Sons and Lovers By D.H. Lawrence THE STORY
Mrs. Morel already has two children, Annie and William, when she becomes pregnant for a third th ird tim time. e. He Herr mar marri riag age e to Wa Walte lterr ha has s slo slowly wly de dete terio riora rate ted d int into o an en endle dless ss se serie ries s of drunken rows and she is less than happy at the prospect of haing another baby, !aul, to bring up Howeer, Howee r, when William dies she channels her emotional attention and needs into !aul to such an e"tent that his relationship with other women is #eopardised. When Mrs. Morel dies of cancer, !aul is tempted to commit suicide, but finds the strength to carry on liing. “I Will Call Him Paul” Mrs. Mo Mrs. Morel rel is ho hold lding ing her ne newly wly-bo -born rn thi third rd child in he herr ar arms ms in the compan company y of a ne neigh ighbo bour, ur, Mrs. Kirk, and is wondering what the future holds for both of them.
Chapter II -The irth o! Paul" and another attle
$he sun was going down. %ery open eening, the hills of Derbyshire were bla&ed oer with red sunset. Mrs. Morel watched the sun sink from the glistening sky, leaing a soft flower'blue flower'b lue oerhead, while the western space went red, as if all the fire had swum down there, leaing the bell cast flawless blue. $he mountain'ash mountain'ash berries across the field stood fierily out from the dark leaes, for a moment. A few shocks of corn in a comer of the fallow stood up as if alie( she imagined them bowing( perhaps her son would be a )oseph. *n the east, a mirrored sunset floated pink opposite the west+s scarlet. $he big haystacks on the hillside, that butted into the glare, went cold. With Mrs. Morel it was one of those still moments when the small frets anish, and the beauty of things stands out, and she had the peace and the strength to see herself. ow and again, a swallow-- cut close to her. ow and again, Annie carne up with a handful of alder'currants. alder'cu rrants. $he baby was restless restless on his his mother+s knee, clambering clambering with his hands hands at the light. Mrs. Morel looked down at him. he had dreaded this baby like a catastrophe, catastrophe, because of
her feeling for her husband. And now she felt strangely towards the infant. Her heart was heay because of the child, almost as if it were unhealthy, or malformed. /et it seemed 0uite well. But she noticed the peculiar knitting of the baby+s brows, and the peculiar heainess heaine ss of its eyes, as if it were trying to understand understand something that was pain. he felt, when she looked at her child+s dark, brooding pupils as if a burden were on her heart. He looks as if he was thinking about something' 0uite sorrowful, said Mrs. 1irk. uddenly, looking at him, the heay feeling at the mother+s heart melted into passionate grief. he bowed oer him, and a few tears shook swiftly out of her ery heart. $he baby lifted his fingers. 2My lamb34 she cried softly. And at that moment moment she felt, in some far inner inner place of her soul, soul, that she and her her husband were guilty. $he baby was looking up at her. *t had blue eyes like her own, but its look was heay, steady, as if it had realised realised something something that had stunnedstunned- ⁷ some point of its soul. soul. *n her arms lay the delicate baby. *ts deep blue eyes, always looking up at her unblinking, seemed to draw her innermost thoughts out of her. he no longer loed her husband( husband( she had not wanted this child child to come, and there it lay in her arms and pulled at her heart. he felt as if the nael string that had connected its frail little body with hers had not been broken. A wae of hot loe went oer her to the infant. he held it close to her face and breast. With all her force, with all her soul she would make up to it for haing brought it into the world unloed. unloed. he would loe it all the more now it was here( carry it in her loe. *ts clear, knowing eyes gae her pain and fear. Did it know all about her5 When it lay under her heart, had it been listening then5 Was there a reproach in the look5 he felt the marrow melt in her bones, with fear and pain. 6nce more she was aware of the sun lying red on the rim of the hill opposite. he suddenly held up the child in her hands. 2Look34 she said. +Look, my pretty3+
he thrust the infant forward to the crimson throbbing sun, almost with relief. he saw him
lift his little fist. $hen she put him to her bosom again, ashamed almost of her impulse to gie him back again whence he came.
#You#re Old" $other# Paul is planning to go to a local town, Selby, with his girlfriend, girlfriend, Miriam. His mother reveals that she is ealous of the younger woman.
