D.H. Lawrence

D.H. Lawrence Study questions

Facts about D.H. Lawrence

➾ A severe pneumonia attack at age 16 permanently damaged his health, forcing him to quit his first job as a clerk in a surgical appliance factory.

➾ He explored his mother’s “smothering love” for him, following his near-death from pneumonia, in his largely autobiographical novel Sons and Lovers.

➾ He once claimed his bond with his mother was “almost with a husband and wife love,” confessing that this intense closeness made him “abnormal”.

➾ His father was virtually illiterate and drank heavily, while his mother was an intellectually “superior” woman who spoke “King’s English”.

➾ He began an extramarital affair with Frieda von Richthofen Weekley, who was the wife of one of his former professors, soon after recovering from illness.

➾ He wrote his second novel, The Trespasser, based on an affair with Helen Corke, whose married lover had committed suicide in real life.

➾ Upon first meeting his future wife Frieda (a German baron’s daughter), they immediately discussed Oedipus, with “understanding leap[ing] through [their] words”.

➾ While traveling after eloping, he was arrested on suspicion of being a British spy, but was released through the influence of Frieda’s father.

➾ He was declared unfit for military service during World War I due to his weak chest, despite being called up multiple times for examination.

➾ His novel, The Rainbow (1915), was rapidly banned because its subject matter and language were considered too “explicitly sexual”.

➾ An exhibition of his own paintings, many of which were “ecstatic nudes,” was raided by the police for obscenity in London in 1929.

D.H. Lawrence MCQs

1. What are the years of D. H. Lawrence’s life (birth and death)?

A. 1870–1915
B. 1890–1935
C. 1880–1925
D. 1885–1930

D. 1885–1930

2. In which English village was David Herbert Lawrence born?

A. Croydon
B. Sheerness
C. Eastwood, Nottinghamshire
D. Vence

C. Eastwood, Nottinghamshire

3. What was the profession of Lawrence’s father, Arthur Lawrence?

A. School-teacher
B. Clerk in a factory
C. Preacher
D. Coal-miner

D. Coal-miner

4. What was the maiden name of Lawrence’s mother?

A. Weekley
B. Richtofen
C. Beardsall
D. Chambers

C. Beardsall

5. What did Lawrence’s mother, Lydia Beardsall, encourage her children to do?

A. Become coal-miners like their father
B. Remain in the mining community
C. Advance beyond their restrictive environment
D. Study psychoanalysis

C. Advance beyond their restrictive environment

6. Lawrence’s mother was described as belonging to which social group?

A. The mining community
B. The upper class
C. The lower bourgeoisie
D. The landed gentry

C. The lower bourgeoisie

7. What was Lawrence’s nickname as a child?

A. Dave
B. Arthur
C. Herbert
D. Bert

D. Bert

8. Lawrence won a scholarship to which school in 1898?

A. Davidson Road Boys’ School
B. Ilkeston Pupil-Teacher Centre
C. Nottingham University College
D. Nottingham High School

