Page 260 - DENG404_FICTION

Fiction

Notes

Did u know? Paul’s father comes home, and they fight, stopping only after Mrs. Morel
faints, and Paul takes care of her.

Analysis

Paul continues to be Mrs. Morel’s favorite son, and he is the one she believes will be successful.
We see finally in this chapter the way that this close relationship finally leads Paul to abandon
Miriam because he loves his mother best: “She was the chief thing to him, the only supreme
being.”

Paul suggests that perhaps Miriam likes Clara because of her apparent grudge against men.
The narrator writes that Clara’s grudge might be one of the reasons Paul himself likes her; this
seems to suggest that Paul would appreciate a grudge against men, which is a somewhat
puzzling idea.
Paul begins to echo the actions of his father, after he argues with his mother. He flings off his
boots before going to bed, just as Mr. Morel had done several chapters earlier. In addition,
Paul is happiest with Miriam while they are discussing his work, just as Morel is happiest
with his children while he is engaged with some work.
In this chapter we see Miriam’s objectification of Paul. She thinks of him as an object weaker
than herself, and never considers him as an individual or as a man.

Chapter 9: Defeat of Miriam

Summary

Paul realizes that he loves his mother more than Miriam, and Miriam seems also to realize that
their relationship will never deepen. One day Paul comes to call and is unusually irritable.
When Miriam begs him to tell her what is the matter, he tells her that they had better break
off. She does not understand why, and he tries to tell her that, even though they have agreed
that they are to be friends, “it neither stops there, nor gets anywhere else.” She finally understands
that he is telling her that he does not love her and wants to leave her free for another man.
Miriam feels that he is mistaken and that deep in his soul he loves her, and she is angry with
him for listening to his mother, who has told him that he cannot go on in the same way unless
he means to become engaged. She is angry that he lets his mother and his family tell him what
he should do, thinking that she wishes the outside world would let the two of them alone.
Paul misses Willey Farm when he does not go there to call on Miriam, so he continues to go
there to be with Edgar and the rest of the family. He no longer spends much time alone with
Miriam, but one night he ends up alone with her when Edgar stays for Communion with Mrs.
Morel. They are discussing the sermon and he reads to her from the Bible, and they almost
attain their previous level of harmony—until Paul begins to feel uncomfortable.
Miriam invites Paul to come to the farm one day to meet Clara Dawes. He accepts and is
excited to meet her. He arrives, meets her in the parlor, talks to her and Miriam for a short
time, and quickly decides that he does not like her. He goes to meet Edgar on his way back
from getting coal. He tells Edgar that Clara should be called ‘Nevermore’ because she is so
disagreeable.

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