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)

Women In Love MCQs

1. What does Gudrun initially suggest marriage offers?

A. Spiritual fulfillment
B. A better position
C. True love
D. Guaranteed happiness

B. A better position.
The novel opens with the sisters discussing if marriage is just a way to improve one’s social status.

2. Ursula suggests that marriage is more likely to be:

A. A great adventure
B. A beautiful union
C. The end of experience
D. A social advancement

C. The end of experience.
Ursula fears that getting married will mean giving up her freedom and individuality.

3. Gudrun explains her return home as:

A. A new beginning
B. A forced necessity
C. Reculer pour mieux sauter
D. A desire for family

C. Reculer pour mieux sauter.
This French phrase means “to step back to leap better.” Gudrun sees her return as a strategic retreat before her next move in life.

4. Gudrun describes the colliery region as like a country in an:

A. Ancient ruin
B. Forgotten dream
C. Underworld
D. Industrial paradise

C. Underworld.
This shows how the industrial landscape feels dark, strange, and separate from the normal world.

5. Whose wedding are Gudrun and Ursula attending?

A. Birkin’s sister
B. Hermione Roddice
C. Thomas Crich’s daughter
D. Rupert Birkin’s cousin

C. Thomas Crich’s daughter.
The wedding of Laura Crich brings all the main characters of the novel together for the first time.

6. Hermione Roddice gives her soul up to the:

A. Fine arts
B. Intellectual pursuits
C. Public cause (reform)
D. Spiritual meditation

B. Intellectual pursuits.
Hermione represents a way of life based only on the mind and will, which Birkin rejects.

7. Ursula feels Birkin acknowledges a kinship, specifically a:

A. Mental superiority
B. Tacit understanding
C. Shared history
D. Physical attraction

B. Tacit understanding.
Ursula and Birkin feel an immediate, unspoken connection with each other, setting up their relationship.

8. After the initial procession, Gudrun is impatient to think about:

A. Birkin
B. Hermione
C. Laura
D. Gerald Crich

D. Gerald Crich.
Gudrun is immediately fascinated by Gerald, the powerful and handsome industrialist, beginning their destructive relationship.

9. Birkin states that many people “essentially don’t exist” because:

A. They are evil
B. They are too quiet
C. They are too abstract
D. There’s nothing to imagine

D. There’s nothing to imagine.
Birkin believes that people who lack true individuality and inner life are not fully real.

10. Mrs. Crich identifies which son as “the most wanting of them all”?

A. John
B. James
C. Gerald
D. Lupton

C. Gerald.
Gerald’s own mother sees a dangerous emptiness or lack in his character, foreshadowing his tragic end.

11. Gerald, as a boy, accidentally killed his:

A. Dog
B. Brother
C. Father
D. Servant

B. Brother.
This childhood trauma haunts Gerald and is a source of the darkness and guilt within him.

12. Gerald maintains command in the house primarily through:

A. Financial power
B. His age
C. Force of personality
D. His amiable nature

C. Force of personality.
Gerald is a “captain of industry” whose powerful will allows him to dominate others, both at home and at the mines.

13. What human driver does Birkin despise?

A. Fear
B. Lust
C. The spirit of emulation
D. Sentimentality

C. The spirit of emulation.
Birkin hates the idea that people just copy each other instead of being their true, individual selves.

14. Gerald fears individual spontaneity would lead to:

A. Moral decay
B. Everybody cutting everybody else’s throat
C. Anarchy
D. True freedom

B. Everybody cutting everybody else’s throat.
Gerald believes in control and social order. He thinks that without rules, society would descend into violence.

15. The last lesson Ursula is teaching is elementary:

A. Geometry
B. Literature
C. History
D. Botany (catkins)

D. Botany (catkins).
This scene allows Birkin to explain his philosophy about knowledge and reality using the example of flowers.

16. Gudrun typically carves things that are:

A. Large and imposing
B. Abstract and shapeless
C. Small (birds and tiny animals)
D. Historical figures

C. Small (birds and tiny animals).
As an artist, Gudrun focuses on capturing the essence of small, intense forms of life.

17. Hermione argues that what is the cause of “death” and lack of spontaneity?

A. The body
B. Society
C. The mind
D. Materialism

C. The mind.
Hermione ironically uses her intellect to argue against the intellect, showing the self-contradictory nature of her philosophy.

18. Birkin calls “sensual being” a fulfillment of:

A. Rational thought
B. Social duty
C. The dark involuntary being
D. Platonic ideals

C. The dark involuntary being.
Birkin believes true fulfillment comes from instinct and the body, not from the conscious, thinking mind.

