Published in 1913, Sons and Lovers is considered a work of Modernist literature. The novel's loose, more experimental structure relates it to other notable Modernist works, for example Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway. Thomas Hardy, a Victorian realist, also influenced Lawrence's writing style. Like Sons and Lovers, Hardy's works critiqued social institutions and explored human fate and suffering.
Sons and Lovers can also be categorized as a bildungsroman, also known as a coming of age tale. The novel largely centers on the childhood and adolescence of Paul Morel, the youngest child of Gertrude and Walter Morel. The novel can also be categorized further as a kunstlerroman, a type of novel that describes the early years and growth of an artist, as it tracks the progression of Paul Morel's skills and interest in painting.
The novel's emphasis on nature and the English landscape makes it a work of pastoral literature. Lawrence underscores the relationship between humans and the natural environment all throughout Sons and Lovers, and the English countryside repeatedly engenders feelings of awe, sublimity, and contemplation. This can be seen in the below passage from Chapter 9, for example, when the narrator describes Paul as he watches the sunset with Miriam:
[Paul] sat down against his will, resting his back against the hard wall of hay. They faced the amphitheatre of round hills that glowed with sunset, tiny white farms standing out, the meadows golden, the woods dark and yet luminous, tree-tops folded over tree-tops, distinct in the distance. The evening had cleared, and the east was tender with a magenta flush under which the land lay still and rich.
In the passage above, Lawrence uses descriptive imagery to situate Paul and Miriam in the surrounding landscape. He describes the two lovers and the countryside as if he were describing a painting and uses multiple adjectives throughout the paragraph, with particular attention paid to color. In drawing out the landscape for the reader in this way, Lawrence underscores nature's significance and presents it to the reader in idealistic terms.
In Sons and Lovers, Lawrence explores the emotional and psychological development of the Morel family, particularly William and Paul, and the novel is thus a work of psychological fiction. Much of the drama of the novel is interpersonal and psychological; conflicts are caused by hidden psychological drives that many of the characters do not understand themselves. Early in the novel, a rift within the Morel family occurs between the children and their mother Gertrude against their father Walter. As a result, William and Paul identify more strongly with their mother and come to rely on her for validation, guidance, and support. The intensity of William and Paul's relationship with their mother eventually influences the relationships they have with other women; both William and Paul feel divided between Mrs. Morel and the women they court. In turn, Mrs. Morel disapproves of both William and Paul's female lovers out of jealousy. In presenting such complex family dynamics and relationships, Lawrence makes it clear to the reader that difficulties can arise from unresolved childhood conflicts or experiences.