D. Nottingham High School

9. At age 16, Lawrence began working as a clerk in a factory manufacturing what?

A. Coal mining equipment
B. Books and stationary
C. Textiles
D. Surgical appliances/goods

D. Surgical appliances/goods

10. What disease caused the death of Lawrence’s older brother, Ernest?

A. Tuberculosis
B. Pneumonia
C. Cancer
D. Erysipelas (a skin disease)

D. Erysipelas (a skin disease)

11. What illness nearly killed Lawrence around the time his older brother died?

A. Tuberculosis
B. Erysipelas
C. Pneumonia
D. Influenza

C. Pneumonia

12. Which largely autobiographical novel examines Lawrence’s relationship with his mother?

A. The White Peacock
B. Women in Love
C. Lady Chatterley’s Lover
D. Sons and Lovers

D. Sons and Lovers

13. In what year did Lawrence attend Nottingham University College?

A. 1904
B. 1906
C. 1908
D. 1910

B. 1906

14. What subject did Lawrence spend time learning about while at Nottingham University College?

A. Greek literature
B. Modern languages
C. Psychology
D. Socialism

D. Socialism

15. After graduating in 1908, where did Lawrence get a job as a schoolmaster?

A. Eastwood, Nottinghamshire
B. Davidson Road Boys’ School near London (Croydon)
C. The Haggs
D. Ilkeston

B. Davidson Road Boys’ School near London (Croydon)

16. What was Lawrence’s first published novel?

A. Sons and Lovers
B. The Trespasser
C. The White Peacock
D. The Rainbow

C. The White Peacock

17. The Chambers family’s holding, ‘The Haggs,’ was the inspiration for which location in Sons and Lovers?

A. The pit face
B. Davidson Road
C. The Warren
D. Willey Farm

D. Willey Farm

18. Which daughter of the Chambers family is the fictional character ‘Miriam’?

A. Frieda
B. Louie
C. Helen
D. Jessie

D. Jessie

19. Jessie Chambers published her memoir about Lawrence under what initials?

A. ML
B. DH
C. ET
D. LB

C. ET

20. In what year did Jessie Chambers send Lawrence’s poems to The English Review?

A. 1907
B. 1909
C. 1911
D. 1913

B. 1909

21. Who was the editor of The English Review who first published Lawrence’s poems?

A. Ernest Weekley
B. Walter de la Mare
C. Ford Madox Ford
D. Edward Garnett

C. Ford Madox Ford

22. Lawrence’s early engagement was with which fellow student?

A. Jessie Chambers
B. Helen Corke
C. Louie Burrows
D. Rachel Annand Taylor

C. Louie Burrows

23. The material for Lawrence’s second novel, The Trespasser, came from his affair with whom?

A. Louie Burrows
B. Helen Corke
C. Jessie Chambers
D. Frieda Weekley

B. Helen Corke

24. When did Lawrence’s mother become ill with cancer?

A. November 1911
B. December 1910
C. August 1910
D. April 1912

C. August 1910

25. What was the original title of Sons and Lovers?

A. The Sisters
B. The White Peacock
C. Paul Morel
D. The Lost Girl

C. Paul Morel

26. Whose criticism prompted the third revision of Sons and Lovers?

A. Ford Madox Ford
B. Edward Garnett
C. David Chambers
D. Arthur Lawrence

B. Edward Garnett

27. Who was Frieda von Richtofen Weekley, whom Lawrence met in 1912?

A. An American poet
B. The daughter of a collier
C. The wife of a professor at Nottingham University College
D. A former schoolteacher

C. The wife of a professor at Nottingham University College

28. What detail about Frieda’s background suggested her unconventional nature?

A. She was American
B. Her father was a German baron
C. She had been a miner’s wife
D. She was a noted preacher

B. Her father was a German baron

29. How much older was Frieda’s husband, Ernest Weekley, than she was?

A. Five years
B. Ten years
C. Fifteen years
D. Twenty years

C. Fifteen years

30. In what year did Lawrence and Frieda elope?

A. 1911
B. 1912
C. 1913
D. 1914

B. 1912

31. What factor put stress on Lawrence and Frieda’s marriage during World War I?

A. Their financial straits
B. Lawrence’s military service
C. Their English-German marriage
D. The ongoing censorship of his novels

C. Their English-German marriage

32. What condition prevented Lawrence from being fit for military service?

A. His German wife’s nationality
B. His anti-war sentiments
C. His age
D. His weak chest/health issues

D. His weak chest/health issues

33. Which 1915 novel was met with harsh criticism and had its distribution severed?

A. Sons and Lovers
B. Women in Love
C. Lady Chatterley’s Lover
D. The Rainbow

D. The Rainbow

34. What was the original title of the manuscript split into The Rainbow and Women in Love?

A. Paul Morel
B. The Sisters
C. Twilight in Italy
D. The Lost Girl

B. The Sisters

35. When was Sons and Lovers finally published?

A. 1911
B. 1913
C. 1915
D. 1920

B. 1913

36. Besides novels, Lawrence was an accomplished writer in which genres?

A. Playwright, mathematician, and botanist
B. Poet, short story writer, essayist, critic, and travel writer
C. Historian, philosopher, and biographer
D. Journalist, playwright, and cartographer

