Sons and Lovers Study Guide

Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence

Sons and Lovers is a novel by D. H. Lawrence centering on the tension and conflict between maternal and romantic love. Gertrude Coppard falls for a lower-class man named Walter, from whom she drifts apart after their marriage. Instead, she loves and coddles her sons: first William, who has a failed engagement and dies, and next Paul, who has a failed relationship with Miriam and then Clara. After Gertrude dies, Paul abandons Clara and is left with nothing, his mother's love having always overshadowed all other relationships.