GROUP 5

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PAUL MOREL’S RELATIONSHIP WITH MIRIAM AND

David Herbert Lawrence was an English novelist, poet and painter born in Eastwood,
Nottinghamshire in 1885. He was the fourth of five children with his father being a miner and his
mom an elementary school teacher. Lawrence is known for his popular books, Sons and Lovers,
Lady Chatterley’s Lover and White Peacock which was published in 1911. Lawrence’s works
often explores the themes sexuality, emotional health, vitality and social alienation in the context
of industrialization.

The novel Sons and Lovers in part two intricately weaves the emotional journey of Paul Morel,
whose development is shaped by two contrasting romantic relationship with Miriam Leivers sand
Clara Dawes. This essay seeks to highlight the similarities and differences between both
relationships focusing on the following parameters; Spiritual and intellectual connection, Passion
and Physical intimacy, opposition and impact of Mrs Morel and The influence of religion.

Miriam a young devote religious girl who treasures God, “So to Miriam, Christ and God made
one great figure” she detests her life which she terms as being a “Swine-girl”. Their walks in
nature, often silent and tense of mysticism. Clara is the wife of Baxter Dawes and Paul Morel’s
lover. She is estranged from her husband whom she married young and found that she could not
get on with. She is a friend of Miriam who introduces her to Pau. Paul believes that she is a “man
hater” but he gets to know her, feels that she is deeply sensuous and “needs a man” to feel loved
and single life makes her depressed.

The relationship of Paul and Miriam is characterized by a deep spiritual and intellectual
connection. Paul and Miriam meet at a tender age, she was his first love, and due to their love for
books, nature and painting, both grew close. Paul’s mother why he always “fly” to Miriam? He
answers that he like to talk to her “why- painting and books. You don’t care about Herbert
Spencer.” This illustrates their companion and shared interest. She understands him on a spiritual
level and wants to share something pure and meaningful. Their love is emotional and almost
sacred, but also reserved. Unlike Paul’s relationship with Miriam, the relationship of Paul and
Clara however lacks intellectual and spiritual connection. Paul is drawn to Clara due to her detest
and disdain for man, Paul says, “if she looks at a man, she says heartly, never more” and this
forms the basis of their relationship where Paul driven by curiosity gets close to Clara Dawes,
learning her deep philosophy about politics. With Miriam, Paul finds a partner in philosophical
and religious discourse they share contemplative walks and discussions steeped in nature and
morality. Miriam fuels his introspective side. With Clara, Paul is drawn to her sharp intellect and
social activism. Their conversations often push him to explore issues of gender, class, and
autonomy. Though more outwardly combative, Clara challenges Paul in ways that sharpen his
thinking. Both relationships expose Paul’s deeper existential longing he seeks understanding of
himself through others. With Miriam, this manifests in spiritual yearning; with Clara, it emerges
in grappling with societal norms and emotional autonomy.

In addition, passion and physical intimacy is a parameter for Paul and his relationships with
Miriam and Clara. Paul’s relationship with Clara is embodied by passion and physical intimacy.
Paul enjoys liberating sexual fulfillment with Clara. The narrator states “he grew warm at the
thought of Clara, he battled with her, he knew the curves of her breast and shoulder as if they
were molded inside him.” The passion is immediate. There’s heat, fire, and no hesitation. She’s
confident, older, and knows what she wants. Paul is swept up in her boldness. Finally, he feels
free to let go physically no guilt, no overthinking. But the more time he spends with her, the
more he realizes something’s missing. Clara doesn’t reach him deeply the way Miriam did. They
don’t share the same soul-level connection. The passion is there, but it fades, because there’s no
emotional depth to hold it up. However, his relationship with Miriam, though not characterized
by much physical intimacy and passion, can be said to be of love and mutual respect. “He might
have married her; but his circumstances at home made it difficult, and moreover, he did not want
to marry.” While physical intimacy yells to the growth of Paul’s relationship with Clara, it
stagnates His relationship with Miriam. Miriam views sex as an act of sacrifice to show love,
“she was to be a sacrifice to this love”, “And in sacrifice she was proud” while Paul views sex
with Miriam as a burdened act, full of conflict, guilt and disappointment. When you look at Paul
and Miriam, their passion is filled with tension not the kind that draws two people closer, but the
kind that holds them back. Miriam loves Paul in this deep, almost spiritual way. She worships
him more than she partners with him. For her, love is sacred, and physical intimacy feels almost
like a sin or something too raw and earthly. So even though she longs for him, she holds back
and Paul feels that wall between them. When they do finally become intimate, it feels awkward,
forced, almost painful. He feels guilty. It’s like they’re both trying, but something’s always in the
way fear, pride, religion, or maybe just the shadow of Paul’s mother. There’s love, but it’s
incomplete too much in the head and heart, not enough in the body. In both relationships, Paul
Morel seeks a totalizing bond one that fuses mind, spirit, and body but ultimately fails to
reconcile these desires in a single partner. Both Miriam and Clara ignite intense aspects of Paul’s
psyche: Miriam stirs his spiritual and intellectual longing, while Clara ignites his physical and
passionate side. Yet, each also offers glimpses of the other dimension Miriam's love contains
suppressed passion, and Clara’s sensual relationship includes moments of genuine emotional and
intellectual challenge.