19. Birkin states that knowledge outside the head is found in the:

A. Soul
B. Heart
C. Blood
D. Spirit

C. Blood.
“Blood-consciousness” is a key idea for Birkin. It means knowledge that is felt instinctively and physically.

20. To achieve sensual reality, Birkin says one must lapse into:

A. Love
B. Unknowingness
C. Rationality
D. Isolation

B. Unknowingness.
He argues that one must let go of the need to mentally understand everything and instead trust one’s instincts.

21. Who is swimming in Willey Water?

A. Rupert Birkin
B. Lupton
C. Gerald Crich
D. Mr. Crich

C. Gerald Crich.
The sisters watch Gerald swimming, and Gudrun is captivated by his powerful, god-like physical form.

22. Birkin warns they will shrivel inside the current life, like in a:

A. Cold room
B. Tight skin
C. Dark tunnel
D. False religion

B. Tight skin.
Birkin feels that modern life is like an old skin that humanity must shed in order to be reborn.

23. Gerald claims that as a purposive being, he lives to:

A. Get rich
B. Work, to produce something
C. Experience love
D. Seek wisdom

B. Work, to produce something.
Gerald represents the modern industrial man. His entire identity is based on his function and his work.

24. Birkin tells Gerald that he wants the finality of:

A. Friendship
B. Art
C. Love
D. Career

A. Friendship.
Birkin seeks a new kind of deep, permanent bond with a man, something beyond ordinary friendship.

25. Birkin claims humanity is a “dead letter” and should:

A. Be reformed
B. Disappear as quick as possible
C. Seek spiritual renewal
D. Return to nature

B. Disappear as quick as possible.
This is one of Birkin’s most extreme statements, showing his despair with the current state of humanity.

26. Birkin describes the hideous great street of London as:

A. Exciting
B. Overwhelming
C. Real death
D. Profoundly beautiful

C. Real death.
For Birkin, the modern city represents the death of nature, instinct, and true human connection.

27. Gerald feels an awful, enjoyable power over Pussum, close to:

A. Love
B. Cruelty
C. Disdain
D. Admiration

B. Cruelty.
Gerald’s attraction to the Bohemian girl Pussum is based on a dark sense of power and the desire to dominate.

28. Gerald states he is afraid of being:

A. Poor
B. Tortured
C. Shut up, locked up, or fastened
D. Alone

C. Shut up, locked up, or fastened.
This reveals Gerald’s deep fear of losing control and his freedom of will, which is central to his character.

29. The connection between Gerald and Pussum is described as a black, electric flow and magnetic:

A. Coldness
B. Light
C. Darkness
D. Warmth

C. Darkness.
Their attraction is not based on love, but on a shared corrupt and destructive energy.

30. Birkin claims the carving represents a pure culture in:

A. Intellect
B. Suffering
C. Sensation
D. Brutality

C. Sensation.
The African statuette symbolizes a way of life based on pure physical sensation and dissolution, which fascinates Birkin as an alternative to European intellect.

31. During lunch, Hermione persistently tries to ridicule:

A. Ursula
B. Gerald
C. Birkin
D. Sir Joshua

C. Birkin.
Hermione feels rejected by Birkin, so she tries to belittle his ideas in front of her intellectual friends.

32. Hermione claims that understanding something about the stars made her feel:

A. Confused
B. Peaceful
C. Limitless
D. Intelligent

C. Limitless.
Hermione seeks to possess knowledge with her mind. She wants to absorb the universe into her own consciousness.

33. Birkin refuses the walk because he dislikes:

A. The woods
B. Hermione’s friends
C. Trooping off in a gang
D. The weather

C. Trooping off in a gang.
This action shows Birkin’s individualism and his refusal to be part of a mindless social group.

34. Hermione mocks Birkin by calling him a:

A. Coward
B. Sulky little boy
C. Lazy man
D. True friend

B. Sulky little boy.
She tries to make his philosophical stand seem like childish stubbornness.

35. Birkin, sitting up in bed, thinks the peace of Breadalby is an intolerable:

A. Blessing
B. Burden
C. Confinement/dead prison
D. Necessity

C. Confinement/dead prison.
Even in a beautiful country house, Birkin feels trapped by the lifeless social and intellectual atmosphere.

36. Hermione suggests that in the spirit, all men are:

A. Independent
B. One/Equal/Brothers
C. Separated
D. Competitive

B. One/Equal/Brothers.
Hermione believes in a spiritual, abstract unity of mánkind, which Birkin rejects as false.

37. Hermione attacks Birkin using a ball of:

A. Lead
B. Iron
C. Jewel stone
D. Wood

D. Wood.
This is a climactic scene where Hermione’s intellectual bullying turns into physical violence. (Note: In the book, it is lapis lazuli).

