The quest for mature identity and personal fulfillment leading to a meaningful life in an imperfect world—where rapid social change and economic crisis have created great difficulties for all the characters—is the dominant theme of Sons and Lovers. The world of the novel is difficult for the initially generous, warm hearted Walter Morel and his refined, highly principled wife, who sees her life sinking into poverty and whose successive pregnancies become more and more burdensome. The domestic strife of the embattled Morels takes its toll on all the children, and impedes their efforts to take their places in society and in a marriage.

It is an imperative in all Lawrence's work for any character he cares about to find a meaningful connection, not just to the superficial social world, but to some ultimate world, often suggested by images from nature. Marriage, as...