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In Chapter 7, Paul shows a yearning for some connection beyond what he shares with his mother. In his free time, Paul is a painter, and he still needs his mother to do his best work, as he tells her. But Miriam allows him to take his work to another level. She makes him feel an intensity he has never before experienced. Miriam seems to have a sense of this connection. She was probably Paul's most suited candidate as his wife.
He knew her and her family for years, talked and visited her frequently, and eventually fell for her. He could not love Miriam completely because his mother did not approve of her. The connection between Paul and Miriam may be one reason that Mrs. Morel dislikes Miriam. 'She could feel Paul being drawn away by the girl' (168). She seems to view Miriam as direct competition for her son's love and attention. Mrs.
Morel felt that Miriam was the type of woman who would suck the soul out of a man. She's not like an ordinary woman, who can leave me my share of him. She wants to absorb him. She wants to draw him out and absorb him till there is nothing left of him, even for himself. He will never be a man on his own feet-she will suck him up. (168 - 169) It doesn't seem possible for one to have the ability to "suck the soul" out of someone... maybe the person could consume a lot of the others time, but not suck the soul out of them.
That is simply impossible, and is most likely just an over exaggeration and over dramatization on Mrs. Morel's part in order to make her son feel guilty. This comment also serves as being hypocritical on Mrs. Morel's part because when she states that Paul could "never be a man on his own feet" (169). Mrs. Morel is the main reason why Paul cannot be a man and move on with his life.
She smothers him to the point where he can't even have relationships with other women besides his mother. Because of this, Paul and Miriam take forever to consummate their relationship, and when they do they are uncomfortable. Even though Mrs. Morel does show some desire for her son to move on with his life and meet a woman: "She wished so much he would fall in love with a girl equal to be his mate-educated and strong" (225). Nonetheless, she mentally keeps Paul from being able to do this. Thus, Paul and Miriam's relationship is always on and off, and in the end they end the relationship.
Then there was Clara Dawes. She was portrayed as being a feminist and a man-hater, this strangely, being one of the reasons why Paul is drawn to her. Clara was a married woman, but nonetheless Paul pursued her. His feelings for her were more of lust than love.
This is evident because when he comes in contact with her he constantly concentrates on her physical attributes. One example of this is when one day a mutual friend asks Paul to take a message to Clara. He goes to her house, meets her mother, and observes Clara making lace, but that's not all he notices: She sat square and magnificent. Her throat and arms were bare.
The blood still mantled below her ears... Her arms were creamy and full of life beside the white lace; her large, well-kept hands worked with a balanced movement, as if nothing would hurry them. He, not knowing, watched her all the time. He saw the arch of her neck from the shoulder, as she bent her head; he saw the coil of her dun hair; he watched her moving, gleaming arms. (227) Paul and Clara eventually begin a passionate affair, and he tells his mother of her.
Mrs. Morel simply cautions her son because Clara is a married woman, but he tells her not to worry. He asks if she would like to meet Clara, and Mrs. Morel agrees.
Luckily for Paul, Clara and Mrs. Morel get along well with each other. The fact that Clara was married provided an obstacle to true ties between Clara and Paul. This obstacle may have been a reason why Mrs. Morel liked Clara. She also most likely liked Clara for the reason that she was not Miriam.
When Paul himself asked his mother if she liked Clara she said, "Yes, I liked her. But you " ll tire of her, my son; you know you will" (286). Paul eventually did tire of her, and in the end Clara returns to her husband. Paul Morel's unnatural attachment to his mother stunted his growth in mind, life, and relationships. Mrs. Morel did not allow her son to move on with his life and become a man.
When his mother inevitably dies at the end of the novel, Miriam is gone, Clara goes back to her husband, and Paul is finally with the person he needs to pay attention to-himself.
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Research essay sample on Man On His Own Feet Move On With His Life Paul
