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Dialect
Foil
Explanation and Analysis—Oliver and Clifford:
Constance Chatterley’s current and future husbands Clifford Chatterley and Oliver Mellors are set up as contrasting figures. They act as foils to each other, each highlighting the differences in the other's character.
One of the primary differences between these characters is their approach to the world of politics. Mellors, as a working-class gamekeeper and “Tevershall boy” represents the struggles of the ordinary Englishman. His political views lean left, and he has always had to work for a living. He doesn’t believe that the rapid industrialization of England is a good thing and worries about the future problems it will cause. These things ground his strong views on the inequities of the social system he inhabits. He despises the middle class and aristocratic families of England, and he wants to see Victorian social norms die away.
Clifford, on the other hand, belongs to the upper crust of British society. As a member of the upper-middle class and an ambitious industrialist, his conservative politics are shaped by a life of privilege and the responsibilities of maintaining his estate and status. He has never had to work for a living, and his primary desire is for the social fabric of England to remain unchanged.
It’s notable that in this novel, Mellors is primarily aligned with the outside world, and Clifford with the world “inside.” This dovetails with the novel’s contrasting themes of intellectual depth and bodily experience. The gamekeeper is deeply attuned to the rhythms of nature. He has a strong, masculine physical presence and a deep, sensual connection to the earth. Clifford, however, prefers intellectual pursuits to caring for the land or the people on it. He is pathologically detached from the physical world and from bodily pleasures, and he only grows more so as time goes by.
While Clifford is intellectually sometimes still “quite brilliant,” he is physically incapacitated due to his war injury. This renders him impotent, both literally and metaphorically, in his marriage to Connie. He can’t connect with her sexually (and he doesn’t care to), nor can he connect to her emotionally and intellectually. Mellors, conversely, offers a balance of physical and intellectual appeal to Connie. At first, she is only attracted to his body. However, she soon discovers that his intellect is more than sufficient to satisfy her.
Despite this, Mellors’s birth, Black Country accent, and financial insecurity confine him to a limited scope in society. Regardless of his individual capabilities, the rigid British class system makes it almost impossible for him to improve his station. By contrast Clifford, with his title and wealth, has every door open to him. However, he is unable to enjoy either the physical or emotional benefits of his position because of his wartime injuries.
Related Themes:
