Sons and Lovers Book Analysis Essay Example

Considered quite a shocking addition to D. H. Lawrence’s plethora of novels for its strong Freudian messages, Sons and Lovers follow the life of a woman named Gertrude and her family, mainly her second son Paul. As the book progresses, it becomes evident that the true nature of the relationship is more than just a typical mother and son relationship, but rather bonded soulmates. The novel uses imagery, specifically red, to convey the complex emotions behind Paul’s relationships. It appears in elements of nature as well as those that are man-made. Halfway through the novel, Lawrence uses red imagery to reflect character emotions: pain, passion, and love.

Clara, a lover of Pauls, manifests her passion physically. After bumping into Clara’s husband and speaking with him, Paul looks back on Clara and their love-making. He describes how they “were linked up in an immense tongue of flame, which tore onwards and upwards” (346). The red of the fire reflects the passion present between Paul and Clara during the sex scene. Again, the red of fire describes the intensity of affection between Clara when spotting him at work and thinking of his physical form stating that “[w]hen she saw him that day at the factory her heart melted like a drop of fire” (337). After looking more closely upon his physical form, “his body, his brows. The drop of fire grew more intense in her breast; she must hold him” (337). The more she thinks about his body, the more she forms the obsession to get physically close to Paul seen through the increase in the intensity of the red flame. Lawrence uses the color red to portray the passionate emotions seen evidently between Paul and Clara. 

The relationship between Paul and his mother, Gertrude, is quite relevant throughout the novel and affects Paul’s romantic relationships. His soul connects to his mother’s soul in a permanent way that is part of his everyday life. Everything he does reminds him of her, and when admiring the sky on his walk home after visiting with his sick mother, he looks up at a “smoky red sunset [that] came on slowly, painfully, lingering” (374). The red of the sunset acts as a painful reminder of his mother’s love and its eternal effect on his life, digging up emotions of hostility and anger. When picking cherries with Miriam, a strictly spiritual lover, Paul experiences a feeling of intense emotional pain after looking upon the sky at the sunset described as “[g]old flam[ing] to scarlet, like pain in its intense brightness” (272). The pain is in regards to the yearning Paul experiences and the want of a physical relationship between himself and Miriam. The red hues identified within the beautiful sunsets demonstrate the powerful, and as a result, emotionally painful feelings they bring up within Paul.

Red carnations represent emotions such as affection, admiration, and love. While they are not prominent throughout the novel, they stand out in terms of red imagery. After romantically lying in the forest with Clara, physically entwined, “suddenly sprinkled on the black wet beech-roots many scarlet carnation petals, like splashed drops of blood; and red, small splashes fell from her bosom” (296). The abrupt introduction of the scarlet carnations mirrors the spiritual love they have for each other, portrayed in physical form. Love possesses an element of surprise which the sudden entrance of the petals accomplishes. Earlier, when strolling around town as lovers, Paul buys “her a bunch of scarlet, brick-red carnations” (291). Because they act as a symbol of love and admiration, the choice of flower and color reflects Paul’s feelings towards Clara at that moment. The use of red carnations mirrors Paul's emotions about Clara.

Lawrence portrays character emotions by using red imagery in the novel through the use of nature, fire, and direct wording. Color imagery used in writing, like all imagery, can introduce a different aspect of ideas to the reader. For example, in terms of Sons and Lovers, the color of the carnations reveals Paul’s true emotions. While he does not verbally state his emotions, they are successfully exhibited through imagery. The immense power the overall concept of imagery has on literature acts forever as a key to unlocking the hidden world of the author’s mind.