Michaelis Character Analysis in Lady Chatterley’s Lover

Michaelis is an Irish writer, known and beloved across the US and the UK for his popular plays satirizing wealthy society. Though Clifford does not like Michaelis, he invites him to Wragby in a bid to increase his own fame. Connie is immediately drawn to Michaelis, with his stark features, his childlike interest in wealth, and his rebellious outsider status. Connie and Michaelis begin a love affair, and though Michaelis pressures Connie to leave Clifford, he is also cruel to her, insulting her for caring too much about her own orgasms during sex. This behavior deeply wounds Connie, and she distances herself from Michaelis, though he continues to write to her, making contact whenever she is in London (and even when she goes off to Venice with her sister Hilda).

Michaelis Character Timeline in Lady Chatterley’s Lover

The timeline below shows where the character Michaelis appears in Lady Chatterley’s Lover. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Intellect vs. Bodily Experience Theme Icon

Class, Consumerism, and Money Theme Icon

That winter, a young Irishman named Michaelis comes to stay at Wragby. Michaelis is a playwright, acclaimed across the U.K. and the... (full context)

Clifford turns his nose up at Michaelis, who is clearly an outsider in proper society. But Connie finds herself drawn to him,... (full context)

One day, Connie invites a bored Michaelis up to her sitting-room. The two sit by the fire, discussing their families and Michaelis’s... (full context)

Michaelis asks to hold Connie’s hand, and she gives in, moved by his almost hypnotic power.... (full context)

At lunch, Clifford is critical of Michaelis. Privately, Connie respects that Michaelis is unscrupulous about pursuing success, whereas Clifford is so timid.... (full context)

Michaelis looks especially childlike when he is naked and excited during sex; he always orgasms first,... (full context)

Connie knows that her affair with Michaelis (or Mick, as some call him), is doomed, especially since his whole personality is built... (full context)

...flow. She dislikes Hammond and May; she likes Dukes, but none of them compare to Michaelis. (full context)

Catastrophe, Continuity, and Tradition Theme Icon

...endures”—the “lifelong” marriage they share, not an “occasional spasm.” Connie lets her mind wander to Michaelis. Though she is deeply attracted to him, she has never entertained the idea of leaving... (full context)

...a “display,” that there is nothing substantive behind Clifford’s short stories or his ideas. Even Michaelis, who has begun to write a play in which Clifford is the central character, seems... (full context)

When summer rolls around, Michaelis returns to Wragby with Act I of his new play. Everyone loves it, but Michaelis... (full context)

That night, Connie finally does come to Michaelis’s room, and he is more excited than ever to have sex. But after Connie orgasms,... (full context)

...“or it ate you up.” Connie wonders if she should have just gone away with Michaelis, turning her life into one long cocktail party. (full context)

...want “nothing more than what she’d got”; she has sworn off wanting sex ever since Michaelis was so cruel to her. (full context)

...power, Connie thinks that they are actually “as corrupt as any low-born Jew.” Connie misses Michaelis, who is flawed but at least livelier than her own husband. (full context)

...a doctor; he advises that all Connie needs to get well is to be entertained. Michaelis also hears that the sisters are visiting, and he tries to convince Connie to come... (full context)

...care about love, but even the most passionate forms of love seem damaged (as with Michaelis). And all Clifford ever does is talk and write, though at least he is directing... (full context)

...brings her any pleasure: Mrs. Bolton has started to frustrate Connie, and even letters from Michaelis now disgust her. Spring begins, and the flowers start to grow. But Connie only resents... (full context)

...though she knows she is partly responsible for her own feeling of “separateness.” Unlike with Michaelis, Connie has no interest in having an orgasm after Mellors finishes. (full context)

...Connie has a new feeling: instead of forcing her own orgasm (as she had with Michaelis), she is overwhelmed by sensation, and she realizes that she can “only wait” for Mellors... (full context)

...cocktails,” she thinks, “too many men-servants wanting tips […] altogether far too much enjoyment!” Even Michaelis has found his way to Venice, and he follows Hilda and Connie around. (full context)