false 32071 156 <I>Sons and Lovers</I> was the first modern portrayal of a phenomenon that later, thanks to Freud, became easily recognizable as the Oedipus complex. Never was a son more indentured to his mother's love and full of hatred for his father than Paul Morel, D.H. Lawrence's young protagonist. Never, that is, except perhaps Lawrence himself. In his 1913 novel he grappled with the discordant loves that haunted him all his life--for his spiritual childhood sweetheart, here called Miriam, and for his mother, whom he transformed into Mrs. Morel. It is, by Lawrence's own account, a book aimed at depicting this woman's grasp: "as her sons grow up she selects them as lovers--first the eldest, then the second. These sons are <I>urged</I> into life by their reciprocal love of their mother--urged on and on. But when they come to manhood, they can't love, because their mother is the strongest power in their lives." <p> Of course, Mrs. Morel takes neither of her two elder sons (the first of whom dies early, which further intensifies her grip on Paul) as a literal lover, but nonetheless her psychological snare is immense. She loathes Paul's Miriam from the start, understanding that the girl's deep love of her son will oust her: "She's not like an ordinary woman, who can leave me my share in him. She wants to absorb him." Meanwhile, Paul plays his part with equal fervor, incapable of committing himself in either direction: "Why did his mother sit at home and suffer?... And why did he hate Miriam, and feel so cruel towards her, at the thought of his mother. If Miriam caused his mother suffering, then he hated her--and he easily hated her." Soon thereafter he even confesses to his mother: "I really <I>don't</I> love her. I talk to her, but I want to come home to you."<p> The result of all this is that Paul throws Miriam over for a married suffragette, Clara Dawes, who fulfills the sexual component of his ascent to manhood but leaves him, as ever, without a complete relationship to challenge his love for his mother. As Paul voyages from the working-class mining world to the spheres of commerce and art (he has fair success as a painter), he accepts that his own achievements must be equally his mother's. "There was so much to come out of him. Life for her was rich with promise. She was to see herself fulfilled... All his work was hers." <p> The cycles of Paul's relationships with these three women are terrifying at times, and Lawrence does nothing to dim their intensity. Nor does he shirk in his vivid, sensuous descriptions of the landscape that offers up its blossoms and beasts and "shimmeriness" to Paul's sensitive spirit. <I>Sons and Lovers</I> lays fully bare the souls of men and earth. Few books tell such whole, complicated truths about the permutations of love as resolutely without resolution. It's nothing short of searing to be brushed by humanity in this manner. <I>--Melanie Rehak</I> 3173046 1913 Sons and Lovers (Modern Library Classics) total:4573|5:876|4:1575|3:1432|2:520|1:170| 4573 16186 6699 278 5 4 false false Sun Jun 29 18:10:25 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 29 18:10:32 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 2 true false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 02 08:47:58 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 02 08:53:10 -0700 2007 Thankfully I didn't and was significantly moved by all the characters that played a part in shaping the novel.

I was pa...more...]]> 2 2 false false Sun Jun 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 09 10:31:58 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 15 15:22:48 -0700 2008
I kept wishing ...more...]]> 0 2 false false Mon May 12 08:09:52 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 19 05:35:16 -0700 2007 Mon May 12 08:09:52 -0700 2008 Me: meh. the book seems to be about emotions, relationships: stuff i don't give a shit about.]]> 4 1 false false Fri Mar 28 08:31:13 -0700 2008 Sat Apr 12 08:47:47 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 2 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Jun 11 20:23:03 -0700 2007 Sun Jun 24 23:31:23 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sun Oct 21 07:27:52 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 21 07:35:29 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 1 false false Tue Mar 25 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Mar 05 07:14:32 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 05 07:14:42 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Dec 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 16 12:30:27 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 16 12:31:48 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed May 20 14:54:10 -0700 2009 Wed May 20 15:08:27 -0700 2009
I loved this book. It reminded me again of my love for classic English literature. I love the realism in it. "Sons and Lovers" is essentially about relationships. I thought it was g...more...]]> 1 0 false true Sat Apr 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 04 03:32:12 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 09 11:44:43 -0700 2009
Basi...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun May 17 18:04:22 -0700 2009 Sun May 24 10:42:37 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Aug 12 21:03:44 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 21 17:12:29 -0700 2009 This was not the book I was expecting. I had this image of D.H. Lawrence as an idealized romantic like the poets. This...more...]]> 1 0 false false Sun Jun 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 14:42:36 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 14:50:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false true Sun Sep 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 07:44:07 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 13 12:42:50 -0700 2009
Psychologica...more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Dec 26 06:58:55 -0800 2007 Fri Jan 04 18:30:16 -0800 2008 3 1 false false Thu Nov 20 15:04:12 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 20 15:05:22 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Mon Oct 12 23:43:48 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 12 23:47:29 -0700 2009 Lady Chatterley's Lover will always be my favori...more...]]> 1 1 false false Fri Apr 04 13:08:05 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 04 13:11:46 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Nov 30 06:42:14 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 17 16:31:05 -0800 2009 more...]]>