读后感(儿子与情人-)sons-and-lovers

The Interpretation of the flowers in Sons and Lovers

Abstract

Sons and Lovers, written by DH Lawrence, is an earlier works that reflects both penetrating social problem and psychological problem. The theme of the novel is Paul Morel's relationship with his mother and her influence upon his development. This paper will talk about the symbol meanings of the flowers. In this novel, different flowers symbolize the three main different women, and reveal their human qualities, such as white lily symbolizes the pure mother's love; white roses and narcissi imply Miriam's pure spirit, whereas Miriam's intimacy to the flowers indicates that her tendency of possessing objects including Paul's soul; The crimson flowers refer to the passion of Clara. Here, the paper studies the relationship between flowers and main characters, showing that analyzing the meaning of the flowers is important to help us have a better understanding of the theme in the novel.

Key words: flowers, relationship, character

Introduction

Lawrence's novels are always full of vivid descriptions of natural environment to show that human beings need to live in a healthy and natural world. Also the natural objects such as trees, flowers, the moon and evenings imply symbolic meanings to make the novel significant. To understand the novel better, this paper tries to use a Semiotics approach to interpret the main symbols, so as to reveal the theme of the novel.

In Classics of Semiotics edited by Martin Krampen, Semiotics is thus defined: As a science of sign processes, semiotics investigates all types of communication and information exchange among human beings, animals, plants, internal systems of organisms. Thus it encompasses most of the subject areas of the arts and the social science, as well as those of biology and medicine. According to this theory, there should be some certain connections between the different flower symbols and the

three different kinds of women characters.

The Flowers Related to Mrs. Morel

Everything Paul does is for his mother. As it is, the flowers he picked can prove us that his mother is his only intimate and his only confidant. We can see this unnatural love at any occasion in the novel:

Then Paul fished out a little spray. He always brought her one spray, the best he could find. (63)

"Here's a bit of new-mown hay," he said; then, again, he brought her forget-me-nots. And, again, his heart hurt with love, seeing her hand, used with work, holding the little bunch of flowers he gave her. She was perfectly happy." (114)

When Paul takes his mother to Lincoln, She was bright and enthusiastic as ever, but as he sat opposite her in the railway carriage, she seemed to look frail. He had a momentary sensation as if she were sleeping away from him. Then he wanted to get hold of her, to fasten, almost to chain her. He felt he must keep hold of her with his hand. And later he bought her some blue violets. (222)

We know that the mother's love to the son is abnormal, but they are not aware of it. And even this feeling grows unconsciously just like the scyllas flowers growing quietly when Mrs. Morel doesn't know:

Under the fence, in a little bed, was a ravel of poor grassy leaves, such as come from very immature bulbs, and three scyllas in bloom. Mrs. Morel pointed to the deep blue flowers.

The white flowers are often related to Mrs. More to express her spiritual features. Let us examine the passage with which the first chapter of Sons and Lovers ends-where Mrs. Morel, pregnant with Paul, wanders deliriously in the garden, shut out of the house by Morel in his drunkenness. In the garden, she stands cold and isolated from the world, with great anguish, feeling the mystery of the nature and sensing the child within her womb:

Mrs. Morel leaned on the garden gate, looking out, and she lost herself awhile. She did not know what she thought. Except for a slight feeling of sickness, and her