Due to his past, the protagonist of the novel Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence is a perfect example of a character paralyzed by the inability to hold on to a relationship. Paul Morel had three significant relationships in the novel that all parallel in some way elements found in nature. The symbolism hidden beneath the natural settings Lawrence uses is all provocative and sexual, and all deepen Paul's relationships with his mother, his neighbor, and a woman who ultimately became his muse. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The first of these relationships was with Paul's mother, Gertrude Morel. Madame Morel's unhappiness and instability were due to her premature marriage. His only comfort came from living vicariously through his sons, especially Paul. When she was pregnant with Paul, Mrs. Morel experienced a sensual and moving moment in her garden that shaped not only the novel but also the character of her son. This scene in the novel used a lot of provocative imagery. Lawrence's choice of flowers and flower colors seemed significant. “The large white lilies swayed in the moonlight… she touched the large pale flowers on their petals then shivered… She put her hand in a white tray: the gold barely appeared on her fingers in the moonlight… Then she drank a big sip of the perfume. It almost made him dizzy. » The first image given was that of a white lily. The color white seems to be used to describe a virginal moment. Although Gertrude was not technically a "virgin" physically, much of the pleasure of the garden seemed new to her. Her sensuality was heightened, which never seemed to happen during her relationship with her husband. A lily is a very spreading flower, with long petals and an upright center with pollen-covered tips. The flower petals are very open and seem to symbolize the vaginal area. It was hard not to notice the center of a lily. The center of the carpel, long, erect and straight, seemed to be a phallic symbol. The combination of the white color, the long petals and the fertile center of the lily is extremely suggestive. Something I also took into account while reading this passage was the fact that at the root of a lily is a bulb as opposed to a seed. Compared to seeds, bulbs are much larger and heavier. The analogy between seed and bulb can parallel Walter Morel's relationship with Gertrude as opposed to Paul's. In this same scene, images of hills and roses were also mentioned. Lawrence's use of the hills seems to reaffirm his sexual arousal, which Paul participated in in Gertrude's womb. The hills are very curvy and feminine, unlike the mountains, which are often described by "peaks", another phallic symbol. The use of hills instead of peaks reinforces the idea that Gertrude will have some sort of feminine hold over her son, making him incapable of moving romantically with other women. The author used a second reference to flowers in the same chapter to reinforce the idea of ​​Mrs. Morel's sexual relationship: “She passed along the path hesitantly in front of the white rosebush. A few whiffs of the raw, powerful scent of phlox invigorated her. She touched the white ruffles of the roses. Their fresh scent and fresh, soft leaves reminded him of the morning and the sun. She loved them very much. In this event, Lawrence refers to roses. Roses in literature often symbolize romance. It is very important to remember that Paul experiences thisexcitement vicariously through Gertrude. The rose leaves remind him of the morning and the sun. Images of morning and sunshine are often metaphorical of new beginnings. In the context of this passage, the new romance seemed to be a welcome one for Gertrude. She accepted it and from there was born the development of an Oedipal, almost incestuous, relationship between her and her son. Her son's name was Paul, "a thin shadow was cast on the deep green meadow, darkening everything" . Lawrence once again uses nature symbolically. By darkening the meadow, he closed a chapter in the life of Gertrude Morel, her relationship with Walter Morel. Although Gertrude and Walter's relationship was already difficult at this point, the use of a dark meadow is significant because of its location just after the son's naming. This suggests that the passion once for Mr. Morel is now nonexistent, leaving room for Paul to make some kind of territorial claim on Gertrude Morel. The meadow was dark, seemingly representing an end, as opposed to green and fertile. It also reinforced the idea that what Mrs. Morel experienced in the garden was orgasmic and that Paul experienced his pleasures vicariously through her. When she was pregnant with Paul, she saw the sun, a symbol of a new beginning, with a new male. DH Lawrence's symbolic use of nature in the novel continued with the introduction of Miriam Leivers in "Death in the Family". Paul's first meeting with Miriam took place during a visit with his mother to the Leiver farm. Miriam first appeared in a garden with a “pink” complexion. Appearing in a garden foreshadows the possibility of a new relationship between Paul and Miriam, and having a "rosy" face gives her character the idea of ​​fertility. Upon meeting Miriam, Paul was visibly fascinated, as he struck up a conversation with her about cabbage roses, even fostering the omen of romance. "'I suppose they're cabbage roses, when they come out?' he said. “I don’t know,” she stammered. “They are white, with a pink middle. » “So they have a girlish blush.” Miriam blushed. It had a nice warm color. “I don’t know,” she said. 