How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Then her thoughts turned to William. Already he was getting a big boy. Already he was top of the class, and the master said he was the smartest lad in the school. She saw him a man, young, full of vigour, making the world glow again for her. (3.18)
As Mrs. Morel's love for her husband fades, her love for her son grows. Her marriage has left her with a long list of frustrated dreams, and she's more than happy to put these dreams into William. And guess what? One reason why William is expected to succeed for her, quite frankly, is because he's a boy. So, you can read Mrs. Morel's possessiveness of her sons as an expression of her frustrations over not being a man herself. Deep, we know.
Quote #5
Meanwhile William grew bigger and stronger and more active, while Paul, always rather delicate and quiet, got slimmer, and trotted after his mother like her shadow. He was usually active and interested, but sometimes he would have fits of depression. Then the mother would find the boy of three or four crying on the sofa. (3.27)
Paul and William Morel are two very different models of masculinity. Paul's delicate and quiet, following his mother around all the time. William, on the other hand, is a much more "typical" male; he only gets stronger and more active as he ages.
Quote #6
"I wonder if you would run, my boy," his mother wrote to him, "unless you saw all the other men chasing her too. You feel safe enough and vain enough in a crowd. But take care, and see how you feel when you find yourself alone, and in triumph." (5.80)
Mrs. Morel accuses her son William of only wanting a girl because a bunch of other men want her, too. This is pretty much Intro to Masculinity 101: compete with other men; turn a woman into a prize instead of a person; sit back and realize you don't actually like the woman once she's chosen you. Sure enough, this is exactly what happens to William.