Lady Chatterley's Lover

Clifford and Connie go out onto the grounds of the estate together; Clifford is in his motorized wheelchair. As they walk, they talk about the possibility of the Tevershall miners going on strike; this turns into a broader discussion of power and social class. Clifford believes that strong class and social distinctions are necessary in order for society to function successfully. As Clifford and Connie approach a steep hill, Clifford’s electric wheelchair stops working. Connie tries to manually push the wheelchair up the hill, while Clifford stubbornly argues that the chair should be able to mount the hill.

Mellors happens upon the couple and offers to help; he pushes the wheelchair up the hill. Connie is annoyed because she can tell that Mellors is sick, and that it is hard work for him to push the chair. Later on, when she and Clifford are alone, she criticizes Clifford for his class snobbery and the way he treats working-class people. She finds herself frustrated with Clifford’s focus on intellectualism and thinks of him as a “dead fish of a gentleman, with his celluloid soul” (206). Connie slips out of the house to see Mellors.

Mellors runs into Connie as she is leaving the house. They go back to his cottage together, discussing Clifford. When they get to Mellors’s cottage, Connie notices a photo of Mellors and his wife. She dislikes the photo and asks Mellors to burn it, which he does.

For the first time, Mellors and Connie speak about his past. When he was young, Mellors had two relationships with women who did not seem to enjoy sex. These experiences left him frustrated and disappointed, as he “wanted a woman who wanted me, and wanted it” (213). Mellors then met a woman named Bertha Coutts, who was more enthusiastic about sex and desire. He liked this about her, even though she was not as well-educated or intellectual as he was. After their marriage, the relationship became very volatile, and Mellors was increasingly unhappy. He resented how Bertha used sex as a tool for dominance and power in their relationship. After she gave birth to their daughter, the two of them separated. Bertha now lives with another man who is more similar to her. Connie points out that Mellors is in a precarious situation: Since he and Bertha are not divorced, or even legally separated, there is always a chance that Bertha could come back to him.

Mellors reflects on his experiences with women and sex; he believes that most women do not have authentic and honest sexual experiences, and that they often use sex as a tool for manipulation. Connie sleeps with Mellors at his cottage, and they wake up together in the very early morning. Connie looks at his naked body with open curiosity, marveling at him and at the way that his body responds to her. As it gets later in the morning, Connie reluctantly prepares to go home. She thinks longingly of what it would be like to be with Mellors, and tells him that she wishes she could live with him. He remains evasive on whether he truly loves her and whether he would want a future with her.

Connie’s plans for going to Italy are confirmed, and the date on which she is to leave draws closer. Clifford seems ambivalent about her trip, both eager about the possibility of her getting pregnant, and concerned about whether or not she will come back. However, he is also distracted by his ordinary life and the time he spends with Mrs. Bolton. Meanwhile, Connie is planning to leave Clifford after she gets back from her trip: “[S]he was quivering, watching her real opportunity for leaving him altogether, waiting til the time, herself, himself, should be ripe” (228). When she is with Mellors, she talks about her hopes that the two of them can go abroad together after she leaves Clifford.

When Connie and Mellors are together, he also expresses his dissatisfaction and fears about the way that the world is changing. He thinks that everything is getting worse in the modern world as people lose contact with nature and their true selves, becoming obsessed with machinery and technology. He even says that it is cruel to bring a child into a world that he thinks is only getting worse, but Connie begs him to be more hopeful and to be excited about the prospect of them having a child together. One day, when they are at the cottage together, Connie goes outside and dances naked in the rain.

Mellors asks Connie about why she is going to go to Italy, returning to Wragby, and then going away again when she leaves Clifford. He does not see the point of her going to Italy if she is going to leave Clifford soon anyways; he hints that she might still change her mind, and decide that she wants to stay at Wragby. Mellors tells Connie that he has talked with a lawyer about getting a divorce. Connie is happy about this, but wants to postpone detailed plans until she returns from her trip. The date for her departure is approaching, and she has worked out an elaborate plan to be able to spend a night with Mellors before she leaves for Italy. Connie and Mellors playfully cover each other in flowers and enact a mock wedding ceremony.

Connie finally has to go home, and Mellors walks with her part of the way. As they are walking together, Mrs. Bolton finds them and explains that she has been looking for Connie.

Mrs. Bolton explains to Connie what has happened. When the storm began, Clifford became very worried and agitated that Connie was out in the woods. Mrs. Bolton reassured him that Connie would likely have taken shelter somewhere. When the storm stopped, and Connie still did not come home, Clifford wanted to send men out to look for her. Mrs. Bolton, knowing that Connie was likely with her lover, insisted on going out to look for her instead.

Connie is angry with Clifford for being controlling, and she defiantly tells him that she danced naked in the rain. Connie and Clifford have an argument about modernity, in which he claims bodies and the physical world are going to become insignificant. Connie is annoyed and defiant, insisting that she values her physical body and material experiences.

A few days later, Connie’s sister Hilda comes to pick her up so that they can begin their journey to Italy. Connie confides in Hilda about the affair and her plan to spend one more night with Mellors. Hilda is unsupportive and does not like the idea of Connie being in a relationship with a working-class man. She even expresses sympathy for Clifford.

In spite of her disapproval, Hilda takes Connie to the cottage where Mellors lives. She stays to have dinner with them, but the meal is tense and uncomfortable since Hilda and Mellors immediately dislike one another. Hilda leaves, convinced that Connie will eventually regret her relationship with Mellors.

Connie and Mellors spend the night making love. In the morning, he agrees that they will live together when she gets back from Italy. He suggests Canada as a possible destination. Hilda returns to fetch Connie and the two sisters drive away. Connie feels deep sadness, reflecting that “the parting had come so suddenly, so unexpectedly. It was like death” (268).