'You don't have much in your garden,' he said…” This passage from Paul and Miriam's first meeting is significant, because of its extreme sexual connotations. Once again, DH Lawrence introduces the romantic and fertile image of the rose. However, this time he described the roses as "white, with a pink heart." In doing so, he brought Miriam's character to the table. The resulting image is very sensual. A white rose with a pink middle could be seen metaphorically for the vaginal area. The color becomes deeper towards the center. She was a girl, in the prime of her life. The color “white” is visible in the passage, once again indicating virginity or purity. This is also supported by the fact that Paul skeptically said, “You don’t have much in your garden. » While red is often associated with love and passion, she has been described as pink and dewy, meaning she was on the verge of her sexuality. She was a virgin; she was almost ready. Near the beginning of "Lad-and-Girl Love," Paul decided to visit the Leivers farm "as soon as the sky cleared" and "the plum blossoms [were] out." Like the chapter title, the lit sky foreshadowed the beginning of a relationship between Paul and Miriam. It was interesting how it specifically said that Paul was waiting for the plum blossoms to come out. Like DH Lawrence's previous choices of lilies and roses, the choice of plum blossoms does not appear to be a coincidence. Plum blossoms are oftenwhite, pink and dark red. Two of these colors had previously been used to describe Miriam, and the remaining color is the color of romance and sexuality. Like lilies, plum blossoms also have a carpel center, with stigmas tipped with pollen. Their petals are also spreading and are very curved and circular, just like the female form. After Paul approached Miriam, the first thing he said to her was, “'I say…your daffodils are almost out. Isn't it early? But don't they look cold? The green on their buds…'” The author uses nature in this passage to establish a relationship between a woman's breasts and a daffodil. Like the nipples on a breast, the center of the daffodil protrudes. This passage is intended to draw the reader in and focus on Miriam's womanhood and development. During the visit, Paul made several comments about the celandine bushes coming out and rejoicing in the “sunny” weather. There are more and more images of plants and nature, which are used to define the "earthly" relationship between Paul and Miriam. The fact that Paul noted that it was now "sunny" rather than a "lit sky" like before suggests that they moved. past the initial flirtation into something that may have substance. Celandines are small, delicate yellow flowers that were chosen by Lawrence to reinforce Miriam's delicate and warm nature. “I like celandines when their petals flatten with the sun. They seem to be pressing against the sun. It was easy for me to deduce that Paul readily approved of the celandines as a subliminal invitation to Miriam. He loved it when the petals of the celandines were pressed against the sun. I interpreted the use of the word "sun" as a metaphor for Paul, both because since his birth he was closely associated with the morning. Also because “sun” seemed to be a playful word for the namesake “son”. If the “sun” was Paul and the celandines were Miriam, he openly proclaimed his growing interest and desire for her. “So it was in this atmosphere of subtle intimacy, this meeting in their common feeling or something in nature, that their love began.” Their love for each other evolved as "Lad-and-Girl Love" progressed. However, the way Miriam viewed their relationship and the way Paul viewed their relationship was completely different. Miriam wanted “communion together” while Paul wanted Miriam physically. The sexual tension continued to build and many images of trees began to be offered by DH Lawrence, notably in the scene where Miriam wanted to show Paul a wild rosebush which fascinated her. “By the time they arrived at the pines, Miriam was very impatient and very tense. And she wanted it so bad. Almost passionately, she wanted to be with him when she stood in front of the flowers. They were going to commune together, something that thrilled her, something sacred. This passage showed the eagerness that Miriam had to be with Paul: body and soul. Whereas Paul, although somewhat intrigued by Miriam's mind, focused on her physical turmoil. His impatience was described metaphorically through the author's images of trees. “The tree was large and scattered. It had thrown its brambles over a hawthorn bush, and its long streamers trailed down to the grass... Point after point, the steady roses shone towards them, seeming to kindle something in their souls. The scattered tree turned out to be a very provocative phallic image of Paul's sexual appetite. The images offered by Lawrence in these passages are very suggestive and very sensual. The “scattered” tree seemed to makereference to an erection while Miriam's "white" and "curved" roses were very reminiscent of a pure and intact vaginal area. The adjective "wild" used to describe the rosebush was used to express something less appropriate than the way Miriam is used to acting, as normally she could be described as pious, innocent, and conservative. The word “savage” suggested the opposite extreme. “Around the broken top of the tower the ivy grew, old and beautiful... The tower seemed to sway in the wind. » The sexuality presented by Lawrence remains constant throughout the rest of the section. In this particular passage, he used the imagery of a tower metaphorically to describe Paul's sexual frustration with Miriam's continued hesitation. He was swollen, ready for Miriam to consent to his invitation, but she held back, leaving him unsatisfied and sexually repressed. “It was blowing so hard up there in the exposed place that the only way to be safe was to stay pinned by the wind to the wall of the tower…. Miriam was somewhat frightened by the wind… Paul was now pale with weariness. » DH Lawrence also used various nature images to depict Paul's descent and Miriam's relationship, which also led to the next major relationship in Paul's life. When Paul realized that Miriam could not console his sexual turmoil, he began to step back to try to regain his sensitivity. “He wanted to give her passion and tenderness, and he couldn’t. He felt that she wanted the soul to leave her body and not him. While they were on one of their usual walks, Paul noticed Miriam smothering the flowers and responded negatively. “'Can you ever love things without squeezing them as if you wanted to tear their hearts out?'