Previous
Allusions
Chapter 14
Explanation and Analysis—Black Country English:
In Lady Chatterley's Lover, the regional dialect of the Midlands area of England is an important motif. The male protagonist, Oliver Mellors, has a strong Black Country accent, and it comes to the fore in moments of vulnerability, passionate intimacy, or serious anger. It is very different from the more “standard” English that the novel’s middle-class characters use. For example, as he speaks intensely to a naked Connie, he says:
“Dunna ax me nowt now, “he said. “Let me be. I like thee. I luv thee when tha lies theer. A woman’s a lovely thing when’ er’s deep ter fuck, and cunt’s good. Ah luv thee, thy legs, an’ th’ shape on thee, an’ th’ womanness on thee. Ah luv th’ womanness on thee. Ah luv thee wi’ my balls an’ wi’ my heart. But dunna ax me now. Dunna ma’e me say nowt.
Related Themes:
Chapter 15
Explanation and Analysis—Globe-fulness:
Mellors admires Connie's body during their final night together, wistfully narrating his impressions of it in Black Country dialect filled with idiom and metaphor:
Unlock with LitCharts A+He stroked her tail with his hand, long and subtly taking in the curves and the globe-fullness.
“Tha’s got such a nice tail on thee, “he said, in the throaty caressive dialect. “Tha’s got the nicest arse of anybody. It’s the nicest, nicest woman’s arse as is! An’ ivery bit of it is woman, woman sure as nuts. Tha’rt not one o’ them button-arsed lasses as should be lads, are ter! Tha’s got a real soft sloping bottom on thee, as a man loves in 'is guts. It’s a bottom as could hold the world up, it is!”
Related Themes:
Chapter 16
Explanation and Analysis—Arse-Forrads:
In this passage, Oliver Mellors reprimands Hilda for assuming he's stupid, employing a local idiom. Hilda has just accused him of exaggerating his accent and his use of dialect, and he angrily tells her that:
Unlock with LitCharts A+— Eh, I don’t wear me breeches arse-forrards.
Related Themes:
