Article #217-2 | Gutenberg Articles

Excerpt

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

The Bottoms consisted of six blocks of miners’ dwellings, two rows of
three, like the dots on a blank-six domino, and twelve houses in a
block. This double row of dwellings sat at the foot of the rather sharp
slope from Bestwood, and looked out, from the attic windows at least,
on the slow climb of the valley towards Selby.

The houses themselves were substantial and very decent. One could walk
all round, seeing little front gardens with auriculas and saxifrage in
the shadow of the bottom block, sweet-williams and pinks in the sunny
top block; seeing neat front windows, little porches, little privet
hedges, and dormer windows for the attics. But that was outside; that
was the view on to the uninhabited parlours of all the colliers’ wives.
The dwelling-room, the kitchen, was at the back of the house, facing
inward between the blocks, looking at a scrubby back garden, and then
at the ash-pits. And between the rows, between the long lines of
ash-pits, went the alley, where the children played and the women
gossiped and the men smoked. So, the actual conditions of living in the
Bottoms, that was so well built and that looked so nice, were quite
unsavoury because people must live in the kitchen, and the kitchens
opened on to that nasty alley of ash-pits.

Mrs. Morel was not anxious to move into the Bottoms, which was already
twelve years old and on the downward path, when she descended to it
from Bestwood. But it was the best she could do. Moreover, she had an
end house in one of the top blocks, and thus had only one neighbour; on
the other side an extra strip of garden. And, having an end house, she
enjoyed a kind of aristocracy among the other women of the “between”
houses, because her rent was five shillings and sixpence instead of
five shillings a week. But this superiority in station was not much
consolation to Mrs. Morel.

Explanation

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

1. Context of the Excerpt

This passage is from Sons and Lovers (1913), D.H. Lawrence’s semi-autobiographical novel that explores class, industrialization, and familial relationships in early 20th-century England. The novel follows the Morel family, particularly the intense bond between the mother, Gertrude Morel, and her sons, William and Paul. The excerpt describes The Bottoms, a working-class mining community where the Morels move after descending from the slightly more respectable Bestwood.

Lawrence, who grew up in a mining town himself, uses this setting to critique the social and economic constraints of industrial life, as well as the false appearances of respectability that mask the harsh realities of working-class existence.

2. Themes in the Excerpt

A. The Illusion of Respectability vs. Harsh Reality

The passage contrasts the outer appearance of The Bottoms with its inner squalor:

Exterior (False Respectability):
- The houses are "substantial and very decent," with "little front gardens" of flowers (auriculas, saxifrage, sweet-williams, pinks).
- The "neat front windows" and "little privet hedges" suggest a middle-class aspiration—an attempt to mimic bourgeois respectability.
- The description of the houses as "like the dots on a blank-six domino" implies uniformity and conformity, reinforcing the idea of a rigid, structured working-class life.
Interior (Harsh Reality):
- The kitchens (where the family actually lives) face inward toward "scrubby back gardens" and "ash-pits" (waste dumps from coal fires).
- The "alley" between the rows is where "children played and the women gossiped and the men smoked"—a space of poverty, gossip, and idle despair, far from the idealized front gardens.
- The ash-pits symbolize industrial filth and decay, a constant reminder of the miners' labor and the dirt it brings into their homes.

This duality (beautiful front, ugly back) reflects the hypocrisy of class distinctions—the working class is expected to maintain appearances, but their real lives are confined to the grimy, functional spaces where they actually live.

Mrs. Morel’s end house gives her a slightly higher status—she has "only one neighbour" and pays sixpence more in rent, which makes her feel superior to the "between" houses.
However, this tiny social advantage is meaningless in the grand scheme—she is still trapped in The Bottoms, a place already "on the downward path."
The irony is that her "aristocracy" is illusory; the extra garden strip and slightly higher rent do not change the fact that she is still part of the working class, subject to the same hardships.

This reflects Lawrence’s critique of how the working class internalizes petty hierarchies to cope with their oppression, even when those hierarchies offer no real escape.

C. Industrialization and Dehumanization

The mechanical, uniform layout ("six blocks of miners’ dwellings, two rows of three") suggests mass production and dehumanization—the miners' homes are as standardized as the coal they dig.
The ash-pits (waste from coal fires) symbolize the environmental and human cost of industrialization—the miners' labor not only sustains the economy but also litter their lives with filth.
The slope from Bestwood to The Bottoms is both literal and metaphorical—a descent into poverty, decline, and stagnation.

3. Literary Devices & Style

A. Imagery & Symbolism

Gardens vs. Ash-Pits:
- The front gardens (with flowers like auriculas and sweet-williams) symbolize false beauty and social pretension.
- The ash-pits and alley represent the real, ugly conditions of working-class life.
The Domino Comparison:
- The houses are "like the dots on a blank-six domino"—this suggests uniformity, luck (or lack thereof), and a game controlled by outside forces (the industrial system).
The Slope:
- The "rather sharp slope from Bestwood" implies a social and economic decline—moving downhill into The Bottoms is a fall in status.

