RELATIONS OF DOMINANCE AND EQUALITY IN D. H. LAWRENCE
RELATIONS OF DOMINANCE AND EQUALITY IN D. H. LAWRENCE RELATIONS OF DOMINANCE AND EQUALITY IN D. H. LAWRENCE
44 he has given his wife. They are tied up to one another with fearfully strong handcuffs: the children. These handcuffs are the reason why they cannot get divorced, as Mrs Morel is forced to admit in one of their fights: 'The house is filthy with you', she cried. 'Then get out on it — it's mine. Get out on it!.' he shouted. 'It's me as brings th' money whoam, not thee. It's my house, not thine. Then get out on 't!' 'And I would,' she cried, suddenly shaken into tears of impotence. 'Ah, wouldn't I, wouldn't I have gone long ago, but for those children. Ay, haven't I repented not going years ago, when I'd only one' — suddenly driving into rage. 'Do you think it's for you I stop — do you think I'd stop one minute for: you?' 'No!' she faced round. 'No,' she cried loudly,' you shan't have it all your own way; you shant do all you like. I've got those children to see to. My word,' she laughed, 'I should look well to leave them to you.' (p.33) Walter, despite appearing strong and severe with his words, is nevertheless afraid of his wife. She is stronger than he is. However, the conflict is not so simple. Mrs Morel fights with the support of an interior and deep force that is brought out into truthful words-. Walter in his rage is only using his physical force because in his mind he is afraid of her. He will not.do anything mainly due to the guilt his wife inflicts on him. He has no courage to really confront her. This point can be supported by the fact that later on, in another battle, he arranges his bundle pretending to leave home. But he does not. It is only Walter trying childishly to blackmail his wife, perhaps wishing to frighten her or to see how important he is in his family. It is a useless joke because Mrs Morel knows her husband and even before she sees his bundle behind the door, she soothes her children about his returning. This unhappy event shows that, up to this point of the novel, Mrs Morel has already established who is the 'almighty' in the family. She is able to
45 the control the whole family without being contradicted. The poor husband has then to creep back to his shell and the only refuge that is allowed to him is the bars. Even the children he is not allowed to love, for his wife, in a certain way, forbids him to love them. Apart from this 'prohibition' the children cannot feel the father as part of the house. They take the side of the mother in the fights in which they are always present. The mother forces the children to side with her because she lets them see the flaws of the father. Mrs Morel thus lives for her children and Walter for his work and drinking. Home means rage, fear and unhappiness. Walter resents the fact that he has no love from the children. He knows that they do not belong to him, as he sneers to his wife: 'Look at the children, you nasty little bitchl'he sneered 'why, what have I done to the children, I should like to know? But they are like yourself; you've put' em up to your own tricks and nasty ways— you've learned' em in it, you'ave.' (p.77 - My underlining) Few peaceful moments between the couple are presented in the book. One of them happens when Morel gets sick and his wife is 'forced' to take care of him. As he recovers, life seems a little better for husband and wife stop fighting for some time (it may be because Mrs Morel does not have any reason to go into a fight — her husband is at home and for a while is not drinking). It is in this sort of 'ceasefire' that the last son Arthur is born. What is most interesting to notice here is that, for the first time, the couple together chooses the name of the boy (William and Annie's are not mentioned, and Paul's name is only chosen by the mother). This seems to be the only moment in the novel that the couple agrees to do a common thing (besides, of course, going to bed). Moreover, Arthur is the only son who
- Page 3 and 4: iii A todas as pessoas que ainda a-
- Page 5 and 6: V AGRADECIMENTO ESPECIAL Ao Profess
- Page 7 and 8: vii relationships. Yet, the partner
- Page 9 and 10: ix Lawrence mostra uma tentativa de
- Page 11 and 12: CHAPTER I STATEMENT OF PROBLEM When
- Page 13 and 14: 3 because of this, this phase is co
- Page 15 and 16: 5 The views of these above mentione
- Page 17 and 18: 7 female reader will remember herse
- Page 19 and 20: Millets' tendentious criticism stat
- Page 21 and 22: 11 Everyone who writes on Lawrence
- Page 23 and 24: 13 As for homosexuality (which Moor
- Page 25 and 26: 15 two thirds of the book [Huxley]
- Page 27 and 28: 17 in this dissertation. Vivas' vie
- Page 29 and 30: 19 lack of evidence to prove his po
- Page 31 and 32: 21 text and supported by the text.
