Sons and Lovers: Metaphors 5 key examples

The narrator compares Walter's face to the pistil of a flower, an unexpected comparison that introduces him to the reader in a vivid and imaginative way. Lawrence provides plenty of visual details; note how he pays particular attention to color when describing Walter's physical appearance. The narrator's description of colors ("ruddy," "black") and Walter's actions ("laughing," "bowed above") emphasizes his physical presence; the sight of him dancing is like a flower moving gracefully in a breeze. In Sons and Lovers, flowers represent feelings of romance, sexuality, and passion. The image of Walter as a flower suggests he is attractive and appealing; this mirrors Gertrude's feelings as she looks at him. 

Flowers are a recurring symbol throughout Sons and Lovers, and in general symbolize femininity and female sexuality. They become associated first with Walter and Mrs. Morel in the passage above, and later their sons William and Paul. Lawrence uses descriptions of flowers multiple times throughout the novel to underscore moments of sexual or romantic passion between characters. In the passage above, Lawrence uses the metaphor of a flower to underscore the moment's significance. 

Note the colors in the passage, particularly the white of the shawl in contrast with the red drops of blood. Blood in literature usually symbolizes danger, violent passion, or impurity. The white shawl covering William symbolizes innocence; the drops of blood staining Gertrude's shawl represents the corruption of said innocence. Lawrence uses this striking image and contrast of colors (red vs. white) to emphasize how horrific and irrevocable Walter's violence is. This violence towards Gertrude causes a profound rift between the wife and husband, a conflict that leads to divisions within the family. As Walter grows increasingly violent towards Gertrude, his children become increasingly estranged from him, aligning and identifying with their mother Gertrude instead of their father. As the novel progresses, it becomes clear to the reader that these complex dynamics have a negative psychological impact on the members of the Morel family, the Oeidipal nature of the relationship between Paul and his mother being one. 

As the passage progresses, Lawrence lingers on the image of Gertrude's blood on William's shawl, underscoring its significance of blood yet again for the reader: 

[Walter] saw a drop of blood fall from the averted wound into the baby’s fragile, glistening hair. Fascinated, he watched the heavy dark drop hang in the glistening cloud, and pull down the gossamer.

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Lawrence uses the image of blood and an implicit metaphor to emphasize the grotesque nature of Mrs. Morel's injury. The narrator emphasizes the color and visual quality of the blood and compares the shawl to a bright, white cloud to leave a dramatic impression on the reader. This heightens the emotional intensity and horror of the moment. 

In Chapter 4, the motif of blood appears again as the narrator describes the Morel children's fear of their father:  

There was a feeling of horror, a kind of bristling in the darkness, and a sense of blood. They lay with their hearts in the grip of an intense anguish. [...] And then came the horror of the sudden silence, silence everywhere, outside and downstairs. What was it? Was it a silence of blood? What had he done?

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In the above passage, blood represents the fear the Morel children feel in anticipation of their father's violence. Lawrence emphasizes the chaotic nature of the Morel household through vivid visual and auditory imagery, presenting it as a physical a force that takes over the entire home. 

Blood also has religious connotations. Later in Chapter 4, for example, Paul witnesses a lunar eclipse after his parents fight and thinks of blood: 

Paul never forgot, after one of these fierce internecine fights, seeing a big red moon life itself up, slowly, between the waste road over the hilltop, steadily, like a great bird. And he thought of the Bible, that the moon should be turned to blood.

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The blood moon, another name for a lunar eclipse, alludes to the red moon referenced multiple times throughout the Bible. In the Bible, the blood moon represents a spiritual prophecy, an omen portending death. In making this allusion, Lawrence makes a connection between this omen to the violence in the Morel home. 

Note how the narrator describes Walter as "slinking" rather than "moving." This conveys to the reader that Mrs. Morel interprets his movements as snake-like, a subtle comparison that underscores the sense of foreboding and danger Mrs. Morel feels in her husband's presence. In literature, snakes typically symbolize evil; the serpent who tempts Adam and Eve to eat forbidden fruit in the Bible, for example, is a common reference. Lawrence presents this metaphor to the reader to suggest Walter is cunning and not to be trusted. 

The next figure of speech, the phrase "her heart was bitter," is meant to be interpreted figuratively, not literally. Bitterness is typically associated with things that are unpleasant. In this instance the word "bitter" expresses the unhappiness, anger, and resentment Mrs. Morel feels towards her husband's heavy drinking. The narrator then explains to the reader that Mrs. Morel's feelings of bitterness are because she used to love him; she feels both affection and hostility towards her husband, two emotions that at first glance appear to oppose one another. This is an example of a paradox, a figure of speech that appears to contradict itself. Lawrence presents this paradox to the reader to reveal a deeper truth about the complexities of love. All in all, Lawrence implies Mr. and Mrs. Morel's relationship is bittersweet in nature, captured succinctly in the image of Mrs. Morel's embittered, transformed heart. 