B. Poet, short story writer, essayist, critic, and travel writer

37. What was the name of the planned new community Lawrence hoped to establish?

A. The Haggs
B. Eastwood
C. Rananim
D. The Villa Mirenda

C. Rananim

38. Lawrence and Frieda were accused of spying while living in which English region?

A. Nottinghamshire
B. Essex
C. Cornwall
D. London

C. Cornwall

39. What term did Lawrence use for his period of travel throughout the 1920s?

A. The great escape
B. Sávage pilgrimage
C. The life-force journey
D. The wanderlust period

B. Sávage pilgrimage

40. Which novel contains a fictional account of Lawrence’s military service examinations?

A. Women in Love
B. The Lost Girl
C. Kangaroo
D. Aaron’s Rod

C. Kangaroo

41. Which volume of poems contains pieces like ‘Snake’ and ‘Fish’?

A. Last Poems
B. Amores
C. Birds, Beasts and Flowers
D. Pansies

C. Birds, Beasts and Flowers

42. Which novel, set in Australia, was written after Lawrence traveled there?

A. The Lost Girl
B. The Plumed Serpent
C. Kangaroo
D. Aaron’s Rod

C. Kangaroo

43. Which long short-story evokes the area of Lawrence’s ranch in New Mexico?

A. The Lost Girl
B. England, My England
C. St. Mawr
D. The Ship of Death

C. St. Mawr

44. Which novel is set in Mexico and deals with the revival of ancient Aztec gods?

A. Kangaroo
B. Lady Chatterley’s Lover
C. The Plumed Serpent
D. The Trespasser

C. The Plumed Serpent

45. Which of Lawrence’s later works saw his imagination turn back to his native Nottinghamshire?

A. The Rainbow
B. The Plumed Serpent
C. Lady Chatterley’s Lover
D. Women in Love

C. Lady Chatterley’s Lover

46. In which country did Lawrence work on Lady Chatterley’s Lover?

A. France
B. Mexico
C. Italy (near Florence)
D. Australia

C. Italy (near Florence)

47. What event occurred in July 1929 at the Warren Gallery in London?

A. The publication of Last Poems
B. An exhibition of his paintings was raided by the police
C. He received an award for his essay writing
D. He was arrested on suspicion of spying

B. An exhibition of his paintings was raided by the police

48. Which poems’ manuscript was seized by British authorities in the last year of his life?

A. Amores
B. Look! We Have Come Through
C. Pansies
D. Last Poems

C. Pansies

49. What was the cause of D. H. Lawrence’s death in 1930?

A. Erysipelas
B. Influenza
C. Cancer
D. Tuberculosis

D. Tuberculosis

50. In which country did Lawrence die on March 2, 1930?

A. England
B. Italy
C. France (Vence)
D. New Mexico

C. France (Vence)

Lady Chatterley’s Lover MCQs

1. What does the novel state this “essentially tragic age” refuses to take tragically?

A. War’s end
B. Financial ruin
C. Its tragic nature
D. Political corruption

C. Its tragic nature.
The book begins by saying that modern times are tragic, but people pretend they are not.

2. Connie and Hilda had what type of upbringing?

A. Traditional aristocratic
B. Aesthetic, unconventional
C. Strictly religious
D. Working-class

B. Aesthetic, unconventional.
Connie was raised in a family that valued art and modern ideas over old traditions.

3. What happened to Clifford in early 1918?

A. He published his first story.
B. He died.
C. He was shipped home smashed.
D. He inherited Wragby.

C. He was shipped home smashed.
Clifford’s war injury left him paralyzed and impotent, symbolizing the sterility of his class and ideas.

4. The nearby village of Tevershall was hopelessly ugly due to which industries?

A. Steel and glass
B. Textiles and farming
C. Coal and iron
D. Lumber and fishing

C. Coal and iron.
The story shows how industry has made the English countryside ugly and lifeless.

5. What feeling came from the village towards Connie and Clifford?

A. Admiration
B. Steady drizzle of resentment
C. Warm welcome
D. Profound pity

B. Steady drizzle of resentment.
The working-class miners disliked the aristocratic Chatterleys who owned the mines, showing the class conflict.

6. What did Clifford need Connie constantly present to confirm for him?

A. His financial stability
B. His existence
C. His literary merit
D. His honour

B. His existence.
Because he lived only in his mind, the paralyzed Clifford depended on Connie’s attention to feel real.

7. Connie said her life with Clifford was an existence in the:

A. Countryside
B. Void
C. Spotlight
D. Trenches

B. Void.
Connie felt her marriage and life at Wragby were empty of passion, connection, and meaning.

8. What did Connie suffer from that caused her body to jerk and twitch?

A. Physical illness
B. Growing restlessness
C. Deep melancholy
D. Lack of sleep

B. Growing restlessness.
Her body was physically reacting to her unhappy and unfulfilled life at Wragby.

9. What was society’s final assessment of Michaelis?

A. Genius
B. Anti-English caddish bounder
C. Political visionary
D. Noble gentleman

B. Anti-English caddish bounder.
Michaelis, a successful playwright, was never fully accepted by high society because he was an outsider.