38. Birkin sits naked on the wet hillside among the:

A. Nettles
B. Flowers
C. Primroses
D. Moss

C. Primroses.
After being attacked, Birkin strips off his clothes and seeks healing through direct, physical contact with nature.

39. Gerald rides a red:

A. Shire horse
B. Hunter horse
C. Pony
D. Arab mare

D. Arab mare.
The beautiful, fiery mare represents a powerful natural force that Gerald is determined to conquer with his will.

40. Gerald controls the mare primarily using his:

A. Whips
B. Shouting
C. Will and magnetic thrust
D. Treats

C. Will and magnetic thrust.
This scene is a key symbol of Gerald’s character. He uses his pure, mechanical will to dominate a living creature.

41. Gudrun establishes a bond with Gerald described as a sort of:

A. Spiritual kinship
B. Shared sorrow
C. Diabolic freemasonry
D. Mutual distrust

C. Diabolic freemasonry.
Gudrun understands and is attracted to Gerald’s dark, controlling nature. They have a secret, destructive understanding.

42. Birkin says his only rightness lies in the fact that he:

A. Is loved
B. Knows he is wrong
C. Is unique
D. Is spontaneous

B. Knows he is wrong.
Birkin admits his own flaws, which separates him from characters like Hermione and Gerald who are certain of their own rightness.

43. Birkin states that his love for humanity, if it exists, is a:

A. Virtue
B. Burden
C. Disease
D. Secret

C. Disease.
He expresses his deep disappointment with mánkind and his desire to move beyond conventional human relationships.

44. Birkin suggests that a woman’s dual will makes her either submit or:

A. Die
B. Argue
C. Bolt and pitch her rider to perdition
D. Seek knowledge

C. Bolt and pitch her rider to perdition.
Using the horse metaphor, Birkin describes his view of the destructive battle of wills between men and wómen.

45. Ursula acknowledges her conflict with Birkin is a fight to the death, or to:

A. Separation
B. New life
C. Stagnation
D. Victory

B. New life.
Ursula understands that their relationship cannot be a simple love affair. It must either fail completely or create a totally new way of being.

46. Birkin wants to meet Ursula in a place that is stark, unknown, and utterly:

A. Inhuman
B. Godly
C. Rational
D. Romantic

A. Inhuman.
He desires a relationship that exists beyond the old, corrupt ideas of human love and personality.

47. Mino the cat insists that the stray cat must acknowledge him as her:

A. Servant
B. Owner
C. Rival
D. Fate

D. Fate.
The fight between the two cats acts as a metaphor for the struggle for dominance and submission in a relationship.

48. Mr. Crich traditionally hosts an annual:

A. Tennis match
B. Water-party
C. Hunt
D. Dance

B. Water-party.
The water-party is a major social event where a tragic drowning occurs, highlighting the themes of death and social decay.

49. Gudrun suggests performing:

A. Ballet
B. The Minuet
C. Dalcroze movements (eurythmics)
D. The Waltz

C. Dalcroze movements (eurythmics).
Gudrun’s strange, modern dance in front of the Highland cattle is an important scene where she expresses her wild, artistic spirit.

50. Birkin suggests some people are pure flowers of:

A. Warm passion
B. Dark corruption (fleurs du mal)
C. True intellect
D. Divine goodness

B. Dark corruption (fleurs du mal).
This phrase, meaning “flowers of evil,” is Birkin’s way of describing people who find their fulfillment in decay and corruption.

Brief Overview

Women in Love is a novel by D. H. Lawrence. It continues the story of the Brangwen sisters, Ursula and Gudrun, who were first seen in The Rainbow. The novel follows their intense and destructive relationships with two friends, Rupert Birkin and Gerald Crich.

Ursula, a schoolteacher, starts a relationship with Birkin, an intellectual who is searching for a new kind of love. Birkin is deeply critical of modern society and wants a bond that goes beyond simple romance. Their relationship is full of arguments as they struggle to understand each other’s philosophies.

Gudrun, a more artistic and dramatic woman, is drawn to Gerald Crich. Gerald is a handsome and wealthy industrialist who runs his family’s coal mines. Their relationship is a dark and violent power struggle, built on intense, but ultimately destructive, passion.

The novel contrasts these two relationships. Ursula and Birkin slowly find a way to build a real, lasting connection. Gudrun and Gerald’s bond, however, becomes increasingly toxic and filled with hate as they travel together to the snowy Alps.

The story reaches its climax in the Alps. Gerald, driven mad by his own inner emptiness and his failing relationship with Gudrun, wanders into the snow and freezes to death. The novel ends with Birkin and Ursula together, but Birkin is left mourning Gerald, still searching for a perfect male-female love and a deep male bond.