and quarrels Misery fills the house So Lawrence says There was a feeling of misery over all the house Walter drinks comes home late and argues Their love dies So the narrator again says Each forgot everything save the hatred of the other From this moment she withdraws her heart She turns away from Walter She gives her love to her children In them she finds comfort This failed marriage creates the base for mother-fixation William in Mother-Fixation William is the eldest son He becomes Gertrude s pride He is handsome and clever He earns money and brings gifts Gertrude depends on him But when he brings his sweetheart Lily Weston to their home trouble begins Gertrude dislikes the girl William feels trapped He loves his mother but also wants freedom This struggle kills his peace He grows ill and dies young His fate shows how a son s life breaks under mother-fixation Paul in Mother-Fixation After William s death Paul becomes his mother s world He gives her flowers and paintings She listens to him always The narrator says His Paul soul seemed always attentive to her Gertrude Paul feels happy only when she is happy He fears her sadness more than anything Their tie is more than ordinary love It is like friendship even like romance This bond grows so deep that Paul cannot imagine life without her This bond grows so strong that it blocks his free growth His whole life circles around her Paul s Failed Love with Miriam Paul meets Miriam Leivers She is gentle and dreamy She loves books and talks about God Paul likes her spirit But when he tries to love her his mother pulls him back Gertrude feels jealous of Miriam Paul also feels guilty The narrator says He could not be free to go forward with his own life really love another woman Paul breaks with Miriam The mother s hold is stronger This shows how fixation ruins his chance for pure love Paul s Failed Bond with Clara Later Paul finds Clara Dawes She is bold She is married but separated She gives Paul passion He feels his body s fire with her But even in Clara s arms his soul runs back to his mother Clara knows she cannot hold him She cannot fully win him She finally returns to her husband Baxter Dawes When Gertrude dies Paul feels broken He walks into the night alone The fixation ends only with death and loss The theme of Mother-Fixation gives the novel its tragic power Gertrude s unhappy marriage drives her to her sons William dies torn between two loves Paul cannot love Miriam or Clara His soul is chained to his mother This bond gives warmth but takes freedom Lawrence shows that love when too deep and possessive becomes a prison A son cannot grow free under his mother s shadow