Son and Lover

Author: Lawrence
Publisher:
Publication Date: 1997-08-01
Features: The son of a miner, a genius plagued by illness, ultimately became world-famous for works such as Sons and Lovers and Lady Chatterley's Lover. Lawrence's eldest son, William, went to London out of necessity to make a living and strive for success. His younger son, Paul, had to start looking for jobs at the age of fourteen. His father, Walter Morel, had been a child laborer working in coal mines since the age of ten, deprived of education, speaking in slang, and with poor grammar. He was optimistic, content with mere survival, unaware of the oppression of exploitation, and only hoped that his sons would follow him into the mines. His mother came from the middle class, had been a teacher, and was well-educated, speaking standard English. When Morel pursued her, she had not considered that marrying a miner would mean losing all the comforts of the middle class and suffering socially and economically. Only when she finally realized that she could not change her fate of exploitation and discrimination did she place her hopes on her sons, hoping they could avoid the same destiny. William did not disappoint his mother's expectations. He quickly associated with the prominent figures in Bessington and later left for London to find work, striving to enter high society. In the end, he met a reckless noblewoman and, in his desperation to save money for his lover, overworked himself to death. Soon after, Paul contracted pneumonia and was bedridden for seven weeks. His mother cared for him day and night, gradually shifting her love from William to Paul and finding the courage to live again. However, this distorted maternal love unknowingly harmed Paul, plunging him into deeper misery... This book embodies three of Lawrence's main ideas: first, lamenting and protesting the pollution of the natural environment caused by industrial development; second, a strong sense of inferiority about social status, determined to break free from the shackles of his class; and third, the frustration of not handling the conflict between marriage and sexuality correctly. The fictional Bessington mining area is located at the border of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Since the industrial development in the 19th century led to large-scale exploitation of workers by capitalists, the small mining village has seen an increase in miners, resulting in the construction of many residential areas. Although the houses are sturdy and have small gardens, the backyards are messy and filled with garbage. For Mrs. Morel, life there was "a struggle against poverty, ugliness, and humiliation." This oppressive life forced the eldest son, William, to go to London to make a living and strive for success. The younger son, Paul, had to start looking for jobs at the age of fourteen and deeply felt that he was a "prisoner of the industrial society system," with factory buildings like dark mines, and this was the life trap he desperately wanted to escape.