Who is Walter Morel?
Walter Morel is one of the complex characters of the novel. But it is Walter's auto-biographical counterpart who makes him a special character in the novel? Which auto-biographical counterpart you may ask? Of course, it is D. H. Lawrence's own father, Arthur Lawrence of whom the character is based and shares quite similar traits.
Walter Morel is a coal miner with some decent looks but "loud" manners that sow a seed of hatred in his wife's heart. But he is not entirely an evil character or a noble-hearted one but his character is a complex blend of both primary qualities. Lawrence detested his father but when his father breathed his last, Lawrence realized that he was mistaken. He, later, confessed that if he ever wrote this novel again, he would have been kind in portraying Walter's character.
His Physical Charm
Walter Morel was twenty-seven years old and Gertrude only twenty-three when they first saw each other in the party. Gertrude fell in love with Walter on the first sight due to his appropriate and tempting posture. Lawrence introduces us to the physical beauty of Walter Morel as thus,
He was well set-up, erect and very smart. He had wavey black hair that shone again and a vigorous black beard that had never been shaved. His cheeks were ruddy and his red, moist mouth was noticeable because he laughed so often and so heartily.
He is not only physically beautiful but aesthetically captivating. He dances as if it were natural and joyous in him to dance. Thus exhibiting a glamorous show of his lively heart. Although she rejects his proposal of dance in the Christmas party but she is deeply enamoured of his humour and his specific but typical dialect of speaking things.
Unsuccessful Marriage Life
Gertrude and Walter get married but the spell of physical beauty is broken immediately. In the romantic heat of their 'love', they do not realize the difference of their personalities. Gertrude is an intellectual lady who likes to question religion, politics and other social matters philosophically to an educated person but these concepts hardly get into the mind of the coal miner. Walter, sometimes, listens to her talks eagerly without understanding the subject matter of her talks.
Their marriage grows really unhappy when Gertrude learns that her husband has not paid the bills of the furniture and the house in which he lives does not belong to him. She begins despising him for keeping her in 'the dark' through such lies. But what she djd not realize was the fact that he did not want to disclose about his poverty to her since he belonged to the middle class. As days went by, Gertrude grew more indifferent to Walter and it affected their children's life very badly.
Strangeness
When children are begotten, the significance of Walter Morel seems to shrink a great deal. The indifferent Gertrude finds solace in William and later, Paul. Such level of indifference shown by his wife enrages Walter and he is again tempted to drink before he (temporarily) quit for the sake of his wife. He becomes ill-tempered and scolds his children too often. Therefore, his children grow Oedipus Complex against him. But in reality, he is a miserable creature.
For instance, one day, he returns home hungry. But Gertrude has already eaten her meals. He says that she, being his wife, had to wait on him but her cold reply enrages and saddens him. Says she,
Never, milord, I'd wait on a dog at the door first.
After hearing such revolting remarks, he flings a drawer at her, wounding her brow. But he quickly puts a bandage on the wound. Later, it is depicted that he lies miserably on the bed for the whole day,
Walter Morel lay in bed next day until nearly dinner time. He lay and suffered like a sulking dog.
But that was not enough. Gertrude sowed seeds of hatred in the heads of her children. For instance, once Paul won a prize and he showed it only to his mother, not to his father.
Some Noble Traits
Despite Lawrence stern caricaturing of Walter's character, he portrays Walter with some positive qualities. First noble quality of Mr. Morel is that he feels for both his wife and his children. For example, when Gertrude is on her death bed, he feels very anxious about her but his weeping before Gertrude's relatives is his pretension. But his love for his deceased son and Paul is genuine. He does not come on the way to where William's grave is situated or the office in which he worked. He remains worried about Paul when he gets pneumonia. He inquires after his health but he does only get a cold indifference in return.
Another noble quality present in Walter's character is his love for self-work. He does not like to rely on others other than his own hands. In fact, the happiest moments of his life occur when he works through his own hands. Since he is a coal miner, so working through his own hands makes sense.
Laat but not the least, he is a simple person living his life instinctively. His actions are not pre-planned or well thought. But rather simple and direct in his approach. In simple terms, he is an unaltered person.
Conclusion
Conclusively, D. H. Lawrence has successfully created a character who exhibits one of the complex sides of the human psyche through the simple and basic instinctions of Walter Morel who suffers indifference from his family members for being poor.
Sources
- Sons and Lovers - Study Guide by Famous Products - Page 91
- Lecture of Sir Faisal
