Page 251 - DENG404_FICTION

Unit 22: D.H. Lawrence — Sons and Lovers : Detailed Study of Text

The next important incident, at which the narrative appears to have caught up to the present, Notes
occurs on another wakes holiday when Morel goes out with his friend, Jerry Purdy. Jerry is
Morel’s good friend, but Mrs. Morel does not like him. Jerry and Morel walk to Nottingham,
which is ten miles away, and stop at all the pubs along the way. After a nap in a field, Morel
does not feel so well. When he finally returns home, he has become irritable and has a fight
with his wife, each calling the other a liar. He locks her outside in his anger and then falls
asleep at the kitchen table. Mrs. Morel wanders in the yard for a while and eventually, after
an hour of knocking at the door, succeeds in waking up her husband.

Analysis
The novel thus far is told from a third person perspective, but the narrator is closest to
Mrs. Morel. The narrator 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 of the novel is probably third person omniscient.
This chapter sets up the importance of the relationship between William and his mother.
Through the present of the egg-cups and the way that William acts when his mother is with
him, we can see that he is proud of and loves his mother very much. We also see that she
contributes to his enjoyment of the fair, as he is miserable after she leaves.
The hair-cutting incident also illustrates the way that William is the most important person to
Mrs. Morel, since she is willing to throw over her husband in favor of her son.
When the narrator describes why Gertrude likes Morel, we see the importance of Morel’s
difference from her father. This theme will come up again later when we see that William’s
fiancee is very different from his mother.
In the flashback section of this chapter we see the first hint of the declining happiness of the
Morels’ marriage: “for three months she was perfectly happy: for six months she was 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 foreshadowing. For example, we are told that Mrs. Morel
thinks she lives in a house owned by her husband. The ambiguity provides a clue that her
suspicion is incorrect and that the house they live in does not actually belong to Mr. Morel.
This chapter’s temporal organization is quite noteworthy. The flashback in the middle of the
present-time narration confuses the time reference; past and present blend since it becomes
difficult to tell when the flashback ends, or when the present resumes.

Chapter 2: The Birth of Paul, and another Battle

Summary
Morel feels ashamed for bullying his wife. He also realizes her difficulties and begins to be
somewhat more helpful. One morning Mrs. Morel summons her neighbor, Mrs. Kirk, by banging
on the back of the fireplace with the poker, and tells her to fetch Mrs. Bower, the midwife. She
gives birth to a boy and is very ill. Her husband comes home and is told by Mrs. Bower that
he has a son. He asks her for a drink and then, after he has had his dinner, goes up to see his
wife and son.
We are then introduced to Mr. Heaton, the Congregational clergyman, who comes to visit
Mrs. Morel every day. One day Morel comes home while he is still visiting and begins to make

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 245