Article #217-1 | Gutenberg Articles

Excerpt

Excerpt from Sons and Lovers, by D. H. Lawrence

When William was growing up, the family moved from the Bottoms to a
house on the brow of the hill, commanding a view of the valley, which
spread out like a convex cockle-shell, or a clamp-shell, before it. In
front of the house was a huge old ash-tree. The west wind, sweeping
from Derbyshire, caught the houses with full force, and the tree
shrieked again. Morel liked it.

“It’s music,” he said. “It sends me to sleep.”

But Paul and Arthur and Annie hated it. To Paul it became almost a
demoniacal noise. The winter of their first year in the new house their
father was very bad. The children played in the street, on the brim of
the wide, dark valley, until eight o’clock. Then they went to bed.
Their mother sat sewing below. Having such a great space in front of
the house gave the children a feeling of night, of vastness, and of
terror. This terror came in from the shrieking of the tree and the
anguish of the home discord. Often Paul would wake up, after he had
been asleep a long time, aware of thuds downstairs. Instantly he was
wide awake. Then he heard the booming shouts of his father, come home
nearly drunk, then the sharp replies of his mother, then the bang, bang
of his father’s fist on the table, and the nasty snarling shout as the
man’s voice got higher. And then the whole was drowned in a piercing
medley of shrieks and cries from the great, wind-swept ash-tree. The
children lay silent in suspense, waiting for a lull in the wind to hear
what their father was doing. He might hit their mother again. There was
a feeling of horror, a kind of bristling in the darkness, and a sense
of blood. They lay with their hearts in the grip of an intense anguish.
The wind came through the tree fiercer and fiercer. All the chords of
the great harp hummed, whistled, and shrieked. And then came the horror
of the sudden silence, silence everywhere, outside and downstairs. What
was it? Was it a silence of blood? What had he done?

Explanation

**Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence**

Context of the Excerpt

Sons and Lovers (1913) is a semi-autobiographical novel by D.H. Lawrence, exploring the complex dynamics of the Morel family, particularly the suffocating emotional bonds between the mother, Gertrude, and her sons, especially Paul. The novel is set in the early 20th century in the English Midlands, a region marked by industrialization, coal mining, and working-class struggles. The excerpt depicts the family’s move from "the Bottoms" (a working-class neighborhood) to a house on a hill, where the natural elements—particularly the wind and the ash-tree—become symbolic extensions of the family’s psychological turmoil.

The passage focuses on the contrasting perceptions of the father (Walter Morel) and the children (Paul, Arthur, Annie) regarding the wind and the ash-tree, as well as the violent domestic discord that haunts the household. The wind and the tree are not just background details but active forces that mirror and amplify the family’s emotional state.

Themes in the Excerpt

Domestic Violence and Psychological Trauma
- The excerpt vividly portrays the cycle of abuse in the Morel household. Walter Morel’s drunkenness and violence are a recurring source of terror for the children.
- The sounds of conflict—the "booming shouts," "sharp replies," "bang, bang of his father’s fist," and the "nasty snarling shout"—create a sensory nightmare for the children, who lie in fear, imagining the worst.
- The "silence of blood" suggests the unspoken horror of physical violence—perhaps Gertrude being beaten—leaving the children in suspense, wondering if their mother has been harmed.
Nature as a Reflection of Human Emotion
- The ash-tree and the wind are not neutral elements but personified forces that interact with the family’s psyche.
- Walter Morel finds the wind’s shrieking "music"—it soothes him, possibly because it drowns out his own guilt or the family’s suffering. His indifference (or even enjoyment) of the noise contrasts sharply with the children’s terror.
- For Paul, the wind is "demoniacal"—it becomes a metaphor for the chaos and fear in his home. The tree’s shrieks drown out the violence, making it even more unbearable when the wind stops, leaving only silence and dread.
Isolation and the Sublime Terror of Space
- The new house on the hill offers a panoramic view of the valley, but instead of freedom, it induces a "feeling of night, of vastness, and of terror."
- The open space (symbolizing exposure and vulnerability) contrasts with the claustrophobic horror inside the house, creating a dual sense of entrapment.
- The children’s fear of the dark and the unknown is heightened by the wind’s howling, which feels like an externalization of their internal dread.
The Oedipal Conflict and Maternal Bond
- While not explicitly stated here, the excerpt foreshadows Paul’s deep emotional tie to his mother (a central theme in the novel). The children’s fear for their mother’s safety hints at their protective, almost possessive love for her, which will later develop into Paul’s psychological struggle between love and resentment.

