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Unit 21: D.H. Lawrence — Sons and Lovers

Lawrence, seems hardly changed in the novel. (Both Ernest and his fictional counterpart, Notes
William, were engaged to London stenographers named Louisa “Gipsy” Denys.)

Self Assessment

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Full name of D.H. Lawrence is ......... .
(a) David Herbert Richards Lawrence (b) Dan Hu Richards Lawrence
(c) Dawes Heaton Radford Lawrence (d) Denys Hmelton Richards Lawrence
2. D.H. Lawrence was the ......... child of Arthur John Lawrence.
(a) Second (b) Third

(c) Fourth (d) First
3. Lawrence wrote almost ......... poems.
(a) 900 (b) 600
(c) 200 (d) 800
4. Lawrence first poem were written in the year ......... .

(a) 1804 (b) 1904
(c) 1817 (d) 1790
5. In 1911 Lawrence was introduced to ......... .
(a) A publisher (b) A author
(c) Edward Garnett (d) None of these

Filling out the cast of important characters was Jessie Chambers, a neighbor with whom
Lawrence developed an intense friendship, and who would become Miriam Leiver in the
novel. His mother and family disapproved of their relationship, which always seemed on the
brink of romance. Nevertheless, Chambers was Lawrence’s greatest literary supporter in his
early years, and he frequently showed her drafts of what he was working on, including Sons
and Lovers (she disliked her depiction, and it led to the dissolution of their relationship).
Lawrence’s future wife, Frieda von Richtofen Weekly, partially inspired the portrait of Clara
Dawes, the older, sensual woman with whom Paul has an affair. To be fair, Lawrence met
Frieda only in 1912 at Nottingham University College, and he started “Paul Morel” in 1910.
Considered Lawrence’s first masterpiece, most critics of the day praised Sons and Lovers for
its authentic treatment of industrial life and sexuality. There is evidence that Lawrence was
aware of Sigmund Freud’s early theories on sexuality, and Sons and Lovers deeply explores
and revises of one of Freud’s major theories, the Oedipus complex. (Lawrence would go on
to write more works on psychoanalysis in the 1920s.) Still, the book received some criticism
from those who felt the author had gone too far in his description of Paul’s confused sexuality.
Compared to his later works, however, such as The Rainbow, Women in Love, and Lady
Chatterley’s Lover, Sons and Lovers seems quite modest.

21.3 Summary

• David Herbert Richards Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English
novelist, poet, playwright, essayist and literary critic.
• The young Lawrence attended Beauvale Board School from 1891 until 1898.

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