- Page 33 and 34: 23 kind of bridge for her search. H
- Page 35 and 36: 25 As for the affair between Gudrun
- Page 37 and 38: 27 a position Lawrence could not de
- Page 39 and 40: 29 the love of the powerful mother,
- Page 41 and 42: 31 can be associated with Dr Franks
- Page 43 and 44: 33 indifferent to human life. Yet h
- Page 45 and 46: 35 he says "Yet at the end, when Ci
- Page 47 and 48: 37 spiritual, or aggressive women a
- Page 49 and 50: CHAPTER II THE PATTERN OF CONFLICT
- Page 51 and 52: 41 and mind superiority. She is wha
- Page 53: 43 father was serving beer in a pub
- Page 57 and 58: eturning home drunken and certainly
- Page 59 and 60: to reconcile the children with the
- Page 61 and 62: more persuasive to her sons in the
- Page 63 and 64: succeed in life. This is an unconsc
- Page 65 and 66: to strengthen the relation. This me
- Page 67 and 68: eally wants. He goes from one decis
- Page 69 and 70: prefers to think of death instead o
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- Page 73 and 74: 63 implies definitely the mother's
- Page 75 and 76: 65 William. He dies. Mrs Morel's li
- Page 77 and 78: 67 reserve. And on such occasions h
- Page 79 and 80: 69 to go out of it and he has on on
- Page 81 and 82: 71 failure. She is losing her son t
- Page 83 and 84: 73 more are related to his impotenc
- Page 85 and 86: 75 Clara. The idea is that through
- Page 87 and 88: 77 was the marital failure? Who was
- Page 89 and 90: he can have pleasure. Miriam is for
- Page 91 and 92: who she is and what she wants. The
- Page 93 and 94: This is like Paul's passion for Cla
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- Page 97 and 98: 87 'Let's make a sacrifice of Arabe
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- Page 101 and 102: My last point about Sons and Lovers
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44<br />
he has given his wife.<br />
They are tied up to one another with<br />
fearfully strong handcuffs: the children.<br />
These handcuffs are<br />
the reason why they cannot get divorced, as Mrs Morel is forced<br />
to admit in one of their fights:<br />
'The house is filthy with you', she cried.<br />
'Then get out on it — it's mine. Get out on it!.'<br />
he shouted. 'It's me as brings th' money whoam,<br />
not thee. It's my house, not thine. Then get<br />
out on 't!'<br />
'And I would,' she cried, suddenly shaken into<br />
tears of impotence. 'Ah, wouldn't I, wouldn't I<br />
have gone long ago, but for those children. Ay,<br />
haven't I repented not going years ago, when I'd<br />
only one' — suddenly driving into rage. 'Do you<br />
think it's for you I stop — do you think I'd stop<br />
one minute for: you?'<br />
'No!' she faced round. 'No,' she cried loudly,'<br />
you shan't have it all your own way; you shant do<br />
all you like. I've got those children to see to.<br />
My word,' she laughed, 'I should look well to<br />
leave them to you.' (p.33)<br />
Walter, despite appearing strong and severe with his words,<br />
is<br />
nevertheless afraid of his wife.<br />
She is stronger than he is.<br />
However, the conflict is not so simple.<br />
Mrs Morel fights with<br />
the support of an interior and deep force that is brought out<br />
into truthful words-.<br />
Walter in his rage is only using his<br />
physical force because in his mind he is afraid of her.<br />
He will<br />
not.do anything mainly due to the guilt his wife inflicts on him.<br />
He has no courage to really confront her.<br />
This point can be<br />
supported by the fact that later on, in another battle, he<br />
arranges his bundle pretending to leave home.<br />
But he does not.<br />
It is only Walter trying childishly to blackmail his wife,<br />
perhaps wishing to frighten her or to see how important he is in<br />
his family.<br />
It is a useless joke because Mrs Morel knows her<br />
husband and even before she sees his bundle behind the door, she<br />
soothes her children about his returning.<br />
This unhappy event<br />
shows that, up to this point of the novel, Mrs Morel has already<br />
established who is the 'almighty' in the family.<br />
She is able to
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