Lady Chatterley’s Lover

When Connie and Clifford moved in, Emma Chatterley left, not wanting to interact with her new sister-in-law. So now, it is just the young couple in this big, dreary house. Worse still, Wragby is adjacent to the Tevershall mine, which produces constant smoke, stinking of sulfur and coal. And Tevershall village is no better, with its small, cramped colliers’ houses turning black from the haze. At night, Connie can see the mine’s furnaces glowing.

Still, Connie does not protest her new circumstances, as she knows there is no getting out of them. Instead, she learns to accept the strange separation between Tevershall village and Wragby: there is no contact between the two groups except mutual resentment, not because of any personal slights but because of a general sense that the people have nothing in common with each other. Even when the local women pretend to fawn over Connie, she can feel their disdain.

Clifford does his best to avoid the townspeople, treating them only with contempt whenever he sees them. At the same time, despite his haughty outward manner and his expensive clothes, Connie can tell that Clifford is deeply ashamed of his wounded body. And though Clifford bonds with Connie (and depends on her completely), he struggles to forge relationships with other people; the miners are effectively his employees, but he views them as “parts of the pit rather than parts of life.”

To alleviate his boredom, Clifford starts writing sharply observed, emotionally detached short stories. His stories appear in the best magazines and garner a mix of praise and criticism, though Clifford only wants praise. Clifford talks about his stories in detail with Connie, who loves these conversations—so much that they almost replace sex for her. Connie cares more about these conversations than other elements of life at Wragby, so she declines to make any renovations to her new home (much to Emma’s delight).

When Sir Malcolm comes, he points out that Clifford’s stories are empty of emotion or real weight, which upsets Connie. Malcolm also tells Clifford he does not want Connie to become a “demi-vierge”: a half-virgin. Clifford resents this comment, even as he knows there is some truth in it. Still, try as he might, he cannot bring himself to have an honest conversation with Connie about their sexual predicament.

To pass the time, Connie goes for walks in the park, taking in the autumn leaves and the flowers in spring. She plays hostess to the intellectual men that Clifford invites to Wragby, all of whom like Connie but refuse to take her seriously because of her curvy, “feminine” body, unusual for the fashions of her era. Clifford’s older relatives are kind, if sometimes condescending. So, time goes on “as the clock does, half-past eight instead of half-past seven.”