her children when he reentered school set him apart socially. He had few friends, and instead sought out the company of his younger sister, Ada. Despite Lawrences late start, he did well in school, and became the first pupil in his school to win a scholarship to Nottingham High School (Croom, p.2). This posed a severe financial burden to his family since he was unable to work if he was attending school (Croom, p. 2). However, his family allowed him to enroll, and in 1898, near the time of his thirteenth birthday, Lawrence began attending high school. Almost all of his schoolmates were of a higher social class than Lawrence. In addition to the strain of schoolwork, the teenage Lawrence had to contend with the bigotry of his peers. In fact, his wife Frieda told of an instance when a schoolmate learned that Lawrences father was a miner. The boy was disgusted and immediately ended his association with Lawrence (Croom, p.2). This attitude represented the feelings of his peers and increased his feelings of social solitude.Because he excelled in high school, Lawrence earned a scholarship to Nottingham University College. This was a feat rarely achieved by someone of Lawrences social background. However, Lawrence was extremely disappointed by college because he felt cheated by the lack of enthusiasm of the lecturers. He said that he might as well have been taught by gramophones as by those men. (Letters, p.72).As mentioned, Lawrences father Arthur was a coal miner. In most respects he was a typical miner. He was uneducated, illiterate, and, like most coal miners, drank to excess (Barons, 1993). He was not an ambitious man, instead resigning himself to a life in the mines (Stewart, p.96). In spite of his alcoholism, Arthur Lawrence was a hard working man who did his best to provide for his family. Lydia Lawrence (nee Beardsall) was attracted to Arthur Lawrences good looks, and this led to their marriage (Stewart, p. 96). In ...