The "air that was poisoned" is a metaphor for the oppressive atmosphere that fills the Morel home in the aftermath of their father's cruelty. The air the children breathe is, of course, not literally poisoned. Lawrence uses figurative language here to emphasize the sense of danger and fear the Morel children feel around their father. Breathing this "poisoned" air makes the children feel "dreary," a detail that underscores how Walter's presence and behavior negatively effects his children's emotions and behavior. Throughout the novel, the narrator pays particular attention to how the rest of the family reacts around Walter. In one scene, for example, Walter returns home from work and the rest of the family "withdrew, shrank away, and became hushed as he entered."

Sons and Lovers centers around the relationship members of the Morel family have with each other and how these formative bonds influence the relationships they form outside of the family. Lawrence, a student of psychologist Sigmund Freud, was interested in the impact one's upbringing and family bonds had on one's unconscious desires and motivations. Many of the novel's most heightened moments are sparked by interpersonal drama between characters, which is often driven by internal conflicts and forces they fail to comprehend.

Mrs. Morel's estrangement from her husband and the negative feelings she harbors towards him ultimately causes her to form Oedipal bonds with William and especially Paul. Lawrence sets up this dynamic through careful, creative use of language, as exemplified in the metaphor above. 

A metaphor is a figure of speech in which two different things are compared by saying one is the other. In the passage above, the narrator compares Walter to a husk, or the dry outer covering of a fruit or seed. Lawrence makes this unlikely comparison to present a striking image to the reader and explain Walter's changed role within the Morel family. The image of a used and empty husk conveys the idea of something discarded and no longer usable, in this case Walter. Once Mrs. Morel and Walter become estranged, Mrs. Morel turns away from her husband and devotes all her affection and attention to her children, especially her sons. Because Walter fails to fulfill his function as a father and husband, instead becoming a useless "husk," his position in the family changes and Mrs. Morel becomes the primary caregiver and parental figure to the rest of the children.

Note the colors in the passage, particularly the white of the shawl in contrast with the red drops of blood. Blood in literature usually symbolizes danger, violent passion, or impurity. The white shawl covering William symbolizes innocence; the drops of blood staining Gertrude's shawl represents the corruption of said innocence. Lawrence uses this striking image and contrast of colors (red vs. white) to emphasize how horrific and irrevocable Walter's violence is. This violence towards Gertrude causes a profound rift between the wife and husband, a conflict that leads to divisions within the family. As Walter grows increasingly violent towards Gertrude, his children become increasingly estranged from him, aligning and identifying with their mother Gertrude instead of their father. As the novel progresses, it becomes clear to the reader that these complex dynamics have a negative psychological impact on the members of the Morel family, the Oeidipal nature of the relationship between Paul and his mother being one. 

As the passage progresses, Lawrence lingers on the image of Gertrude's blood on William's shawl, underscoring its significance of blood yet again for the reader: 

[Walter] saw a drop of blood fall from the averted wound into the baby’s fragile, glistening hair. Fascinated, he watched the heavy dark drop hang in the glistening cloud, and pull down the gossamer.

Cite this Quote

Lawrence uses the image of blood and an implicit metaphor to emphasize the grotesque nature of Mrs. Morel's injury. The narrator emphasizes the color and visual quality of the blood and compares the shawl to a bright, white cloud to leave a dramatic impression on the reader. This heightens the emotional intensity and horror of the moment. 

In Chapter 4, the motif of blood appears again as the narrator describes the Morel children's fear of their father:  

There was a feeling of horror, a kind of bristling in the darkness, and a sense of blood. They lay with their hearts in the grip of an intense anguish. [...] And then came the horror of the sudden silence, silence everywhere, outside and downstairs. What was it? Was it a silence of blood? What had he done?

Cite this Quote

In the above passage, blood represents the fear the Morel children feel in anticipation of their father's violence. Lawrence emphasizes the chaotic nature of the Morel household through vivid visual and auditory imagery, presenting it as a physical a force that takes over the entire home. 

Blood also has religious connotations. Later in Chapter 4, for example, Paul witnesses a lunar eclipse after his parents fight and thinks of blood: 

Paul never forgot, after one of these fierce internecine fights, seeing a big red moon life itself up, slowly, between the waste road over the hilltop, steadily, like a great bird. And he thought of the Bible, that the moon should be turned to blood.

Cite this Quote

The blood moon, another name for a lunar eclipse, alludes to the red moon referenced multiple times throughout the Bible. In the Bible, the blood moon represents a spiritual prophecy, an omen portending death. In making this allusion, Lawrence makes a connection between this omen to the violence in the Morel home.