10. What did Michaelis complain was not “much of a game for a man”?

A. Talking politics
B. Hanging on waiting for a woman to finish
C. Writing plays
D. Travelling alone

B. Hanging on waiting for a woman to finish.
His comment shows his self-centered approach to sex, which fails to satisfy Connie.

11. Brigadier-General Tommy Dukes believed all human individuality had run into the craving for:

A. Money
B. Sex
C. Self-assertion/success
D. Intellectual debate

C. Self-assertion/success.
Dukes argues that the obsession with success has replaced true individuality in modern people.

12. What did Charlie May suggest sex should be considered?

A. A simple physical conversation
B. A battle for dominance
C. A necessary evil
D. A mental pursuit

A. A simple physical conversation.
The intellectuals in the novel talk about sex as just another mental activity, separate from real feeling.

13. What part of the body, along with the belly and brain, did Tommy Dukes say produced real knowledge?

A. Feet
B. Penis
C. Heart
D. Womb

B. Penis.
Dukes argues that true understanding comes from the body and physical experience, not just from the mind.

14. When forced to describe what he believed in, Dukes included a “chirpy penis” and the courage to say what word?

A. Damn
B. Hell
C. Truth
D. Shit

D. Shit.
Dukes believes people need to accept the messy, physical reality of life instead of only living in their minds.

15. What term did Clifford use to describe his marriage, stressing its importance?

A. Life-long companionship/habit
B. Occasional spasm
C. Temporary excitement
D. Traditional duty

A. Life-long companionship/habit.
Clifford separates marriage from physical passion; he wants a companion for his mind, not a lover.

16. What was the name of the new game-keeper?

A. John Thomas
B. Field
C. Mellors
D. Betts

C. Mellors.
The arrival of Oliver Mellors, the gamekeeper, introduces the character who will become Connie’s lover.

17. Where did Connie get a shock of vision regarding the man?

A. In the hut
B. When he fell
C. Watching him wash himself naked
D. When he spoke dialect

C. Watching him wash himself naked.
Seeing his bare, living body makes Connie realize what is missing from her own life. It is a moment of awakening.

18. What did Connie realize Clifford was a buffoon for craving?

A. Respect from the miners
B. Prostitution to the bitch-goddess Success
C. Genuine intimacy
D. A male heir

B. Prostitution to the bitch-goddess Success.
Connie sees that Clifford’s new obsession with industrial success is just another empty, life-denying pursuit.

19. Tommy Dukes claimed the only bridge across the chasm of civilization would be what?

A. The phallus
B. The intellect
C. Money
D. Revolution

A. The phallus.
Dukes argues that only a return to physical, sexual connection can save modern society from its cold existence.

20. Mrs Bolton’s husband, Ted Bolton, was killed in the pit by what?

A. Roof collapse
B. Explosion
C. Gas leak
D. Machine accident

B. Explosion.
Her husband’s death in the mines gives Mrs. Bolton a complex relationship with the mine-owning class.

21. What animal did Connie compare the new life of the tiny chick in the coop to?

A. A lamb
B. A spark
C. A bird
D. A cat

B. A spark.
Watching the fragile new life of the chicks with Mellors marks the beginning of Connie’s own awakening.

22. Clifford’s so-called genius was merely a talent for:

A. Technical invention
B. Philosophical debate
C. Personal gossip/analysis
D. Poetic expression

C. Personal gossip/analysis.
Connie realizes that Clifford’s celebrated writing is not great art, but just a form of clever, mean-spirited gossip.

23. What did Connie compare Clifford’s endless stories and intellectual life to?

A. Leafy words of an effective life
B. Hosts of fallen leaves
C. Great works of art
D. Revolutionary concepts

B. Hosts of fallen leaves.
This image shows that Connie now sees Clifford’s world of words as something dead and disconnected from real life.