Furthermore, the impact and opposition of Paul’s mother, Mrs Getrude Morel is a yardstick in
Paul’s relationship with Miriam and Clara. Mrs. Morel is the quiet force standing between Paul
and every woman he tries to love. With both Miriam and Clara, it’s not that she openly fights
them all the time it’s that Paul is so tied to her emotionally, there’s no real space for anyone else.
She doesn’t always have to say much; her presence alone is enough. With Miriam, the opposition
is more obvious. Mrs. Morel doesn’t like her, “I don’t know, my boy, she replied piteously. I am
sure I have tried to like her. I’ve tried and tried, but I can’t - I can’t” She thinks Miriam is too
serious, too intense, and maybe even a little too religious. But more than that, she sees how
deeply Miriam wants to connect with Paul not just as a boyfriend but on some soul-deep level
and Mrs. Morel won’t allow that, she says, “I can’t bear it. I could let another woman- but not
her. She’d leave me no room, not a bit of room.” She’s already staked her claim on that part of
Paul. She’s been his closest emotional companion for years, especially with Mr. Morel being so
distant. So when Paul gets close to Miriam, he feels this tug-of-war between them, Mrs Morel
cries in her heart, “She’s not like an ordinary woman, who can leave me my share in him.” He
wants to love Miriam, but guilt and loyalty to his mother stop him. It’s like he’s always half-
holding back, and Miriam can feel it. That’s what ruins things not a lack of love, but too many
strings attached. With Clara, it’s different, “Mrs. Morel measured herself against the younger
woman, and found herself easily stronger. Clara was deferential.” With Clara, she was
welcoming and amiable, “Mrs Morel held out her hand and smile.” Clara is bold, independent,
and confident in a way that Miriam isn’t. Mrs. Morel doesn’t say as much about her, but even
then, her shadow is still there. Paul gets the passion he missed with Miriam, but it doesn’t go
beyond that. Emotionally, he’s still tied up in his mother. Even when he’s with Clara, he’s not
really free. There’s this wall he won’t cross not because Clara isn’t enough, but because part of
him still belongs to his mother. And when Mrs. Morel gets sick, everything else fades. Clara
fades. He runs right back to his mother’s side, where he feels safest. In both relationships, Mrs.
Morel is like an anchor sometimes grounding Paul, sometimes holding him down. He loves her
so much, too much maybe, and it stops him from giving himself completely to any other woman.
That’s the heartbreaking part. Miriam and Clara each offer him something real, but they’re
always second to his mother. A shared thread in both relationships with Miriam and Clara is the
persistent shadow of Mrs. Gertrude Morel, whose emotional grip on Paul subtly yet powerfully
shapes his romantic decisions. In each case, her disapproval whether overt or implied contributes
to the unraveling of Paul’s attachments. She disdains Miriam for her intense religiosity and
spiritual restraint, fearing it will emasculate Paul and trap him in sterile devotion. Similarly, she
views Clara’s assertive sensuality and feminist independence as vulgar, incompatible with the
vision she holds for her son.

