The characters in Sons and Lovers by D. H.
Lawrence
and the
characters in What Maisie Knew each have a special
meaning. They
all seem to be interwoven with one another
portraying a new
cycle in another characters life. For
instance, in What
Maisie Knew Mrs. Wix was introduced, in
my opinion, at a
time when Maisie needed a mother figure.
Also, Sir Claude
is introduced when she seems to need a
father figure. On the other hand, in Sons and Lovers there
are not very many
new characters introduced. However, the
ones that are
introduced seem to want to try and break the
bond that Paul
and his mother have. Thus, James and
Law¬
rence seem to be
using similar themes with different
surroundings and
events. Although the circumstances are
different, Henry
James and D. H. Lawrence characterize the
children as being
Impoverished.
Henry James in his novel What Maisie Knew ,
portrays
the main character,
Maisie, as being impoverished
emotionally. The emotional poverty that Maisie experiences
in her life exist
because of her parents extremely vicious
hatred for each
other. They use Maisie as a "vessel
for
bitterness"
(13). To Beale and Ida, Maisie was just a tool
that they used to
hurt the other person. Eventually,
Maisie figured
out that they were using her to be the
bearer of brutily
hateful messages. Consequently, she
learned not to
deliver such messages. This made her
parents very
angry and they decided that she had "grown
incredably
dull". Thus, Maisie realized
"They had wanted
her not for any
good they could do her, but for harm they
could, with her
unconscious aid, do each other."
Unfortunately,
Maisie's emotions were of no concern to
either
parent. As a result, Maisie seldom
experienced any
meaningful
affection from either of her parents.
Furthermore, on
the rare occasions when Maisie's mother
embraced her it
was performed without any affection, or it
is so convulsive
that it makes her feel as though "she had
suddenly been
thrust, with a smash of glass, into a
jeweller's
shop-front..." (112 Lawrence).
Likewise,
Maisie's father
subjects her to emotional neglect by
reminding her
that everything had "changed on her account,
everything
ordered to enable him to give himself up to
her."
(17). This, in my opinion, was Beales
way of telling
Maisie that she
was a bother to him, thus, she is
unconsciously
informed that she is not wanted. The
emotional poverty
that Maisie lives with makes her feel
that her parents
made "it hurt more than usual" (17).
Consequently,
Maisie's fate is sealed. Unconsciously
she
knows what is
about to happen and she will have to live
with the pain of
knowing that her parents did not want her,
thus, allowing
others to raise the child.
Similarly, D.
H. Lawrence, in
his novel Sons and Lovers, portrays the
main character,
Paul, as being emotionally poor.
Emotionally, Paul
is impoverished because of his feelings
for his
mother. The passion they feel for each
other is,
in my opinion, an
emotional incest. They act more as
lovers than they
do mother and son. For instance, when
they were out
together his mother felt like "she was gay,
like a
sweetheart", and, Paul felt his "heart contract with
pain of love for
her" (Lawrence ). Because of this
passion
Paul does not
allow himself to leave his mother.
Eventually, when
Mrs. Morel tells Paul that she "never
really had a
husband...", Paul starts assuming the mental
role of the
husband. Consequently, this mental
action of
being a husband
to his mother, destroys any emotional
relationships
Paul tries to have with other women. For
example, He is in
love with Miriam, but, in my opinion , he
feels that she
cannot fufill him like his mother does.Also,
he trys to have a
relationship with Mrs. Dawes, however it
seems to be more
sexual and he helps her get back together
with her
husband. As a result, He feels that no
woman can
match up to his
mother. Therefore, he has decided that he
is unable to meet
the right woman as long as she is alive.
As a result, Paul
promises never to leave his mother.
Therefore, like
Maisie, Paul's fate is sealed. He will
be
destin to live a
life of emotional poverty until his mother
dies. When she dies Paul will then be able to take
on a
normal
relationship with a female.
In conclusion, The characters are in an
emotional
poverty caused by
their parents inability to recognize that
what they are
doing is hurting their children emotionally.
Lawrence and
James choose to write this way so that it
reflects the
moral sense as well as the fate of the moral
sense in a
corrupt and sinister world. The moral
sense is
the conscious
which is reflected through Maisie and Paul.
The characters
that represent the consciousness seem to be
full of
unconditional love. For instance, when
Maisie's
parents abandon
her, she seems to get angry, however, she
also seems to be
happy. Also Paul seems to get angry at
his mother for
having such control over him, and, at the
same time he
feels a deep passionate love for her.
James
and Lawrence, in
my opinion, are trying to get the readers
drawn into the
book and their own conscious mind. Thus,
making them more
aware of their thoughts and surroundings.
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