Literary Devices & Stylistic Analysis

Personification & Pathetic Fallacy
- The ash-tree is given human-like qualities—it "shriek[s]" like a living being in pain, mirroring the family’s suffering.
- The wind is not just a natural force but an active participant in the drama—it "comes through the tree fiercer and fiercer," almost as if it is orchestrating the tension.
- The "great harp" metaphor suggests that the tree is an instrument of fate, playing a discordant, ominous symphony that accompanies the family’s misery.
Sound Imagery (Auditory Sensations)
- Lawrence uses onsomatopoeia and rhythmic repetition to immerse the reader in the chaos of the scene:
  - "bang, bang of his father’s fist"
  - "piercing medley of shrieks and cries"
  - "booming shouts... sharp replies... nasty snarling shout"
- The crescendo of noise (from human voices to the wind’s shrieks) creates a sense of escalating horror, culminating in the sudden, eerie silence—which is even more terrifying.
Contrast & Juxtaposition
- Walter vs. the Children:
  - Walter finds the wind "music"—it lulls him to sleep, suggesting his detachment from the family’s suffering.
  - The children hear it as a "demoniacal noise"—it amplifies their fear, making them hyper-aware of the violence.
- Sound vs. Silence:
  - The loud chaos of the wind and fighting is worse than the silence, which feels like "a silence of blood"—implying unseen violence.
Symbolism
- The Ash-Tree:
  - Represents the inescapable, looming presence of suffering in the Morel household.
  - Its "shrieking" could symbolize Gertrude’s suppressed pain (she is often silent in her suffering).
- The Wind from Derbyshire:
  - Derbyshire is Lawrence’s home county, often associated with raw, untamed nature—here, it brings not freshness but destruction.
  - The wind sweeps in from outside, just as Walter’s drunkenness and violence invade the home from the outside world.
- The Valley (Cockle/Clam-Shell Shape):
  - The convex shape suggests both a womb (protection) and a trap (confinement)—the family is enclosed in their suffering.
Sensory and Emotional Overload
- The passage bombards the reader with sensations—sound, touch (the "bristling in the darkness"), and emotion (the "grip of intense anguish").
- The physical reactions of the children ("hearts in the grip of anguish," "lying silent in suspense") make the psychological terror visceral.

Significance of the Passage

Establishing the Family’s Psychological Landscape
- This excerpt sets the tone for the novel’s exploration of dysfunctional family dynamics, particularly how violence and emotional neglect shape the children’s psyches.
- Paul’s heightened sensitivity (his fear of the wind, his awareness of the "blood" in the silence) foreshadows his later artistic temperament and emotional instability.
Nature as a Mirror of Human Conflict
- Lawrence often uses nature to externalize inner turmoil. Here, the wind and tree are not just backdrop but active agents in the family’s drama.
- The tree’s shrieks drowning out the violence suggests that nature both reflects and obscures human suffering—just as the Morels ignore or suppress their pain.
Foreshadowing Paul’s Struggles
- Paul’s intense emotional reactions (his fear, his imagination of blood) hint at his later struggles with love, identity, and his mother’s dominance.
- The oppressive atmosphere of the home will haunt him into adulthood, influencing his relationships (particularly with Miriam and Clara).
Critique of Working-Class Life
- The drunkenness, violence, and financial strain (implied by the move to a cheaper house) reflect the harsh realities of working-class existence in industrial England.
- The children’s powerlessness in the face of their father’s rage highlights the cycle of poverty and trauma that Lawrence critiques in the novel.

