This is a beautiful novel that is fragile yet steel-strong. The emotions of its characters are extremely well-developed, for e.g. Connie's dogged loyalty towards Clifford in the beginning turns slowly into doubt, and finally into contempt. This is a novel about the path to freedom, not only sexual freedom, but freedom from pressure, from rules, from the chains of life and society. Although there are only 3 main characters: Connie, Clifford and Mellors, this book does not bore me. Some authors may kill the novel when handling so delicate a subject, but Laurence not only allows the emotions of his characters to live, but also gives them room for expression. Connie's sexual desire is placed in the context of an England that is slowly being brutalised by industrialism, and the author expresses his horror against this world we had created through the eyes of Connie. As Connie is slowly being suffocated by her husband, I feel, surprisingly, not hate for Clifford, but a strange pity. This book sparks neither love nor hate for its characters, but the reader is able to weigh them at their true value. In this way, the novel itself is never overpowered by the strength of its characters. The author allows us to find our own freedom while Connie seeks hers. This book improves with a second reading. At first the characters seem rather detached, but later they fitted out wonderfully. The language, of course, is beautiful. Everyone is in their own way suffocated by something, and that is why as a teenage reader I can relate myself to Lady Chatterley.
