William dies but Paul becomes her world Paul tries to love Miriam But his mother feels jealous Paul also feels torn The narrator says His Paul soul seemed always attentive to her Gertrude This bond is too deep It blocks Paul s free love Miriam cannot win him This shows a man woman conflict between spiritual love and a mother s tie It reflects Lawrence s own bond with his mother Lydia and his struggle in love Passion and Incompletion with Clara Paul later turns to Clara Dawes She gives him passion of the body But even in her arms he feels chained to his mother The narrator says He could not be free to go forward with his own life really love another woman Clara finally leaves him Paul remains alone This failed love also reflects Lawrence s early affairs with Helen Corke a schoolteacher Lawrence shows the man-woman conflict as deep and tragic Husbands and wives quarrel Mothers and sons clash with sweethearts Lovers feel passion but not fulfilment These conflicts come from Lawrence s own life Sons and Lovers is both a novel and an autobiography of pain