!aul sat pretending to read. He knew his mother wanted to upbraid him. He also wanted to know what had made her ill, for he was troubled. o, instead of running away to bed, as he would hae liked to do, he sat and waited. $here was a tense silence. $he clock ticked loudly.
+/ou7d better go to bed before your father comes in,+ said the mother harshly. +And if you+re going to hae anything to eat, you+d better get it.+ +* don7t want anything. *t was his mother+s custom to bring him some trifle for supper on 8riday night, the night of lu"ury for the colliers. He was too angry to go and find it in the pantry this night. $his insulted her. +*f * wanted you to go to elby on 8riday night, * can imagine the scene,+ said Mrs. Morel. +But you+re neer too tired to go if she will come for you. ay, you neither want to eat nor drink then.+ +* can7t let her go alone.+ +9an7t you5 And why does she come5+ +ot because * ask her.+ +he doesn+t come without you want her '+ +Well, what if * do want her'+ he replied. +Why, nothing, if it was sensible or reasonable. But to go trapseing up there miles and miles in the mud, coming home at midnight, and got to go to ottingham in the morning'+ +*f * hadn+t, you+d be #ust the same.+ +/es, * should, because there+s no sense in it. *s she so fascinating that you must follow her all that way5+ Mrs. Morel was bitterly sarcastic. he sat still, with aerted face, stroking with a rhythmic, #erked moement, the black sateen of her apron. *t was a moement that hurt !aul to see.
+* do like her,+ he said, +but :::::+
+Like her3+ said Mrs. Morel, in the same biting tones. +*t seems to me you like nothing and nobody else. $here+s neither Annie, nor me, nor anyone now for you.+ +What nonsense, mother' you know * don+t loe her ' * ' * tell you * don+t loe her ;she doesn+t een walk with my arm, because * don+t want her to.+ +$hen why do you fly to her so often5+ +* do like to talk to her ' * neer said * didn
'
Mrs. Morel was so intense that !aul began to pant. +Why' painting ' and books. /ou don+t care about Herbert pencer.+ +o,+ was the sad reply. +And you won+t at my age.+ +Well, but * do now ' and Miriam does'+ +And how do you know,+ Mrs. Morel flashed defiantly, +that * shouldn+t. Do you eer try me3+ +But +B ut yo you u do don+t n+t,, mot mothe her, r, yo you u kno know w yo you u do don+t n+t care whether a picture+s decoratie or not( you don+t care what manner it is in.+ +How do you know * don+t care5 Do you eer try me5 Do you eer talk to me about these things, to try5+ +But it+s not that that matters to you, mother, you know it+s not.+ +What is it, then ' what is it, then, that matters to me5+ she flashed. He knitted his brows with pain. +/ou+re old, mother, and we+re young.+ He only meant that the interests of her age were not the interests of his. But he realised the moment he had spoken that he had said the wrong thing.
+/es, * know it well' * am old. And therefore * may stand aside( * hae nothing more to do with you. /ou only want me to wait on you 'the rest is for Miriam.+ He could not bear it. *nstinctiely he realised that he was life to her. And, after all, she was the chief thing to him, the only supreme thing. +/ou know it isn+t, mother, you know it isn+t3+ he was moed to pity by his cry. +*t looks a great deal like it,+ she said, half putting aside her despair. +o, mother' * really don+t loe her. * talk to her, but * want to come home to you.+ He had taken off his collar and tie, and rose, bare'throated, to go to bed. As he stooped to kiss his mother, she threw her arms round his neck, hid her face on his shoulder, and cried, in a whimpering-= oice, so unlike her own that he writhed in agony> +* can+t bear it. * could let another woman' but not her. he+d leae me no room, not a bit of room '+ And immediately immediately he he hated Miriam bitterly. bitterly. +And *+e neer' you know, !aul' *+e neer had a husband' not really'+ He stroked his mother+s hair, and his mouth was on her throat. +And she e"ults so in taking you from me' she+s not like ordinary girls.+ +Well, * don+t loe her, mother,+ he murmured, murmured, bowing his head and hiding hiding his eyes on her shoulder in misery. His mother kissed him a long, ferent kiss. +My boy3+ she said, in a oice trembling with passionate loe. Without knowing, he gently stroked her face. +$here,+ said his mother, +now go to bed. /ou+ll be so tired in the morning.+ As she was speaking speaking she she heard her husband husband coming. coming. +$here+s +$here+s your father now go+. go+.
