During the early 20th century, the idea that women had the same power as men was foreign: men were not only more educated, but they were also the main breadwinners for the family. While individuals do not have the ability to immediately change the way their society is structured, it is possible to attempt to correct inequalities. The women in D.H. Lawrence's novel Sons and Lovers try to create their own power by adopting certain views about themselves in relation to men. By creating certain mindsets, the characters of Gertrude Morel, Clara Dawes, and Miriam Leivers mentally elevate themselves to positions of power. These mindsets include adopting attitudes of indifference, propriety, and self-sacrifice towards the men with whom they have relationships. However, the problems they try to overcome do not disappear, but become further entrenched. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay A certain mindset may be the key to success for some, but for the women in Lawrence's novel, changing perception does not mean transforming reality. The thoughts of Gertrude Morel and her husband Walter Morel function on two different levels: while Gertrude possesses faculties that allow her to appreciate higher forms of thought such as philosophy and religion, Walter is naive, more interested in physical pleasures such as eating and drink. Such a contrast between their types of thinking results in conflict. Walter has a nature that “was purely sensual, and she strove to make him moral, religious. She tried to force him to face things. He couldn't stand it: it drove him crazy” (Lawrence 13). Mr. Morel's inability to accept his wife's moral instruction manifests itself when he squanders his income on drinks instead of sufficiently providing for his family's needs. While his unhealthy habit may also have been the result of poor self-control, a stronger moral sense might have better curbed his urge to drink. Walter's drinking bouts often turn him into a violent man, as on more than one occasion he physically abuses his wife while drunk. Gertrude is unable to physically change the situation: she cannot overpower him by suppressing the attacks, and she cannot leave the house, because she needs Walter's income to raise her children. However, what Gertrude is able to change after repeated episodes of abuse is her attitude towards her husband. Concern for his morals vanishes. Previously, “she had become agitated after him, as if he had moved away from her. Now she had stopped worrying about her love: he was a stranger to her. This made life much more bearable” (14). Seeing Walter as an outsider, Gertrude raises a shield of indifference against her husband so that his actions no longer plunge her into despair. Her husband becomes nothing more than a human ATM that she must continue to live with to feed her children. Gertrude's counterattacks to Walter's punches may fail to scare him, but the indifference she expresses troubles Walter, whose “soul would approach her in its blind way and find her gone. He felt a sort of emptiness, almost like a void in his soul” (42). Gertrude is able to inflict this type of harm on her husband because she no longer sees him as a person worthy of her concern. The problem with indifference is that it roots Gertrude in her miserable present. She can make Walter as uncomfortable as she wants with all these mind games, but indifference towards her husband also means indifference towards the change in her life situation. No amount of mental power allows.