Lady Chatterley’s Lover

Hilda writes a letter to Connie informing her that she will pick her up for the Venice trip on June 17; again, Connie resents that other people make decisions on her behalf. Clifford also does not want Connie to leave—not because he will miss her, but because her absence makes him feel insecure. Connie knows Clifford will be fine, given his almost “mad” focus on finding the cheapest new ways to run his mines.

One day, Connie finds out that Mrs. Bolton and Clifford have been gambling with real money—and that when Clifford wins, he keeps his winnings. This disgusts Connie, who insists that Clifford start paying Mrs. Bolton more to cover these gambling losses. Clifford agrees, largely because he is still worried that Connie will leave him for good on her Venice trip. Clifford wants Connie to have fun—and he even sort of wants her to get pregnant—but he is terrified at the thought that she might disappear forever.

Indeed, privately, Connie and Mellors plot for her to leave Clifford almost as soon as she returns. Mellors wants to run away with her to America, and Connie is thrilled by stories of his past experiences in Egypt and India and South Africa. The mention of the Colonies makes Mellors think about his beloved colonel. Though the colonel sometimes ran Mellors’s life, he also influenced him a great deal, particularly in his ideas about class and masculinity.

Mellors again discusses the link between the popular hunger for money and the death of real manhood: he says people are becoming “all alike.” Mellors also believes that sanity is located “in the balls,” and he fears that if men keep going in their current direction, they will become insane, killing each other until humanity is completely wiped out. Mellors even feels that bringing a child into such a world is irresponsible—and this deeply wounds Connie.

Connie makes Mellors promise to have hope for their future, and her passion arouses him. While they snuggle, Mellors vows to turn his attention away from money and towards carnal desire and beauty. But Connie is barely listening; instead, she is threading forget-me-not flowers through Mellors’s pubic hair. Connie wants to share her observations about Mellors’s body, but Mellors cannot break himself out of his bad mood. As he puts it, thinking about the future makes him feel as if he has “swallowed gall.”

It starts to thunderstorm, and Connie gets up and takes off her night clothes. As she does so, she feels a little triumphant in her knowledge that Mellors’s sadness is linked to her going away, even though he does not say so. Invigorated, Connie runs out into the rain, dancing wildly in the storm. Mellors laughs and follows suit, stripping and heading outside to dance. He grabs Connie from behind, surprising her, and they share a naked embrace in the rain.

Mellors goes back to the house, but Connie takes her time in joining him, picking flowers as she goes. Connie sits by the fire to dry herself off, and Mellors admires the shape of her posterior. “Tha’s got the nicest arse of anybody,” he tells her, “it’s the nicest, nicest woman’s arse as is!” Mellors is particularly enchanted by how curvy Connie’s rear is, unlike the “button-arsed lasses as should be lads” that are so in style. Mellors even loves to think of Connie going to the bathroom, as it proves her real womanhood all the more.

Now it is Mellors’s turn to weave flowers into Connie’s pubic hair; he wants to make sure she will “remember” him even in her most private places. Mellors and Connie discuss her trip, and their plan to leave Wragby—hopefully with a child in tow—after she returns. For the first time, Mellors admits to feeling self-conscious about his lack of wealth and his status as Connie’s husband’s game-keeper.

Moreover, Mellors informs Connie that he has gone to a lawyer about his divorce—and the lawyer has warned Mellors that in order for the divorce to go through, he will need to live a scandal-free life for the next several months. The mention of scandal makes Connie especially sure that she must see Mellors again before she leaves, even though Hilda is arriving soon. Connie decides that she will ask Hilda to drive her away from Wragby—but then, secretly, she will have Hilda bring her back for one more night with Mellors before they head to Italy.

Connie and Mellors go back to cuddling, giving each other new nicknames: Connie calls Mellors the “Knight of the Burning Pestle,” while Mellors calls Connie “Lady of the Red-Hot Mortar.” Mellors goes out and gets more flowers, and he lays them all over Connie’s body. “This is John Thomas marrying Lady Jane,” Mellors says, “and we mun let Constance an’ Oliver go their ways. Maybe—”

Connie desperately wants Mellors to finish his sentence, but he doesn’t. This cliffhanger is one of the biggest disappointments in Connie’s life. As Mellors walks Connie towards the gate, he switches back into his heavy vernacular, and Connie feels (as always) charmed and a little confused by the dialect. The happy couple runs into Mrs. Bolton, who takes in the love in both their eyes. Mellors kindly salutes Mrs. Bolton and heads back to his cottage.