WILLIAM MOREL Major Characters

3.1.6 WILLIAM MOREL

William is Paul’s order brother. He’s based on Lawrence’s own brother Ernest, who has the pride and joy of his family. Like his fictional counterpart, Ernest died in London at an early age. William is robust and merry like his father. He’s also intellectual and responsible like his mother. It can be seen quoted bellow: He’s Gertrude darling because he distinguishes himself early and remains devoted to her. It can be seen quoted bellow: ‘It never occurred to him that she might be more hurt at his going away than glad of his departure, her heart began to close and grow dreary with despair. She loved him so much More than that, she hoped in him so much. Almost she lived by him. She liked to do things for him: she liked to put a cup for his tea and iron his collars, of which he was so proud of his collars. There was no laundry. So she use to rub away at them with her little convex iron, to polish them, till they shone from the sheer pressure of her arm. Now she would not do it for him. Now he was going away. She felt almost as if he were going as well out of her heart. He did not seem to leave her inhabited with himself. That was the grief and the pain to her. He took nearly all himself away.’D.H Lawrence,1913:73 ‘That William promised me when he went to London, as he’d give me a pound a month. He has given me ten shilling-twice; and now I know he hasn’t farthing if I asked him. Not that I want it. Only just now you’d think he might be able to help with this ticket, which I’d never expected.’ D.H Lawrence,1913 : 125 ‘He was a very clever boy, frank, with rather rough features and real Viking blue eyes.’ D.H Lawrence,1913 : 68 ‘Meanwhile William grew bigger and stronger and more active.’D.H Lawrence Universitas Sumatera Utara When he goes off to a promising job in London, he meets and falls in love with a shallow-minded beauty. Louisa Lily Denys Western “Gyp”. She satisfies his passion and fulfills his aspiration to marry someone from a higher social class, but leaves his mind and soul unfulfilled. William chooses such an unsuitable mate because he fears having a woman who might usurp his mother’s place in his heart. Lawrence, in an unpublished foreword to Sons and Lovers. It can be seen quoted bellow: William’s death from pneumonia to his internal struggle between his physical passion for a young, frivolous woman and his true love for his mother. It can be seen quoted bellow:

3.2 Minor Characters