24. What did Mellors touch for a moment in a kiss upon Connie’s body during their first intimacy?

A. Her mouth
B. Her navel
C. Her hands
D. Her throat

B. Her navel.
Their first sexual encounter is surprisingly gentle, focusing on a different kind of bodily connection.

25. What was Mellors originally, before becoming a blacksmith?

A. A miner
B. A soldier
C. A clever young clerk
D. A school-master

C. A clever young clerk.
Mellors is an intelligent, educated man who has consciously rejected the modern world of offices and money.

26. What did Mellors say his core of life was, if he had one?

A. To get rich
B. To get ahead
C. To have a right relation with a woman
D. To be alone

C. To have a right relation with a woman.
This is Mellors’ central belief; he thinks true life comes from a tender, physical connection.

27. What did Connie realize was beautiful when she touched Mellors’ body?

A. His hands
B. The unspeakable beauty of his buttocks
C. His chest
D. His eyes

B. The unspeakable beauty of his buttocks.
Connie’s awakening involves learning to see and appreciate the beauty of the whole male body.

28. What flowers did Connie thread into Mellors’ pubic hair?

A. Roses
B. Violets
C. Forget-me-nots
D. Daffodils

C. Forget-me-nots.
This famous scene shows the lovers playfully decorating each other’s bodies, connecting their sexuality with nature.

29. When Connie asked why he hated Clifford, Mellors said he lacked what?

A. A heart
B. Intelligence
C. Balls
D. Money

C. Balls.
Mellors believes Clifford lacks true male courage and vitality, not just physically but also spiritually.

30. Clifford claimed the masses are what, regardless of education?

A. Unchangeable
B. Always rising
C. Always wrong
D. Always intellectual

A. Unchangeable.
Clifford’s aristocratic view is that the working class is fundamentally inferior and cannot be truly changed.

31. What did Clifford want to use (instead of swords) for ruling the masses?

A. Diplomacy
B. Laws
C. Whips
D. Education

C. Whips.
This shows Clifford’s belief in harsh, authoritarian control over the workers, whom he sees as animals to be managed.

32. Connie said Clifford’s views created a truth that did what?

A. Inspired
B. Killed
C. United
D. Liberated

B. Killed.
Connie realizes that Clifford’s cold, intellectual philosophy is destructive to the human spirit.

33. After the chair incident, what new emotion did Connie admit fully to herself regarding Clifford?

A. Fear
B. Resentment
C. Hate
D. Pity

C. Hate.
After his tantrum with the motor-chair, Connie’s passive dislike hardens into an active hatred.

34. Mellors’ preferred form of revolution was to stop living for money and start living for what?

A. Something else (life and beauty)
B. God
C. Power
D. Socialism

A. Something else (life and beauty).
Mellors rejects political revolution in favor of a personal revolution in values, away from money.

35. When Connie was naked, Mellors put a pink campion bud where?

A. In her hand
B. In her navel
C. In her mouth
D. Behind her ear

B. In her navel.
This is another instance of the lovers playfully adorning each other with flowers, connecting their bodies to nature.

36. Mellors called the campion in her pubic hair what figure?

A. Cupid
B. John Thomas
C. Moses in the bull-rushes
D. Sir Pestle

C. Moses in the bull-rushes.
This is a humorous and poetic image, combining a biblical reference with a celebration of the body’s natural state.

37. Who spotted Connie and Mellors coming out of the wood?

A. Clifford
B. Flossie
C. Mrs Bolton
D. Hilda

C. Mrs Bolton.
Mrs. Bolton seeing them together marks the beginning of the affair’s discovery by the outside world.

38. What did Connie tell Clifford was the greater reality than the life of the mind?

A. The life of the spirit
B. The life of the body
C. The life of art
D. The life of money

B. The life of the body.
Connie directly challenges Clifford’s entire philosophy, stating that physical life and feeling are more real than his world of ideas.

39. Clifford eventually gave Mellors the sack after Mellors was impertinent regarding what?

A. Connie
B. Clifford’s legs/manhood
C. The mining equipment
D. The game-birds

B. Clifford’s legs/manhood.
The class and power conflict between the two men comes to a head, resulting in Mellors being fired.

40. What did Connie tell her father was the reason for not going back to Wragby?

A. She was broke
B. She was pregnant
C. She hated Clifford
D. She wanted to travel

B. She was pregnant.
Connie finally reveals the truth to her father, forcing her family to deal with the consequences of her affair.

