# Clifford Chatterley — Lady Chatterley’s Lover character guide > Clifford Chatterley in Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Sir Clifford, the Chatterley **First appearance:** 0000-i ## Snapshot A baronet, mine owner, and successful writer whose paralysis from the waist down has sharpened his mind and frozen something deeper in him. ## Who they are Clifford is the Chatterley of Wragby: a man of business and letters, coolly clever, who runs his collieries with an almost inhuman shrewdness and collects village gossip from Mrs. Bolton as raw material for his fiction. He is charming, brittle, and utterly convinced that the love-business could be eliminated from human life without loss. His marriage to Connie is a partnership of caretaking and display, and his growing dependence on his nurse is one of the novel's quietest, most unsettling developments. ## Relationships ### [Constance Chatterley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/characters/constance_chatterley) _family_ Strained, loveless marriage defined by Clifford's emotional detachment and possessiveness after his war injury. ### [Oliver Mellors](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/characters/oliver_mellors) _professional_ Employer and gamekeeper relationship marked by class tension and Clifford's unconscious jealousy. ### [Mrs. Bolton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/characters/mrs_bolton) _psychological_ Dependent, manipulative nurse-patient dynamic where Mrs. Bolton enables Clifford's infantilism while gaining power over him. ### [Michaelis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/characters/michaelis) _social_ Condescending patron-client relationship where Clifford tolerates Michaelis as a fashionable writer. ### [Hilda](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/characters/hilda) _family_ Brother-in-law relationship marked by Hilda's contempt for Clifford's coldness and class snobbery. ### [Miss Chatterley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/characters/miss_chatterley) _family_ Sibling relationship with his sister who shares his aristocratic values and supports his invalid life. ### [Sir Geoffrey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/characters/sir_geoffrey) _family_ Father-son relationship defined by Sir Geoffrey's disappointment in Clifford's paralysis and lack of heir. ### [Constance Chatterley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/characters/constance_chatterley) _family_ Strained, loveless marriage defined by Clifford's emotional detachment and possessiveness after his war injury. ### [Constance Chatterley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/characters/constance_chatterley) _family_ Strained, loveless marriage defined by Clifford's emotional detachment and possessiveness after his war injury. ### [Oliver Mellors](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/characters/oliver_mellors) _professional_ Employer and gamekeeper relationship marked by class tension and Clifford's unconscious jealousy. ### [Mrs. Bolton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/characters/mrs_bolton) _psychological_ Dependent, manipulative nurse-patient dynamic where Mrs. Bolton enables Clifford's infantilism while gaining power over him. ### [Oliver Mellors](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/characters/oliver_mellors) _professional_ Employer and gamekeeper relationship marked by class tension and Clifford's unconscious jealousy. ## In the story ### [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/chapters/i) A baronet's son, wounded in the war and paralyzed from the hips down. He returns to Wragby Hall with Connie, displaying a bright, cheerful demeanor despite his condition, but with a watchful look and a slight vacancy in his face. ### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/chapters/ii) Absorbed in his writing, sensitive to criticism, and physically dependent on Connie; he is 'a hurt thing' with little human contact. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/chapters/iii) Invites Michaelis to Wragby for publicity purposes, despite his own social recoil; remains unaware of Connie's affair; focused on building his reputation as a writer. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/chapters/iv) Clifford participates in the discussions, defending the life of the mind and his own success-driven worldview. ### [Chapter V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/chapters/v) Clifford argues that sex can be subordinated to the long-term marriage, suggesting Connie could have a child by another man for the sake of an integrated life. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/chapters/vi) Discusses the gamekeeper with Connie; shows tightness and fear of life; falls into vacant depression; sends Connie to the keeper. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/chapters/vii) Takes Connie's service for granted; becomes lordly with Mrs. Bolton; resents Connie's withdrawal of personal care. ### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/chapters/viii) Clifford is mildly ironic about Connie's lateness for tea and dismissive of Mellors, agreeing that the keeper thinks too much of himself. ### [Chapter IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/chapters/ix) Clifford becomes increasingly dependent on Mrs. Bolton, enjoying her subservience and the thrill of educating her. He is unaware of Connie's aversion and his own descent into a comfortable, manipulative relationship. ### [The Awakening](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/chapters/x) Expresses a grotesque dependence on Connie while simultaneously turning to Mrs. Bolton for emotional and physical care, revealing his impotence and cruelty. ### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/chapters/xi) Clifford engages in a conversation with Connie about marriage and adoration, and is mentioned as being adored by Miss Bentley. He represents the old order that is being displaced. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/chapters/xiii) Insists on going to the wood despite his disability, argues about industrial control and property, and remains oblivious to Connie's inner life; his cold will and dependence on Mrs. Bolton are evident. ### [Chapter XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/chapters/xv) Shows strange blankness and cunning about Connie's departure; gambles nightly with Mrs. Bolton. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/chapters/xvi) Works himself into a frenzy over Connie's absence, sends Mrs. Bolton to find her. ### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/chapters/xvii) Clifford writes to Connie about the scandal and his legal steps against Bertha Coutts, showing irritation and lack of sympathy. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/chapters/xix) Refuses divorce, insists Connie return; becomes dependent on Mrs. Bolton; shows cold rage and business shrewdness. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/characters/clifford_chatterley - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_chatterley_s_lover_se/characters