she is Baxter Dawes’ wife and the daughter to Mrs. Radford, as well as Paul Morel’s lover.

Baxter Dawes- he is Clara Dawes’ husband and Paul Morel’s rival when Paul becomes Clara’s lover.

Louisa Lily Denys Western- she is a secretary in London and William’s fiancée before his death. Louisa is a shallow, immature girl, who has been spoiled by her indulgent upbringing.

Mr. Leivers- he is married to Mrs. Leivers and is the owner of Willey Farm. He is the father of Edgar, Miriam, Geoffrey, and Maurice and is a virile, handsome, and practical man

Mrs. Leivers- she is Mr. Leivers’ wife and the mother to Edgar, Miriam, Geoffrey, and Maurice. Mrs. Leivers is a deeply religious and highly refined woman.

Edgar Leivers- he is Mr. and Mrs. Leivers’ son and the brother to Miriam, Maurice, and Geoffrey.

Mr. Heaton- he is the minister of the parish where Mr. and Mrs. Morel live. Mr. Heaton is a widower and friends with Mrs. Morel, whom he often visits when Paul is a baby.

Mrs. Radford- she is Clara Dawes’ mother. Mrs. Radford works as a lacemaker and is a hard but kindly woman.

Mr. Jordan- he is the manager of Jordan’s, the factory where Paul is offered a job. Mr. Jordan is a working-class man who has made his way in the world through manufacturing.

Mr. Pappleworth- he is Paul’s superior at Jordan’s. Mr. Pappleworth is a clerk and a friendly, sociable man.

Fanny- she is a "hunchback” and works at Jordan’s as one of the "spiral girls” on the sewing machines. Fanny is very sensitive and has had a hard life.

Jerry Purdy- he is a miner and a friend of Mr. Morels. Jerry is a misogynist and believes that men should have supreme rights over their wives,

John Field- he is the man with whom Mrs. Morel is friends as a young woman.

Plot Summary

Gertrude Morel and Walter Morel live in a village in the north of England. Gertrude is clever and competent. Walter, her husband, an uneducated coal miner, drinks his money away and is often violent. Divided by class, the two do not understand each other, and Gertrude is bitterly unhappy. She pours all her love and ambition into her four children, and in particular, her oldest child, William. William prepares to marry a very superficial girl, against his mother’s wishes. Then tragedy occurs; he falls ill and dies.

With William gone, Gertrude’s love and hopes are pinned on Paul, who is talented and artistic. At fourteen Paul finds a job in nearby Nottingham. He makes friends with a high-minded girl called Miriam. The story now concerns Paul’s conflict between his love for his mother and his need to grow up and have a sexual experience. Gertrude is jealous of Miriam and a tug-of-war starts for Paul’s love. Time passes and Paul longs to leave home but feels that he cannot leave his mother.

Eventually, Paul sleeps with Miriam but the relationship is unsuccessful. He embarks on another relationship with an earthier woman called Clara. With her, he discovers ‘the enormous power of passion’. However, Paul realizes that Clara is not his soul mate. Meanwhile, Gertrude dies of cancer. With his mother gone, Paul, now twenty-three, is grief-stricken. He feels a strong pull towards death. But the life urge in him proves stronger, and he sets off towards the ‘golden lights

Of the city’, to begin life afresh.

 

Themes

1. Women rights. Paul’s attitude towards women is defined by his love for his mother, Mrs. Morel. This leads him to compare his female lovers with her. Since Paul’s love for his mother is rooted in idealism and not, in reality, the other women in his life, Clara and Miriam, cannot compare with Paul’s romantic idea of how women should be, and they find themselves cast aside by Paul.
2. Death and grief. Life and death are closely linked throughout the novel and grief have a lasting impact on the lives of the characters. The novel is concluded in the aftermath of the death of Lawrence’s own mother, and his experiences with grief shape the events of the novel. Death is portrayed as an ever-present force in the novel, something which is both terrifying and, at times, terribly seductive.