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Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Chapter 14
Explanation and Analysis—Black Country English:
In Lady Chatterley's Lover, the regional dialect of the Midlands area of England is an important motif. The male protagonist, Oliver Mellors, has a strong Black Country accent, and it comes to the fore in moments of vulnerability, passionate intimacy, or serious anger. It is very different from the more “standard” English that the novel’s middle-class characters use. For example, as he speaks intensely to a naked Connie, he says:
“Dunna ax me nowt now, “he said. “Let me be. I like thee. I luv thee when tha lies theer. A woman’s a lovely thing when’ er’s deep ter fuck, and cunt’s good. Ah luv thee, thy legs, an’ th’ shape on thee, an’ th’ womanness on thee. Ah luv th’ womanness on thee. Ah luv thee wi’ my balls an’ wi’ my heart. But dunna ax me now. Dunna ma’e me say nowt.
In this passage, Mellors is asking Connie to lie still and be quiet instead of prodding him to explain his love for her. He's uncomfortable with direct expressions of emotion, so he uses accurate (if explicit) language to say the things he feels about her in a way that seems accessible to him.
Regional accents are a charged topic in the United Kingdom, and were even more loaded in the 20th century. Speaking with a specific regional accent—especially a northerly-sounding one, as Mellors does—usually indicated that a person came from a working-class background. Wealthy or aristocratic people tended to speak in regionless diction, and having an identifiable accent was often considered undesirable in elevated professional circles. Because of this, Mellors's pronounced use of the Black Country dialect in his most emotionally charged moments is part of Lawrence’s overarching narrative about the artificiality of class divisions in 20th-century England. Mellors is very intelligent, but people like Clifford Chatterley and Hilda dismiss him because of the way he sounds.
The motif of Black Country dialect also plays an important part in Lawrence’s exploration of truthfulness within intimate relationships. When Mellors is feeling passionate or intimate, his accent becomes more pronounced. It’s as if it reveals the “truth” of who he is and the façade of standard English falls away. He often sounds at his most Midlands when he's either having sex with Connie or fighting with her.
Interestingly, the way Lawrence employs dialect in Lady Chatterley’s Lover also played a role in the enormous controversy and legal scrutiny the book attracted. The raw and unvarnished explicitness of Mellors’s speech—marked by what some readers thought of as its “lack of refinement” because of the author's use of dialect—became a focal point of the obscenity trial against the book. What Mellors says is no less sensible or refined than the commentaries his wealthier peers make in standard English. He does use curse words, but they’re not gratuitous, they’re descriptive. However, some people thought that having sexually explicit thoughts expressed in working-class diction made them seem even more shocking. This, in itself, is reflective of the class prejudices and biases of Lawrence’s time.
Related Themes:
