Sons and Lovers: Chapter 2  Summary & Analysis

After his drunken outburst, Mr. Morel is contrite and ashamed. He soon forgets about the fight, but the incident dents his confidence, and he seems to “shrink” and become less sure of himself. He stops staying out in the pub every evening and, instead, returns home straight after work. He takes care of himself during the week, preparing his own lunch and rising early to leave for work before Mrs. Morel is up. He loves to walk across the fields to get to the mine, but he is so used to his work that he is equally content in his long days underground. Although they spar over the housework, Mr. Morel helps Mrs. Morel round the house as her due date approaches.

Mrs. Morel appreciates that she is luckier than many of her neighbors to have a husband who helps her with the chores. One day, when she is out in the lane, a man named “Hose” passes through and Mrs. Morel watches as this man pays her neighbors for pairs of stockings that they have darned for him. Mrs. Morel goes inside, contemptuous of the low wages “Hose” pays the women.

One morning, not long after this, Mrs. Morel goes into labor and calls her neighbor to send for the midwife. She gives birth to another son. This time the child is fair with blue eyes. Mr. Morel stays late at work and arrives home to find his wife has given birth. He reluctantly goes upstairs to see her and meet the baby, but Mrs. Morel senses his reserve and there is a restraint between them that stops them from being affectionate with each other.

While she recovers from the birth, Mrs. Morel lies in bed and daydreams about her children. She feels she has “no life of her own” and all her hopes and dreams revolve around the children and their futures. She is extremely close to her eldest son William, to the point where, if she is ill or in pain, he becomes upset. Mrs. Morel is amused by this but finds it touching. William is not impressed by his baby brother and complains that he looks “nasty.”

The young minister in the village, Mr. Heaton, sometimes comes to visit Mrs. Morel during this period and she enjoys his company and hopes that her husband will not interrupt them. Mrs. Morel feels sorry for Mr. Heaton, whose young wife has recently died, and helps him plan his sermons so that they are not too “fantastical” and will be relatable for the congregation of the mining town.

One evening when the minister is there, Mr. Morel comes home early. He is disdainful of Mr. Heaton’s profession and postures in front of the young preacher, suggesting that Mr. Heaton does not know the meaning of hard work. He makes a point of sitting at the table in his pit clothes, dirtying the nice cloth Mrs. Morel has spread out for the minister, and complains about pains in his head. William, who is watching the scene, is silently disgusted by his father’s uncouth behavior.

Sensing he is unwelcome, Mr. Heaton leaves, and Mr. and Mrs. Morel are left tense and angry together. Mrs. Morel complains about the dirty tablecloth and snaps at William, who grows sullen and kicks over a chair. She has been undermining her husband’s authority for some time and knows that the children take her side against him. When he tries to take back control of the household—egged on by his friend Jerry Purdy, who encourages Mr. Morel to put his foot down and dominate his wife—Mrs. Morel simply laughs at him. Mr. Morel takes his revenge by rationing the money he gives her and spends more time out drinking.

One evening, after one of their fights, Mrs. Morel takes the children out of the house because Mr. Morel has lashed out at William. She sits on a hillside near the house and watches the sunset with the baby on her lap. As she looks down at the child, she feels guilty because, although she loves him, she did not want him throughout her pregnancy, and she thinks that he looks sad because of this. She feels overwhelmed suddenly and holds the baby up to the sun, almost to “give him back.” She fears for the child’s future and decides, on impulse, that she should name him Paul.

Mr. Morel is unusually bad tempered during this time and stomps about the house. One night, Mrs. Morel loses her temper with him and he storms out to the pub. She sits up waiting for him with baby Paul and thinks bitterly about her situation. She wishes she could control her anger with her husband but knows that if he comes home drunk, she will not be able to keep her mouth shut.

When Mr. Morel does arrive home, he is very drunk and demands that Mrs. Morel behave like a proper wife and make him dinner. Mrs. Morel refuses and, in his anger, Mr. Morel pulls the drawer out of the table and throws it at her. The drawer cuts her head and stuns her, and Mr. Morel is immediately contrite. She scornfully allows him to help her clean the wound. As he does this, Mr. Morel notices that blood drips onto the baby, whom Mrs. Morel still holds against her breast.

The next morning, Mrs. Morel tells the children that she bumped her eye on the edge of the coal bunker. Mr. Morel sulks in bed all day. He is wracked with guilt because of what happened and cannot cope with this; instead of facing what he has done, he blames Mrs. Morel and convinces himself that she drove him to it. When he does get up, he is sullen and quiet and rushes out to the pub as soon as possible.

A week later, Mrs. Morel notices that Mr. Morel has begun to steal from her; he takes money from her housekeeping purse. She is disgusted that her husband would sink to these depths and “sneak” behind her back and eventually confronts him about it. Mr. Morel is furious, packs up his things, and tells her he is leaving her. For a moment, Mrs. Morel panics and wonders how she will provide for the children if he is gone; she knows deep down that he will not go far, but the incident upsets her deeply.

When William comes back from school, he is upset to find that his father has left. He and Annie begin to cry, and Mrs. Morel tiredly berates them. As the evening wears on, Mrs. Morel grows anxious. Her fears are allayed, however, when she goes to get coal and notices Mr. Morel’s bundle of things – which he had taken with him – stowed behind the door of the “coal-place.” Mrs. Morel tells the children and tells them to leave the bundle where it is. William is elated that his father has not really gone, and Mrs. Morel laughs every time she thinks of the little bundle stashed away.

Mr. Morel comes back later that night and tries to make Mrs. Morel feel grateful that he has returned. She softly remarks that the children can bring his bundle in the next morning. Hearing this, Mr. Morel “slinks” out to collect his belongings and then creeps back inside and goes to bed. Mrs. Morel is amused by this but feels “bitter” because this is the man she has married.