B. Irony & Contrast

The contradiction between appearance and reality is central:
- The houses "looked so nice" but were "quite unsavoury" inside.
- Mrs. Morel’s rental superiority is meaningless in the face of her actual struggles.
The children playing in the alley is bittersweet—their innocence is set against the grime and gossip of adult life.

C. Tone & Diction

Detached, Observational Tone:
- Lawrence describes The Bottoms with clinical precision, emphasizing the mechanical nature of working-class life.
Sensory Details:
- Words like "scrubby," "nasty," and "unsavoury" evoke disgust and decay.
- The flowers in the front gardens are described in delicate terms ("auriculas and saxifrage in the shadow"), while the back is harsh and industrial ("ash-pits, alley").

4. Significance of the Passage

A. Introduction to the Morels’ Struggles

This excerpt sets the stage for the Morel family’s economic and social confinement.
Mrs. Morel’s discontent (she was "not anxious to move into The Bottoms") foreshadows her frustration with her marriage and her desperate investment in her sons’ futures.

B. Critique of Industrial Society

Lawrence exposes the dehumanizing effects of industrialization—workers are packed into uniform, decaying housing, their lives reduced to survival in grim conditions.
The false respectability of the front gardens mirrors how society demands the working class perform middle-class values while denying them the means to truly escape poverty.

C. Foreshadowing of Paul’s Conflict

The duality of appearance vs. reality will later reflect Paul Morel’s internal conflicts—his love for his mother, his artistic aspirations, and his inability to fully escape his working-class roots.
The ash-pits and alley symbolize the inescapable filth of his origins, which he both resents and is bound to.

5. Conclusion: The Bottoms as a Microcosm of Working-Class Life

This passage is not just a description of a place—it is a condemnation of an entire social system. The Bottoms represents:

The false promises of industrial progress (nice-looking houses hiding squalor).
The petty hierarchies that divide the working class (Mrs. Morel’s slight rental superiority).
The inescapable cycle of poverty (the "downward path" of the neighborhood).

Lawrence’s sharp, unromantic prose forces the reader to see the harsh truth beneath the surface, setting the stage for the emotional and psychological struggles of the Morel family. The Bottoms is not just a setting—it is a character in itself, shaping the lives of those who live there.

Questions

Question 1

The passage’s description of the houses in The Bottoms as “like the dots on a blank-six domino” serves primarily to:

A. underscore the rigid, interchangeable nature of working-class existence under industrial capitalism.
B. evoke a playful, childlike perspective on the uniformity of the miners’ dwellings.
C. highlight the architectural ingenuity of the housing design despite its functional limitations.
D. suggest a random, almost accidental arrangement of homes in the mining community.
E. contrast the geometric precision of the layout with the organic disorder of the ash-pits.

Question 2

The “extra strip of garden” and “five shillings and sixpence” rent in Mrs. Morel’s end house function in the passage as:

A. tangible evidence of her upward social mobility within the working class.
B. a subtle critique of her materialism in the face of shared hardship.
C. hollow symbols of status that fail to mitigate the broader degradation of her living conditions.
D. practical advantages that partially offset the psychological toll of descending to The Bottoms.
E. ironic luxuries that emphasize the relative prosperity of miners’ families in the early 20th century.

Question 3

The passage’s juxtaposition of “auriculas and saxifrage in the shadow” with “ash-pits” and the alley most effectively conveys:

A. the resilience of nature to thrive even in industrial blight.
B. the aesthetic sensibilities of colliers’ wives despite their economic constraints.
C. the seasonal cycle of growth and decay in mining communities.
D. the futility of domestic beauty in the face of inevitable squalor.
E. the performative nature of respectability as a facade masking systemic deprivation.

Question 4

The narrator’s observation that The Bottoms was “already twelve years old and on the downward path” implies which of the following about the community?

A. Its physical deterioration is a direct result of the miners’ neglect of their homes.
B. The passage of time has eroded the initial promise of working-class homeownership.
C. The neighborhood’s decline is an inevitable consequence of its proximity to the mine.
D. The “downward path” is as much a social and economic trajectory as a temporal one.
E. The houses’ age reflects the durability of their construction despite poor maintenance.

Question 5

The passage’s tone when describing the alley where “the children played and the women gossiped and the men smoked” is best characterized as:

A. nostalgic for the communal bonds forged in working-class spaces.
B. indifferent to the daily rhythms of life in The Bottoms.
C. sentimental about the resilience of families in adversity.
D. clinically detached, with an undercurrent of quiet disdain for the conditions.
E. satirical, exaggerating the squalor to critique industrial exploitation.

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: A

Why A is most correct: The domino simile emphasizes the mechanical uniformity and interchangeability of the miners’ lives, reducing their homes—and by extension, their existences—to standardized, replaceable units in an industrial system. This aligns with Lawrence’s critique of how capitalism dehumanizes the working class, stripping individuals of uniqueness. The comparison to a domino (a game piece with no intrinsic value beyond its role in the game) further underscores the powerlessness and predetermined fate of the residents.