RELATIONS OF DOMINANCE AND EQUALITY IN D. H. LAWRENCE

19
lack of evidence to prove his point.
He may defend Gertrude
Morel but he must defend her by providing evidence for his
defense.
prejudice.
His view of the Morels' marriage is full of class
It seems that Walter Morel 'stinks' because of his
lower class u'pbringing.
This is not, in the least, a reasonable
argument to defend Mrs Morel, "who rose above her miserable
world by virtue of superiority of class and personal endowment,
a loving mother and a wife made unhappy by an uncouth, drinking,
irresponsible husband" (ibid).
If Vivas presented the real
reasons why Walter became an 'irresponsible' husband, I would
say nothing, but he only sticks to the idea of Gertrude's class
superiority.
This is not fair to the text, as I will later show
in some detail.
Another idea which seems a little absurd, a misreading of
the book, is Vivas' interpretation of the outcome of Paul and
Clara's relationship.
The critic says that at first their
affair "appeared to be satisfactory" (p.183) because Clara has
given Paul what Miriam could not — the "baptism of fire in
passion".
But, Vivas says, the affair ends with Paul returning
Clara to her husband.
and Clara?" (ibid).
.And he asks: "What is wrong between Paul
Vivas seems to be completely blind to the
evidence in the book which shows clearly the reason why they
broke off the affair.
He says that "the book does not reveal
the cause and therefore we cannot answer the question" (ibid).
One of the reasons presented in the book is that the relation
between Paul and Clara is based almost strictly on carnal love.
There is nothing beyond sex and therefore Paul could not get
along with Clara since what he was looking for in love was the
union between soul and body.
This he could never achieve with
Clara nor with Miriam.
In the chapter on Sons and Lovers I