Peter writes:
I am reading Sons and Lovers, by D. H. Lawrence.
On page 37 of the Cambridge "unexpurgated text," the character Morel, an East Midlands coal miner, gets ready for a day of work:
He toasted his bacon on a fork and caught the drops of fat on his bread. Then he put the rasher on his thick slice of bread, and cut off chunks with a clasp knife, poured his tea into his saucer, and was happy. … At a quarter to six he rose, cut two thick slices of bread and butter, and put them in the white calico snap-bag … He never took more than two slices of bread and butter to eat in the pit, so an apple or an orange was a treat to him.
Bacon aside, how can Morel do such hard work as mining coal on three pieces of bread and, sometimes, a piece of fruit?
On page 51, Lawrence writes:
Walter Morel was, at this time, exceedingly irritable. His work seemed to exhaust him. When he came home, he did not speak civilly to anybody.
Now it becomes clear. Morel is having a carb crash.
I think I’ve discovered a new school of literary interpretation.