Sons and Lovers
'Sons and Lovers ' Summary
Part I
The refined daughter of a "good old burgher family," Gertrude Coppard meets a rough-hewn miner, Walter Morel, at a Christmas dance and falls into a whirlwind romance characterised by physical passion but soon after her marriage to Walter, she realises the difficulties of living off his meagre salary in a rented house. The couple fight and drift apart and Walter retreats to the pub after work each day. Gradually, Mrs. Morel's affections shift to her sons beginning with the oldest, William.
As a boy, William is so attached to his mother that he does not enjoy the fair without her. As he grows older, he defends her against his father's occasional violence. Eventually, he leaves their Nottinghamshire home for a job in London, where he begins to rise up into the middle class. He is engaged, but he detests the girl's superficiality. William dies and Mrs. Morel is heartbroken. When her second son Paul catches pneumonia she rediscovers her love for Paul.
Part II
Both repulsed by and drawn to his mother, Paul is afraid to leave her but wants to go out on his own, and needs to experience love. Gradually, he falls into a relationship with Miriam, a farmer's daughter who attends his church. The two take long walks and have intellectual conversations about books but Paul resists, in part because his mother disapproves. At Miriam's family's farm, Paul meets Clara Dawes, a young woman with, apparently, feminist sympathies who has separated from her husband, Baxter.
After pressuring Miriam into a physical relationship, which he finds unsatisfying, Paul breaks with her as he grows more intimate with Clara, who is more passionate physically. But even she cannot hold him and he returns to his mother. When his mother dies soon after, he is alone.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
EnglishPublished In
1913Author
D. H. Lawrence
England
David Herbert Lawrence was an English writer and poet. His collected works represent, among other things, an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation. Lawre...
More on D. H. LawrenceDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
Related books
Villette by Charlotte Brontë
Villette is an 1853 novel written by English author Charlotte Brontë. After an unspecified family disaster, the protagonist Lucy Snowe travels from he...
The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie by Andrew Carnegie
This autobiography of Andrew Carnegie is a very well written and interesting history of one of the most wealthy men in the United states. He was born...
Florence Nightingale the Angel of the Crimea by Laura Richards
Florence Nightingale was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing training and theory. She significantly reduced dea...
Some Famous Women by Louise Creighton
Louise Creighton (1850-1936) was a British author and women's rights activist. The wife of the Anglican bishop of London, she was the mother of seven...
Three Girls in a Flat by Enid Yandell
Three Girls in a Flat, is a semi-autobiographical account of her work as a sculptor for the Horticultural Building at the World's Columbian Exposition...
Great Men and Famous Women, Vol. 1 by Charles Francis Horne
Great Men and Famous Women is an 8-volume work by various authors containing “A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the...
The Heroines of History by John S. Jenkins
A look at some of the famous women in European history. Includes biographies on Cleopatra; Isabella of Castile; Joan of Arc; Maria Theresa; Josephine;...
The Life and Adventures of Nat Love by Nat Love
A man born into bondage who became a top cowboy in the wild west. Recommended for anyone interested in cowboy history, American history, black America...
The Life of Saint Paul by Frances Alice Forbes
This is a captivating biographical account that takes readers on a remarkable journey through the life of one of Christianity's most influential figur...
The Life of Mozart Volume 1 by Otto Jahn
An in depth look into the life of one of the greatest ever composers and musicians. Mozart was truly a gifted individual and this is an interesting lo...
Reviews for Sons and Lovers
No reviews posted or approved, yet...