Conclusion: The Excerpt’s Power

This passage is a masterclass in atmospheric tension, using sound, symbolism, and psychological realism to immerse the reader in the Morel family’s suffering. The wind and the ash-tree are not just descriptions—they are characters, amplifying the unspoken horrors of the household. The contrasts between Walter’s indifference and the children’s terror reveal the fractured nature of the family, setting the stage for Paul’s later emotional conflicts.

Lawrence’s raw, sensory prose makes the reader feel the dread alongside the children, turning a simple description of a windy night into a haunting metaphor for domestic trauma. The excerpt encapsulates the novel’s central themes: the suffocating bonds of family, the violence beneath the surface of ordinary life, and the way nature echoes human pain.

Questions

Question 1

The passage’s depiction of the ash-tree’s shrieking serves primarily to:

A. underscore Walter Morel’s emotional detachment by providing a natural counterpart to his indifference.
B. illustrate the children’s superstitious fear of the supernatural, rooted in their rural upbringing.
C. contrast the beauty of nature with the ugliness of domestic strife, emphasizing the family’s lost harmony.
D. symbolize Gertrude Morel’s repressed anger, which manifests in the violent forces of the external world.
E. amplify the psychological torment of the children by fusing external chaos with their internal dread.

Question 2

The "silence of blood" (Paragraph 3) is most effectively interpreted as:

A. a literal pause in the violence, suggesting Walter Morel has finally exhausted his rage.
B. an auditory illusion created by the wind’s sudden cessation, tricking the children’s senses.
C. a biblical allusion to the blood of Abel, framing Walter as a murderous figure in the children’s minds.
D. a moment of catharsis, where the absence of sound signals the resolution of the family’s conflict.
E. an ominous void where the children’s imaginations fill the quiet with the unspeakable aftermath of violence.

Question 3

The passage’s structural progression—from the wind’s noise to the sudden silence—primarily functions to:

A. mirror the cyclical nature of abuse, where tension builds only to collapse into a more terrifying stillness.
B. highlight the children’s resilience, as their fear dissipates when the wind stops and reason prevails.
C. critique industrialization’s encroachment on nature, using the wind as a metaphor for mechanical disruption.
D. foreshadow Paul’s eventual escape from the household, symbolized by the temporary reprieve of silence.
E. expose Walter Morel’s hypocrisy, as his claimed enjoyment of the wind’s "music" is undercut by its abrupt end.

Question 4

The children’s "feeling of night, of vastness, and of terror" (Paragraph 2) is most fundamentally a response to:

A. the existential dread of childhood, where the unknown is inherently frightening.
B. the physical exposure of the hilltop house, which lacks the sheltered intimacy of their former home.
C. the convergence of external chaos (the wind) and internal collapse (domestic violence), blurring boundaries between safety and threat.
D. their father’s drunkenness, which they associate with the wild, uncontrollable forces of nature.
E. the maternal absence, as Gertrude’s sewing downstairs fails to provide the emotional security they crave.

Question 5

Walter Morel’s assertion that the wind’s shrieking is "music" that "sends me to sleep" (Paragraph 1) primarily reveals:

A. his aesthetic appreciation for natural sounds, contrasting with the children’s lack of imagination.
B. his psychological dissociation, where he reframes violence and disorder as soothing to avoid confronting his role in it.
C. his working-class stoicism, where hardship is endured through humor and ironic detachment.
D. his resentment toward the children, as his remark is a passive-aggressive jab at their sensitivity.
E. his subconscious guilt, as the wind’s noise masks the sounds of his own abusive behavior.

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: E

Why E is most correct: The ash-tree’s shrieking is not merely a backdrop but an active amplifier of the children’s psychological state. The passage explicitly links the tree’s noise to their "intense anguish" and "horror", describing how the wind’s crescendo drowns out the violence only to make the subsequent silence more unbearable. The tree’s sound is demoniacal to Paul, suggesting it embodies and magnifies his internal terror. This fusion of external and internal chaos is the passage’s central mechanism for conveying the children’s trauma.