Sons and Lovers
By D. H. Lawrence

David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist. His modernist works reflect on modernity, social alienation and industrialization, while championing sexuality, vitality and instinct. His best-known novels—Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love, and Lady Chatterley’s Lover—were the subject of censorship trials for their radical portrayals of sexuality and use of explicit language.

সান্স এন্ড লাভার্স ব্রিটিশ ঔপণ্যাসিক ডি, এইচ, লরেন্স লিখিত একটি বিশ্বখ্যাত উপন্যাস। এটি লরেন্সের তৃতীয় উপন্যাস এবং তার ‘মাস্টারপিস’ রচনা হিসেবে পরিগণিত। দি মডার্ণ লাইব্রেরী তাদের প্রণীত বিংশ শতাব্দীর ১০০টি শ্রেষ্ঠ উপন্যাসের তালিকায় নবম স্থানে এটিকে অন্তর্ভুক্ত করেছে। ১৯৬৯ খ্রিষ্টাব্দে এই উপন্যাসটির কাহিনী অবলম্বনে জ্যাক কার্ডিফের পরিচালনায় একটি চলচ্চিত্র নির্মিত হয়। এ উপন্যাসে সর্বপ্রথম ফ্রয়েড বর্ণিত Oedepus complex উপজীব্য করা হয়েছে। এটি আধা আত্মজৈবনিক কেননা এতে লরেন্সের প্রাথমিক জীবনের ছায়পাত স্পষ্ট। উপন্যাসরে কেন্দ্রীয় চরিত্র পল মোরেল একজন তরুণ শিল্পী যার চরিত্র চিত্রণে যুবক লরেন্সের মানসিক যন্ত্রণা ও অতীত মুক্তির আর্তির সঙ্গে সঙ্গে পরিবার, শ্রেণী এবং প্রথম যৌবনের যৌন সম্পর্কের নিবিড় পর্যবেক্ষণ পরিদৃষ্ট হয়। উপন্যাসটির প্রথম সংস্করণে মূল পাণ্ডুলিপি থেকে প্রায় ৮০ পৃষ্ঠা (১০ শতাংশ) ছাঁটাই করা হয়েছিল।

Plot summary
Part I
The refined daughter of a “good old burgher family,” Gertrude Coppard meets a rough-hewn miner, Walter Morel, at a Christmas dance and falls into a whirlwind romance characterised by physical passion but soon after her marriage to Walter, she realises the difficulties of living off his meagre salary in a rented house. The couple fight and drift apart and Walter retreats to the pub after work each day. Gradually, Mrs. Morel’s affections shift to her sons beginning with the oldest, William.

As a boy, William is so attached to his mother that he does not enjoy the fair without her. As he grows older, he defends her against his father’s occasional violence. Eventually, he leaves their Nottinghamshire home for a job in London, where he begins to rise up into the middle class. He is engaged, but he detests the girl’s superficiality. William dies and Mrs. Morel is heartbroken. When her second son Paul catches pneumonia she rediscovers her love for Paul.

Part II
Both repulsed by and drawn to his mother, Paul is afraid to leave her but wants to go out on his own, and needs to experience love. Gradually, he falls into a relationship with Miriam, a farmer’s daughter who attends his church. The two take long walks and have intellectual conversations about books but Paul resists, in part because his mother disapproves. At Miriam’s family’s farm, Paul meets Clara Dawes, a young woman with, apparently, feminist sympathies who has separated from her husband, Baxter.

After pressuring Miriam into a physical relationship, which he finds unsatisfying, Paul breaks with her as he grows more intimate with Clara, who is more passionate physically. But even she cannot hold him and he returns to his mother. When his mother dies soon after, he is alone.

Main characters

Paul Morel: The protagonist of the novel, Paul is a sensitive and artistic young man who struggles to find his place in the world. He has a difficult relationship with his mother, which affects his romantic relationships with women.

Gertrude Morel: Paul’s mother, Gertrude is a strong-willed woman who is dissatisfied with her life and her marriage. She lives vicariously through her children, especially Paul, and her emotional dependence on him causes tension in their relationship.

Walter Morel: Paul’s father, Walter is a coal miner who is abusive and often drunk. His relationship with Gertrude is strained, and he becomes increasingly resentful of his son as Paul grows up.

Miriam Leivers: A young woman who becomes friends with Paul, Miriam is intelligent and sensitive, but also deeply religious. She struggles to reconcile her feelings for Paul with her religious beliefs.

Clara Dawes: A married woman who has an affair with Paul, Clara is independent and unconventional. Her relationship with Paul is passionate, but ultimately doomed.