Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 20th-century prose fiction
- Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
An extract from a work first published in 1920.
This extract is from Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence. It explores class tension around a mining estate as a disabled landowner grows distant and dependent, turns to writing, and his wife senses his lack of human contact while continuing to support him.
Source A
1 This stubborn, instinctive--We think ourselves as good as you, if you are Lady Chatterley!--puzzled and baffled Connie at first extremely. The curious, suspicious, false amiability with which the miners' wives met her overtures; the curiously offensive tinge of--Oh dear me! I am somebody now, with Lady Chatterley talking to me! But she needn't think I'm not as good as her for all
6 that!--which she always heard twanging in the women's half-fawning voices, was impossible. There was no getting past it. It was hopelessly and offensively nonconformist. Clifford left them alone, and she learnt to do the same: she just went by
11 without looking at them, and they stared as if she were a walking wax figure. When he had to deal with them, Clifford was rather haughty and contemptuous; one could no longer afford to be friendly. In fact he was altogether rather supercilious and contemptuous of anyone not in his own class. He stood his ground, without any attempt at conciliation. And he was neither liked nor
16 disliked by the people: he was just part of things, like the pit-bank and Wragby itself. But Clifford was really extremely shy and self-conscious now he was lamed. He hated seeing anyone except just the personal servants. For he had to sit in a
21 wheeled chair or a sort of bath-chair. Nevertheless he was just as carefully dressed as ever, by his expensive tailors, and he wore the careful Bond Street neckties just as before, and from the top he looked just as smart and impressive as ever. He had never been one of the modern lady-like young men: rather bucolic even, with his ruddy face and broad shoulders. But his very
26 quiet, hesitating voice, and his eyes, at the same time bold and frightened, assured and uncertain, revealed his nature. His manner was often offensively supercilious, and then again modest and self-effacing, almost tremulous. Connie and he were attached to one another, in the aloof modern way. He was
31 much too hurt in himself, the great shock of his maiming, to be easy and flippant. He was a hurt thing. And as such Connie stuck to him passionately. But she could not help feeling how little connection he really had with people. The miners were, in a sense, his own men; but he saw them as objects
36 rather than men, parts of the pit rather than parts of life, crude raw phenomena rather than human beings along with him. He was in some way afraid of them, he could not bear to have them look at him now he was lame. And their queer, crude life seemed as unnatural as that of hedgehogs.
41 He was remotely interested; but like a man looking down a microscope, or up a telescope. He was not in touch. He was not in actual touch with anybody, save, traditionally, with Wragby, and, through the close bond of family defence, with Emma. Beyond this nothing really touched him. Connie felt that she herself didn't really, not really touch him; perhaps there was nothing to get
46 at ultimately; just a negation of human contact. Yet he was absolutely dependent on her, he needed her every moment. Big and strong as he was, he was helpless. He could wheel himself about in a wheeled chair, and he had a sort of bath-chair with a motor attachment, in which he
51 could puff slowly round the park. But alone he was like a lost thing. He needed Connie to be there, to assure him he existed at all. Still he was ambitious. He had taken to writing stories; curious, very personal stories about people he had known. Clever, rather spiteful, and yet,
56 in some mysterious way, meaningless. The observation was extraordinary and peculiar. But there was no touch, no actual contact. It was as if the whole thing took place in a vacuum. And since the field of life is largely an artificially-lighted stage today, the stories were curiously true to modern life, to the modern psychology, that is.
61 Clifford was almost morbidly sensitive about these stories. He wanted everyone to think them good, of the best, ne plus ultra. They appeared in the most modern magazines, and were praised and blamed as usual. But to Clifford the blame was torture, like knives goading him. It was as if the whole of his
66 being were in his stories. Connie helped him as much as she could. At first she was thrilled. He talked every thing over with her monotonously, insistently, persistently, and she had to respond with all her might. It was as if her whole soul and body and sex
71 had to rouse up and pass into these stories of his. This thrilled her and absorbed her.
Questions
Instructions
- Answer all questions.
- Use black ink or black ball point pen.
- Fill in the boxes on this page.
- You must answer the questions in the spaces provided.
- Do not write outside the box around each page or on blank pages.
- Do all rough work in this book. Cross through any work you do not want to be marked.
- You must refer to the insert booklet provided.
- You must not use a dictionary.
Information
- The marks for questions are shown in brackets.
- Time allowed: 1 hour 45 minutes
- The maximum mark for this paper is 80.
- There are 40 marks for Section A and 40 marks for Section B.
- You are reminded of the need for good English and clear presentation in your answers.
- You will be assessed on the quality of your reading in Section A.
- You will be assessed on the quality of your writing in Section B.
Advice
- You are advised to spend about 15 minutes reading through the source and all five questions you have to answer.
- You should make sure you leave sufficient time to check your answers.
Section A: Reading
Answer all questions in this section. You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on this section.
Question 1
Read again the first part of the source, from lines 1 to 5.
Answer all parts of this question.
Choose one answer for each question.
1.1 How is Connie's reaction at first described?
- curious and suspicious
- puzzled and baffled
- false and offensive
[1 mark]
1.2 Who met the overtures?
- the miners' wives
- Connie
- Lady Chatterley
[1 mark]
1.3 What is the immediate effect on Connie of the miners' wives' attitude of 'We think ourselves as good as you'?
- Puzzles and baffles Connie
- Reassures Connie
- Angers Connie
[1 mark]
1.4 How is the 'amiability' described?
- curious, suspicious, false
- warm, open, friendly
- kind, generous, welcoming
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 1 to 15 of the source:
1 This stubborn, instinctive--We think ourselves as good as you, if you are Lady Chatterley!--puzzled and baffled Connie at first extremely. The curious, suspicious, false amiability with which the miners' wives met her overtures; the curiously offensive tinge of--Oh dear me! I am somebody now, with Lady Chatterley talking to me! But she needn't think I'm not as good as her for all
6 that!--which she always heard twanging in the women's half-fawning voices, was impossible. There was no getting past it. It was hopelessly and offensively nonconformist. Clifford left them alone, and she learnt to do the same: she just went by
11 without looking at them, and they stared as if she were a walking wax figure. When he had to deal with them, Clifford was rather haughty and contemptuous; one could no longer afford to be friendly. In fact he was altogether rather supercilious and contemptuous of anyone not in his own class. He stood his ground, without any attempt at conciliation. And he was neither liked nor
How does the writer use language here to present the tension between Connie and the miners’ wives, and Clifford’s attitude to them? You could include the writer’s choice of:
- words and phrases
- language features and techniques
- sentence forms.
[8 marks]
Question 3
You now need to think about the structure of the source as a whole. This text is from the start of a novel.
How has the writer structured the text to create a sense of alienation?
You could write about:
- how alienation intensifies from beginning to end
- how the writer uses structure to create an effect
- the writer's use of any other structural features, such as changes in mood, tone or perspective.
[8 marks]
Question 4
For this question focus on the second part of the source, from line 16 to the end.
In this part of the source, Clifford’s smart clothes and impressive appearance are shown to be very important to him. The writer suggests this is just a way to hide how helpless and afraid he really feels inside.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of Clifford's impressive appearance and his inner helplessness
- comment on the methods the writer uses to portray Clifford's vulnerability
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
At the town hall next month, a photo exhibition on working lives will include a page of short creative writing, and you decide to contribute.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe an old town archive from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about rediscovering a forgotten skill.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]