Sons and Lovers

Just finished this modernist novel by D.H. Lawrence. I had previously read “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” and see many of the same themes. In both novels Lawrence is arguing there is an undeniable connection between the physical body and the ethereal soul. The mind and soul are incomplete without the body, and connections with a lover are incomplete without both the physical act of love and the sharing of the soul.

Western culture has largely divided the mind and body. This seems largely due to religious beliefs that the body is temporary and bodily desires sinful, while the soul is immortal and its purity is paramount. Lawrence overturns this idea and suggests fulfillment can only be reached by fully sharing the body and mind with a lover. Sex without the giving of the soul is just a passing pleasure.

Sex in a novel was of course controversial at the time (as the ban on his books and the long delayed publication of Lady Chatterley shows). His novels show sex as a great pleasure and important part of lovers communicating and the ultimate bonding of souls. He also is unafraid to have his female characters have affairs outside of marriage without judging it and even showing it in a positive light and an emotional necessity.

Have others read this novel lately and have any thoughts on the novel? There is a lot there and I am sure there is much I missed.