(no subject)
Interestingest bit of an interesting article:
"In Sons and Lovers, Paul Morel represents the author. Paul’s first romantic relationship is with a girl named Miriam, who lives on a farm. (Miriam represents Jessie Chambers Wood, who later wrote a memoir about Lawrence.) Paul says to Miriam, “If one person loves, the other does.”3 This suggests that there’s a synchronicity in love, that it arises in two people at the same time, that you can gauge another’s feelings by your own. Perhaps Paul is telling Miriam, “The love that you feel for me is matched by my love for you.” Lawrence’s observation is psychological and also parapsychological. He deserves credit for a profound observation (what Victorian novelist could have made this observation?), and also for expressing it in simple language. I don’t recall hearing this observation before; I think it’s original.
La Rochefoucauld said that we can’t hide love where it exists, or fake it where it doesn’t exist. La Rochefoucauld is saying that feelings are transmitted telepathically, without a word being spoken, so his observation is parapsychological. But Lawrence goes even further; with his keen sense of the occult, Lawrence finds synchronicity in love.
When Paul speaks of this synchronicity, Miriam is pleased, believing that her love is requited. She’s reminded of her mother’s comment, “Love begets love.” But her mother’s comment suggests cause-and-effect, not a real synchronicity, not an arising together. Paul doesn’t entirely agree with her mother’s comment; he responds, “Yes, something like that.” "
"In Sons and Lovers, Paul Morel represents the author. Paul’s first romantic relationship is with a girl named Miriam, who lives on a farm. (Miriam represents Jessie Chambers Wood, who later wrote a memoir about Lawrence.) Paul says to Miriam, “If one person loves, the other does.”3 This suggests that there’s a synchronicity in love, that it arises in two people at the same time, that you can gauge another’s feelings by your own. Perhaps Paul is telling Miriam, “The love that you feel for me is matched by my love for you.” Lawrence’s observation is psychological and also parapsychological. He deserves credit for a profound observation (what Victorian novelist could have made this observation?), and also for expressing it in simple language. I don’t recall hearing this observation before; I think it’s original.
La Rochefoucauld said that we can’t hide love where it exists, or fake it where it doesn’t exist. La Rochefoucauld is saying that feelings are transmitted telepathically, without a word being spoken, so his observation is parapsychological. But Lawrence goes even further; with his keen sense of the occult, Lawrence finds synchronicity in love.
When Paul speaks of this synchronicity, Miriam is pleased, believing that her love is requited. She’s reminded of her mother’s comment, “Love begets love.” But her mother’s comment suggests cause-and-effect, not a real synchronicity, not an arising together. Paul doesn’t entirely agree with her mother’s comment; he responds, “Yes, something like that.” "