ABSTRACT
Much of mid- nineteenth century literary theory is marked by a gradual shift of attention from the author to the text and finally to the reader. Interestingly, years back in 1923 Lawrence made an observation which clearly anticipates this shift urging upon the readers to save the tale from the artist. The present essay makes a modest attempt to show how Sons and Lovers deviates from what the novelist wants us to believe through his comments/ observations both inside and outside the novel. The hiatus between the author 's intention and achievement is found to be so deep that the novel seems to subvert what the novelist holds to be hierarchically superior. Mrs Morel's preferences for the seemingly superior middle-class value system is set against the working-class value system of Walter Morel. But despite the author 's conscious and explicit condemnation, a discerning reader never fails to understand that the novelist 's unconscious sympathies are always with the miner. In fact, there is an obvious contradiction between Lawrence's explicit characterization of the major figures in the novel and his tonal evaluations of them. Very often we find that the hidden or implied meaning in the novel runs contrary to the overt and direct meaning attempting to subvert the latter. The gap between 'telling ' and 'showing ' , between the text and the sub-text is often too obvious to be overlooked. The point becomes clearer when we examine Lawrence's own concise summary of the novel made in a letter to his editor Edward Garnett on 19 November 1912 in relation to what the novel depicts.
