Women In Love

The Brangwen sisters walk to the railway crossing after school. While they wait for a train to cross, they see Gerald ride up on a horse. The horse does not like the sound of the train, but Gerald continues to force her up to the crossing. This upsets Ursula and Gudrun, who see that Gerald has made the horse bleed with his spurs.

Once the train passes, Gudrun critiques Gerald’s treatment of the horse, but the gatekeeper at the crossing tells the sisters that the type of horse Gerald rides needs extreme measures in its training. Ursula does not approve. Gudrun thinks about Gerald’s body on the horse. They continue walking, and two men notice them. The men, who are shoveling stones, describe the women as expensive.

The sisters continue to walk through the colliery (coal mining) district as the sun sets. Gudrun notes the beauty of coal dust and gazes at miners washing off, topless, in their yards. She goes to the Friday-night market in town, which is crowded with miners and their wives. Gudrun starts dating Palmer, who is a friend of Ursula’s and an electrician. He wants to date Ursula but feels like he can’t, so he and Gudrun go to the movies and go on walks together. Gudrun continues to grapple with mixed feeling about coming back home.

Near the lake, Ursula watches butterflies as Gudrun draws water plants. Hermione and Gerald come by in a boat, and Hermione asks Gerald to row over to Gudrun. At Hermione’s request, Gudrun shows her the sketchbook. However, when Gerald reaches for the sketchbook, Hermione accidentally drops it in the water. She apologizes as Gerald fishes it out of the lake. Gudrun blames Gerald, not Hermione, but claims it is not a problem. As Hermione continues apologizing, Gerald and Gudrun share an intimate look. Hermione begins to dislike Gerald.

Ursula walks away from the lake to a millpond. There, Rupert is working on a punt (boat). He asks her to help him test his repairs by going with him to a nearby island. On the island, she asks him about being ill. He explains that he is unhappy, and she argues in favor of finding happiness. They discuss various topics: that leisure is better than labor, humanity is evil, and love is a lie; Rupert believes the whole human race should be destroyed. Ursula argues in favor of people and love.

Rupert is attracted to Ursula, but she has mixed feelings about him. He argues that there should be a new definition for love, and she wonders why he is the one to create this new definition. As they arrive back on the mainland, he drops daisies into the water, which she finds beautiful. She makes boats out of chocolate wrappers, which float with the flowers. Rupert tries to compare groups of flowers with groups of people, but Ursula rejects this idea. He tells her he is staying at the mill and invites her to visit him. Ursula asks about his relationship with Hermione, and Rupert says that his relationship with Hermione is over but that she is coming to help him get furnishings for his room. Just then, Hermione and Gerald approach in their boat. Ursula does not like this arrangement, but Rupert insists that she joins them.

Ursula and Rupert meet Hermione and Gerald at the mill. The hostess, Mrs. Salmon, has many loud birds, and she covers their cages. Hermione compares the birds to husbands and mentions that she saw Gudrun at the lake. Then she focuses on Rupert, asking about the rooms at the mill that he is renting. After getting measuring tape and asking the hostess to fix tea, the group begins measuring the dining room. Hermione enjoys being busy with this task and ordering Rupert around.

In the study, Hermione tells Rupert that she wants to give him a rug. He does not want gifts from her, but she insists, and, finally, he agrees. They also visit the bedroom before going outside for tea. At the picnic, Ursula condemns Gerald’s treatment of the horse at the train crossing. He argues that it is correct for humans to control animals, and Rupert argues against personification (giving animals human characteristics). The conversation moves to the subject of willpower. Ursula mentions she has changed herself through mastering her will, while Rupert is against this use of the will. He wants to understand her mind, but she is in the habit of censoring her thoughts before speaking. As an aside, Rupert compares the wills of horses and women.

Hermione, tired of the subject of horses, discusses the beauty of the night. She and Ursula compare the value of analysis and experience, both wishing for more of the experience because analysis is destructive; Hermione notes how Rupert always wants to analyze and destroy things. When the women agree with one another, they begin to dislike one another. Hermione invites Rupert to Shortlands for dinner with her and Gerald. Rupert says he needs to change, and Hermione offers to wait for him.

Ursula leaves, telling Gerald that she did not like his treatment of the horse once again. She thinks about how she would like to be close with Hermione and is in conflict with Rupert.

Rupert invites Ursula and Gudrun to tea. Ursula does not tell Gudrun and goes by herself to visit Rupert at the millhouse. He wants a strange kind of love (which he doesn’t even want to call love) that is outside of societal conventions and goes beyond physical appearance. Ursula wants a more traditional kind of love. She argues that love is freedom and distrusts Rupert when he uses celestial imagery.

They watch a domestic cat approach a wild cat in the garden. They fight, and Ursula calls the male cat a bully. When Rupert defends the cat’s actions, she compares him to Gerald with the horse. He continues to compare the relationship he wants to astronomical bodies. Ursula notices how Hermione has helped decorate the place. After the landlady serves tea, they compare landladies and wives. They also discuss marriage as being outdated, and Rupert continues to argue for something less conventional. Love, he says, is serving someone else. Ursula argues that love is feeling proud.

As she talks about her family, Rupert wants Ursula to pledge herself to him. Ursula demands Rupert tell her that he loves her, and he does, but he still insists that he wants more than the normal kind of love. They kiss and embrace.