… 'You always beg things to love you as if you were a beggar for love. Even the flowers, you have to admire them.' » The way Paul interpreted Miriam's reaction to nature paralleled the way he interpreted Miriam's treatment of him. He was tired of being smothered, which led to Miriam's eventual "defeat." Clara Dawes' impression of the flowers was completely opposite to Miriam's. Rather than picking them and metaphorically repressing her sexuality by "flattering" them, she chose to leave them planted in the ground, declaring, "'I don't want dead flower corpses around me.' Not only could she be labeled as "difficult" because she constantly went against societal norms, but she also had the ability to offer something completely different to Paul, something less temporary and unknown of him. It allowed the flowers to remain planted in the ground, giving them the opportunity to grow rather than suddenly die. This ends up being metaphorical of their relationship, as Clara Dawes ended up becoming his muse, his inspiration for many of his works. With Miriam, Paul felt very repressed and Clara was offering something completely different. Clara inspired a passion in him, as evidenced by the fact that he chose to buy her "brick-red scarlet carnations". The color scarlet is a very deep erotic color that suggests deep desire. The different appearances of nature when Clara was present and when Miriam was present present a stark contrast. Often the flowers and plants associated with Miriam were very virginal, very pure, unlike Clara who was presented to her. “The red earth cliff descended rapidly, through the trees and bushes, to the river which sparkled and was very dark between the foliage. Grasslands below the waterwere very green. He and she stood leaning against each other, silent, afraid, their bodies touching all the time. There was a rapid gurgling sound coming from the river below. The colors used have been described as "red", "dark" and "very green". These colors suggested concentration on Paul's part. Due to a previous marriage, Clara can already be considered anything but pure. However, it was this deeper sense of knowledge that attracted Paul. He wanted to benefit from his experience and be stimulated by Clara's maturity. The foliage present at Clara's house included trees, bushes, and a dark, glowing river. The trees appear once again as a phallic symbol of Paul's lust. The bushes also refer to the male pubic area and the river symbolized a desire. His proposal “Do you want to go down to the river?” It was an invitation to Clara. He asks her to be his lover, despite the fact that this presents the complications of being both "risky" and "messy". Their encounter with nature in "Passion" is very representative of sexual intercourse, and sometimes DH Lawrence even uses words closely associated with the activity like "erect." "When they were leaving, the old boy came timidly with three dahlias in full. bow...speckled with scarlet and white. Dahlias are very full flowers, even when budding. The meaning of this bold, full flower is a parallel with the character of Clara, like the dahlias, is full of silhouette and the image given of something “full” is also something “more mature” Clara possessed a maturity that Miriam had never claimed. The white and red seemed to form such a stark contrast. However, as there were three dahlias, it seemed very symbolic of the women featured in Paul's life and foreshadowed his inability to truly have a relationship. aside from her mother, Miriam Leivers and Clara Dawes The white flower seemed representative of Miriam while the scarlet seemed to be associated with Clara and her more experienced view of the world. The color of the third flower was neither scarlet nor red, and I can't help but wonder what that color would be. Although it could be scarlet to represent the passion and true love that Paul had for his mother, it could also be white because of the purity and deep unconditional affection he had towards her. "Liberation" signified an important change, and again although less abundantly, DH Lawrence made reference to nature in order to foreshadow his plot and his need for the symbolic liberation and death of Mrs. Morel. “And he watched the tangled sunflowers die, and the chrysanthemums come out, and the dahlias.” The change of seasons, which can be assumed by the change of different flowers, signified a change in Paul's life. Additionally, this quote gave meaning to each range of flowers. Once again, dahlias could be compared to Clara Dawes. The fact that there was no word "action" used after the flower race did not presage any further "action" in Paul's relationship with Clara. The sunflowers represented Gertrude Morel in the sense that these particular flowers need sunlight to continue living. Returning to the idea that the word “sun” seemed to be a play on words for Paul Morel (the “son”), this translation is easily justified. It was essential that the character of Gertrude Morel die so that the protagonist would have some kind of blueprint for a future romance, which is supported by the fact that Paul himself says: "I will never meet the right woman as long as you will live.” The word “tangled” 1913)