Sons and Lovers

The Morel family lives in a small mining town. The community springs up because of the mine, with the entire local economy centering around the extraction of resources from the mine. The mine becomes a symbol of the economic plight of the working-class community, whose livelihoods are inherently bound to the big hole in the ground. The mine is a symbol of destruction, one that exists as a counterpoint to the natural world that Paul adores. While he loves to walk through the countryside, examining the sights and smells of all the flowers, he loathes the sight of his father’s grimy hands and the constant presence of soot and dirt in the house. The mine is a dark, sinister force that threatens the peaceful and tranquil world that Paul loves. At the same time, however, he confesses to Clara that he cannot imagine the area without the pit. She complains about the sight of the mine, the presence of which she views as a pity that obscures the aesthetic beauty of the countryside. Paul theoretically agrees, but he is “so used to it” that he barely registers it (294). By this time, Paul has integrated the image of the dark pit into his conception of the countryside.

The men who work in the mine must suffer through harsh physical conditions. Even before they enter the mine each day, their daily routine demands that they wake up before dawn and walk to the entrance of the mine. They descend into the mine, where they are subjected to intense physical demands. The labor takes a toll on the men’s bodies. Not only are injuries common, but the wear and tear on their bodies also accumulate throughout the years. Comparing the old miners to the men who have not spent their lives in the mine, the narration frequently points out the scars, dirt, deterioration in posture, and other physical effects that the miners must suffer. The mine demands that they sacrifice their physical health in the name of a small wage. This attritional relationship between the miners and the mine symbolizes the economic precarity of the working-class men. They endure pain and subject their bodies to extreme conditions in exchange for a small amount of money, while the owners of the mine sit in offices and reap the profits. By the end of the novel, the toll of many years down in the mine on Walter’s body is such that he is moved into a less demanding position. He works at a smaller mine, but one that is inherently less profitable. The reward for so many years of work and so much physical sacrifice is a lower wage. In this way, the mine becomes the symbol of the tenuous and destructive relationship between the working and the middle classes, a symbol of the exploitation of men like Walter.

The mine also has symbolism within the Morel family. Walter is a miner, and he has been for his entire life. Mining, he feels, is an honest profession that provides him with just enough (and occasionally just short of enough) money to satisfy his family’s needs. Despite their father’s insistence on the honesty of working in the mine, however, none of Walter’s children follow in his footsteps. Arthur comes closest, but he stays away from the mine for long enough to differentiate himself from Walter. The fact that none of the Morel children choose to follow in their father’s footsteps symbolizes the vast divide between Walter and his children. The children hate their father, particularly for how he has treated their mother. His alcohol addiction and abusive character alienate him from the rest of his family, and this alienation is symbolized by his relationship with the mine. Each day, he ventures down into the mine while his children remain above ground. Walter belongs to a different world, a world that his children have no interest in joining. To them, he is a member of the subterranean world that symbolizes abuse and hate.