Moreover, religion plays a pivotal role in shaping Paul’s emotionally complex relationship with
Miriam, while its absence distinctly defines his more physical and rebellious connection with
Clara Dawes. Religion plays a subtle yet powerful role in shaping Paul Morel’s intimate
relationships with the two main women in his life Miriam and Clara. Religion is not simply a
theme in the novel but a force that directly affects the emotional, spiritual, and physical
dynamics between the characters. Through these relationships, Lawrence explores the conflict
between body and spirit, and how religious or moral ideals can either deepen or distort human
connection.

Miriam Leivers is depicted as deeply spiritual and emotionally intense. Her religious upbringing
instills in her a belief that love is sacred and should remain untainted by physical desire. This
belief becomes a significant barrier in her relationship with Paul, who feels emotionally
connected to her but sexually frustrated. Miriam had been taught that love was sacred, not to be
profaned. He must not profane it. She could not bear that he should think her like Clara. She
wanted to be pure in his eyes. “She wanted him to think her soul was fine, and that sex was
beneath her”. This quote highlights how Miriam’s internalized religious morality creates tension
between them. To her, love must be pure and ideal, which clashes with Paul’s need for physical
intimacy. Miriam herself admits, “She said she had given herself to God she could not belong to
Paul.” This confession demonstrates her emotional conflict: while she loves Paul, her devotion to
God overrides her ability to fully commit to him. Paul becomes increasingly frustrated by what
he sees as her spiritual resistance. “That’s a woman’s whole doctrine for life ease of soul and
physical comfort, and I do despise it”, “You make me feel so spiritual! He lamented. And I don’t
want to be spiritual.” This pride rooted in religious chastity and moral restraint ultimately
alienates Paul, leaving him caught between admiration.

In contrast to Miriam, Clara Dawes represents a woman liberated from religious or moralistic
constraints. Clara is involved in feminist and socialist movements and approaches relationships
with a modern, sensual perspective. Religion does not shape her worldview or her intimacy with
Paul. Their bond is immediate, passionate, and physical exactly what Paul had longed for with
Miriam.

“He had her now. And he was not satisfied… He had thought once that the body was everything.
Now it seemed to him almost nothing.” Though Clara offers the physical intimacy Paul lacked
with Miriam, the relationship lacks deeper emotional or spiritual fulfillment. Paul enjoys being
with Clara because she does not burden him with expectations or moral demands. She did not
make him question the things he did.” Clara’s detachment and freedom offer Paul temporary
satisfaction, but the absence of spiritual connection or shared values leads to emptiness over
time. Unlike Miriam, Clara does not restrict herself but neither does she offer the kind of
emotional depth Paul craves. A common thread in Paul’s relationships with Miriam and Clara is
how religion complicates emotional and physical intimacy. With Miriam, the influence is overt:
her deep religious convictions elevate love into a sacred, almost untouchable realm, which
frustrates Paul’s desire for physical closeness. He perceives her spirituality as a barrier that
places emotional purity over human connection an idealistic love that feels suffocating and
unreachable. Although Clara is not religious in a traditional sense, the absence of spirituality
creates its own void. Paul finds their physical relationship passionate but emotionally barren. The
lack of shared deeper meaning or spiritual communion in their intimacy becomes another form of
alienation. Thus, in both cases, religion either its overwhelming presence or complete absence
leads to emotional imbalance and dissatisfaction in Paul’s search for a fulfilling relationship.

To sum up, Paul’s relationships with Miriam and Clara illuminate contrasting dimensions of
intimacy and compatibility. Miriam offers deep emotional and spiritual connection, yet her
restraint and idealism leave Paul yearning for something more physical and spontaneous. Clara,
in contrast, provides that passionate intensity and sensual freedom, but lacks the rooted
emotional understanding Paul craves. The tension between these relationships suggests that for a
truly fulfilling partnership, one must strike a balance melding Miriam’s depth and devotion with
Clara’s vitality and openness. A successful relationship, it seems, requires a touch of both: the
soul of Miriam and the fire of Clara.

GROUP MEMBERS

Selina Opare-2461122

Adjetey Emmanuella Atswei-2456622

Thompson Anna Kuukuwa Nyamekye- 7784721

Danso Edna Ofosua- 2459422

Annan Mercy-2457722

Rachel Adu-Mensah 2456922

Nimo Bernice Amankwaah – 2460622

Sulemana Ahidatu – 2461822

Adam Sakinatu – 2456422