  We present an atomic scale theory of lattice distortions using strain related
variables and their constraint equations. Our approach connects constrained
{\it atomic length} scale variations to {\it continuum} elasticity and
describes elasticity at several length scales. We apply the approach to a
two-dimensional square lattice with a monatomic basis, and find the elastic
deformations and hierarchical atomic relaxations in the vicinity of a domain
wall between two different homogeneous strain states. We clarify the
microscopic origin of gradient terms, some of which are included
phenomenologically in Ginzburg-Landau theory, by showing that they are
anisotropic.
