In Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence, Paul's nature is epitomized in a particular scene where he sacrifices Annie's doll after accidentally breaking it. Lawrence here reveals a central idea about Paul that not only parallels Walter's character, but also foreshadows how Paul will treat Myriam and her mother. Ultimately, Paul's inability to accept the things that are broken, particularly those that he himself breaks, reveals why he is unable to contribute to society as a functional, healthy human being. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay After breaking the Arabella doll, it seems that Paul is angry that he hurt his sister, who cries when she realizes what Paul accidentally did. Yet, after a short time, he moves as small children normally do. The strange thing is that Paul is still upset: for him the doll remains a reminder of the anguish it caused his sister. Paul’s inability to overcome the brokenness of the doll can be seen when Lawrence writes, “As long as Annie cried for the doll, he sat helpless with misery. His pain wore off. He forgave his brother: he was so upset” (66). Rather than let it go, Paul finds no peace until he physically destroys the doll by burning it sacrificially. Ironically, however, what he calls a sacrifice is actually made as a means to ease his troubled mind. The scene itself parallels the previous one in which Paul's father, Walter Morel, throws a drawer at Gertrude in a rage. Just as Paul despises the doll after breaking it, Morel comes to despise his wife for hurting her, a fact which can be seen when it is said, “He feared his wife. After he hurt her, he hated her” (48). The difference is that while Paul repairs his own suffering through the destruction of the things that cause that suffering, Morel destroys himself by drinking and repairs other things to relieve his suffering. In Lawrence's description of Walter, we learn that his constant bad mood and need to get drunk disappears whenever he has work to do at home. “He always sang when he repaired his boots to the happy sound of the hammering. And he was quite happy when he sat down putting big patches on his moleskin trousers” (72). This contrast between father and son represents a major reason why Walter remains static and unchanging throughout the novel while Paul eventually grows up. While Walter's guilt consumes him like a cancer, Paul finds relief through the destruction of the things that remind him of that guilt, namely his mother. Aside from its parallel to the scene with Walter, Paul's sacrifice of Arabella can also be paralleled with his treatment of Myriam, his lover and spiritual confidant. After realizing that his sexual desires and his inability to give himself completely to her cause her suffering, Paul rejects her. This can be seen after they have sex for the first time and he realizes how hurt Myriam is by his need for physical intimacy, described, "Now he realized...that his soul had been left on the sidelines, in a kind of horror… very sad at heart, very sad and very tender, his fingers wandered pitifully over her face” (314). He literally breaks a part of her when they have sex and sees the pain and sacrifice afterwards that she endured because of him. Soon after, he ends his relationship with her precisely because he couldn't help but burn the broken doll after causing pain to his sister. Paul's obsession with breaking is also seen in the. anguish he feels.