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Everyone. I am reading some literature works recently. Here is my questions when I run into those words(excerpted from Lady Chatterley’s Lover):

Sir Geoffrey stood for England and Lloyd George as his forebears had stood for England and St George: and he never knew there was a difference. So Sir Geoffrey felled timber and stood for Lloyd George and England, England and Lloyd George.

What is the real meaning for "felled timber", are there any subtexts in it, considering Geoffrey is a baronet?

James K
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Kevin Cheng
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  • If you mean did he chop wood, not likely. Maybe earthy, rugged, and patriotic. In the US, we'd say Mom and apple pie. – Yosef Baskin Jan 01 '24 at 15:36
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    @Yosef Baskin That does make sense. I just wonder if it could be more definite. – Kevin Cheng Jan 01 '24 at 15:54
  • See Kate's excellent answer. – Michael Harvey Jan 01 '24 at 15:55
  • You're reading this on the day that it (finally) is released from copyright protection in the USA. (Happy PD day) – James K Jan 01 '24 at 16:41
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    That's got to be one of the best 'damning praises' I've read in a long time. Sir Geoffrey is a patriot & a fool. He's forgotten the history of the landed gentry and its role in defending that land [with the blood of the poor, but never mind], & is instead following merely the current popular ruler. It's subtle… but it's deep. Lawrence has taken the glorious speech from Henry V & watered it down to apply to some parochial peer as he clears forest for a war he's not actually participating in. Clifford hates this attitude & is angry about the clearance. Eventually he has to fill those very shoes… – DoneWithThis. Jan 01 '24 at 17:29
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    Perhaps it might be worth point the OP at [Literature.se]. If you're reading D.H.Lawrence, you're going to find a lot of subtle characterisation and allusions to aspects of 1920s British culture and class that are beyond "learning English". However, also remember that (as in this case) the answer is sometimes "read the novel", as the line here just references another part of the story. – James K Jan 01 '24 at 17:51

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Not 'cut down trees' in person, but 'caused trees on his estate to be cut down'.

I found the passage from Lady Chatterley's Lover online, and discovered that a few paragraphs earlier it says that the trees were being felled to make 'trench props' - logs to reinforce the trenches on WW1 battlefields. Sir Geoffrey was being patriotic by supplying wood for the war effort.

Kate Bunting
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    Being 'patriotic' by selling lots of unwanted timber to the government at a profit, is I suspect the idea of contrasting St George and Lloyd George. – Michael Harvey Jan 01 '24 at 15:55
  • So happy there I got an answer. Really appreciate it. – Kevin Cheng Jan 01 '24 at 16:00
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    David Lloyd George was the British Prime Minister during much of the first world war. – Michael Harvey Jan 01 '24 at 16:06
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    @MichaelHarvey: I see nothing to suggest the timber is "unwanted" - I'd have thought any such estate could always use timber. And I suspect characterizing Sir Geoffrey as motivated by profit just reflects your own position. I'm pretty sure there's nothing in the actual text to support it. And since his patriotism didn't distinguish between (liberal) LLoyd George and England itself, we should assume he was relatively "progressive" in his social outlook. – FumbleFingers Jan 01 '24 at 18:01
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    @FumbleFingers - the family money came from mining, not forestry. Sir Geoffrey is noted as not being vaguely interested in the mines at all. There's a much deeper damnation of his attitude towards 'patriotism' which Clifford hates, as he does the clearance, yet has to take over the reigns of after Sir Geoffrey's demise. – DoneWithThis. Jan 01 '24 at 18:48
  • @FumbleFingers - I am willing to accept some of your criticism, to the extent that I will concede that Sir Geoffrey may not have been motivated entirely by profit. It is curious thing to read some of the numerous 'study notes' available on the web: Before Christmas of 1914 both their German young men were dead: whereupon the sisters wept, and loved the young men passionately, but underneath forgot them. – Michael Harvey Jan 01 '24 at 18:57
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    Sir Geoffrey, Clifford's father, was intensely ridiculous, chopping down his trees, and weeding men out of his colliery to shove them into the war; and himself being so safe and patriotic; but, also, spending more money on his country than he'd got. And although we're told Clifford thinks everything is "ridiculous", I see nothing to suggest he replaced his father's patriotism with commercial avarice. – FumbleFingers Jan 01 '24 at 19:10
  • @FumbleFingers - one of the characters on BBC Radio 4's 'Gloomsbury' comedy series is 'DH Lollipop' who is taken up by the Gloomsbury set and says (or rather, shouts) things in a 'Nottinghamshire' accent like 'What the English upper classes need is some SEX-YEW-ALL INTERCOURSE!'. – Michael Harvey Jan 01 '24 at 22:59
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    I read it as presenting Sir Geoffrey’s patriotism as quite sincere (not cynically profit-motivated) but short-sighted and small-minded (clearing his woodlands gives a quick and visible bounty, good for both his personal gratification and social standing, but at the cost of a resource that takes generations to rebuild; meanwhile he neglects the mines which were an equally valuable and more sustainable contribution). – PLL Jan 02 '24 at 13:01