41. What did Sir Malcolm call Mellors after drinking whisky?

A. A gold-digger
B. A good cock
C. A blackguard
D. A clever artist

B. A good cock.
Despite the class difference, Connie’s father has a grudging, man-to-man respect for Mellors’ virility.

42. What did Mellors say was the deepest connection between men?

A. Comradeship
B. Bodily awareness/tenderness
C. Shared work
D. Intellectual debate

B. Bodily awareness/tenderness.
Mellors believes that tenderness and physical connection should be the basis for all human relationships.

43. Connie and Hilda connived to name whom as co-respondent in Connie’s divorce?

A. Michaelis
B. Sir Malcolm
C. Duncan Forbes
D. Tommy Dukes

C. Duncan Forbes.
To protect the lower-class Mellors from scandal, Connie plans to name a friend as the supposed lover.

44. How did Clifford react upon reading Connie’s letter?

A. Calm acceptance
B. Hystericál distraction/idiotic blankness
C. Immediate fury
D. Quiet sorrow

B. Hystericál distraction/idiotic blankness.
When faced with the reality of Connie leaving, Clifford’s intellectual control shatters and he breaks down completely.

45. How long did Mellors plan to work on the farm before they could be together permanently?

A. One month
B. Six months
C. Till next Easter/spring
D. Till the baby was born

C. Till next Easter/spring.
The novel ends with the lovers separated, but with a fragile hope of reuniting in the spring.

46. What did Mellors find “solaced” him on the farm?

A. Working with the machinery
B. Sitting with his head in a cow’s side milking
C. Reading the technical manuals
D. The quiet nights

B. Sitting with his head in a cow’s side milking.
While waiting for Connie, Mellors finds comfort in simple, physical farm labor and his connection to animals.

47. What did Mellors say was dead in the working class?

A. Ambition
B. The human intuitive faculty/spunk
C. Financial spirit
D. Hatred of the bosses

B. The human intuitive faculty/spunk.
Mellors believes that industrialization has killed the natural vitality and instinct (“spunk”) in people.

48. What did Mellors and Connie sometimes call each other when talking about sex?

A. Sir John and Lady Jane
B. Oliver and Connie
C. The King and Queen
D. Pestle and Mortar

A. Sir John and Lady Jane.
These are the playful, private names the lovers give to the penis and vagina, creating their own tender language for sex.

49. What was the core difference between Kate’s old physical fulfillment and her new one with Cipriano?

A. The old was sharp and ecstasy-filled; the new was dark, hot, and subterranean
B. The old was passionate; the new was cold
C. The old was emotional; the new was purely intellectual
D. The old was rare; the new was constant

A. The old was sharp and ecstasy-filled; the new was dark, hot, and subterranean.
Her relationship with Cipriano is not based on personal, ecstatic love, but on a deeper, darker, more impersonal connection.

50. What did Ramón describe Carlota as, because she kept back the ‘wine of her body’?

A. A saint
B. A charitable woman
C. A stale virgin/spinster/born widow
D. A martyr

C. A stale virgin/spinster/born widow.
Ramón believes his wife’s Christian piety made her deny her own physical, sensual nature.

Brief Overview

Lady Chatterley’s Lover tells the story of Constance “Connie” Chatterley. She is a young, educated woman married to an aristocrat, Sir Clifford Chatterley. Clifford was paralyzed from the waist down in World War I, and their marriage is now sexless and emotionally cold.

Clifford is a successful writer but is disconnected from his own body and from nature. He spends his time with other intellectuals, discussing ideas rather than feelings. Connie feels trapped and unfulfilled, growing depressed in their grand, isolated home, Wragby Hall.

She begins to wander the estate and meets Oliver Mellors, the estate’s gamekeeper. Mellors is a quiet, working-class man who is also disconnected from society. Despite their vast difference in social class, they begin a passionate, physical affair.

The affair is a reawakening for Connie, connecting her to her body and the natural world. Mellors teaches her about tenderness and physical intimacy, which Lawrence presents as essential to life. The novel contrasts their vital relationship with the cold, lifeless intellectualism of Clifford’s world.

Connie becomes pregnant with Mellors’ child. The affair is eventually exposed by a jealous nurse, causing a huge scandal. Clifford refuses to grant Connie a divorce.

The novel ends with Connie and Mellors separated, but they remain committed to each other, hoping to one day build a new life together.