David Herbert, D.H., Lawrence published his third novel, Sons and Lovers, in 1913. The story follows the Morel family. They live in “The Bottoms”, a small mining community in England, built over the remnants of “Hell Row”. The Morel family is unhappy, because of the relationship between Walter, the father, and Gertrude, the mother. Walter drinks too much, does little to provide Gertrude with emotional satisfaction, while Gertrude feels superior, and is unhappy with the family’s social status. Searching for emotional satisfaction, Gertrude turns to her children for comfort. At first, her affection focusses on the eldest son, William, but after he become ill and dies, Gertrude shifts her attention to Paul, the youngest son. There are many parallels between the novel and Lawrence’s own personal life. Similar to the Morel’s, the Lawrence’s family lived in a working-class community in Nottinghamshire, England. Lawrence’s father, Arthur, worked in a mine, and was a drinker. Lawrence’s older brother, Ernest, passed away early in life, causing Lawrence to become the focus of Lydia’s affection. Similar with Paul and Miriam Leivers, Lawrence had an early relationship with Jessie Chambers, of whom his mother did not approve. Like Paul’s relationship with Clara Dawes, Lawrence engaged in an affair with Alice Dax, a married woman with a family. Sons and Lovers is a semi-autobiographical novel in which Lawrence draws from his own personal relationships with his parents, his childhood sweetheart, and adult lover as the basis for his fictional characters, which he ultimately uses to build the foundation for his philosophical ideas regarding industrialism and love.
In the story, Walter represents the embodiment of Lawrence’s issues ...
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...d Walter Morel after his father, Arthur, and Gertrude Morel on his mother, Lydia. Furthermore, Lawrence represents himself in the protagonist, Paul Morel, the son of Walter and Gertrude Morel.
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