eagerly for wider, deeper experiences. Dissatisfied with teaching, she goes to college. During her final year of college, she takes Anton Skrebensky as her lover. She has loved him many years, during most of which he has been absent in Africa, fighting in the Boer War. During his absence, Ursula’s one experience in love is an affair with one of her high-school teachers, Miss Inger. Anna wants too much of love and demands too much of Anton Skrebensky, whom she sends away because she finds him spiritually inadequate. While ill with pneumonia, she also loses the infant he has fathered. Her vision of the rainbow is a promise of escape from the world of Skrebensky and the world of her parents, divided by love and conflict.

Anton Skrebensky

Anton Skrebensky, the son of Baron Skrebensky, a friend of Lydia Brangwen. Young Skrebensky is an intelligent young officer of engineers in the British army. Although he loves Ursula deeply, he cannot meet her demands for spiritual as well as physical fulfillment. After she sends him away, he marries the daughter of his commanding officer. He cannot understand why Ursula wants a college education; as the wife of an officer in India, she will not need one. Happy in a life of parties, golf, and riding, he fails to see Ursula’s need for knowledge of the world and herself.

Winifred Inger

Winifred Inger, a schoolteacher with whom Ursula Brangwen has a brief affair. She is a practical, worldly woman who, when she has an opportunity, marries Ursula’s well-to-do uncle, who manages a colliery in northern England. She bears her husband a son in exchange for a life of ease and plenty.

Gudrun Brangwen

Gudrun Brangwen, Ursula’s younger sister. A background figure in this novel, she is one of the central characters in Women in Love.

Vividly portrayed characters spanning three generations offer readers numerous intriguing points of contrast and comparison. These contrasts not only encompass their life circumstances, gender roles, and talents but also their personal ambitions and motivations as they resist, respond to, or help shape the industrial and social changes described earlier.

As a family saga, the story reveals how character traits from earlier generations reappear in later ones, forming cross-generational bonds among like-minded individuals. The first generation of Brangwens is depicted as having "the look of an inheritor," with the steady cultivation of the land imparting a sense of "surety." However, even at this early stage, the women exhibit a desire to transcend the farm life, seeking "the spoken world beyond."

For instance, the vicar, who possesses knowledge beyond the farm, symbolizes the life that Alfred Brangwen's wife envisions for her children. The intrusion of the industrial world into farm life mirrors the aspirations of the women, highlighting their yearning for something more.

Alfred, a man satisfied with a simple life of farming, and his wife share a traditional, old-fashioned marriage. Although she is "querulous" and often scolds him, her criticisms never truly undermine his authority. Occasionally, when one of her comments strikes a nerve, Alfred becomes enraged and gives her the silent treatment for days, highlighting his limited ability to counter her verbal attacks. They have six children: four sons and two daughters.

Most of their children make decisions that the narrator views as compromises. The eldest son runs away to sea. Alfred Jr., sent to school with no particular talent except for drawing, becomes a draftsman in a lace factory—a job that restrains his creative freedom. He marries a chemist's daughter, achieving a comfortable middle-class life, but seeks fulfillment he cannot find in his job or marriage by pursuing other women.

Another son, Frank, becomes a butcher, drawn to the blood and carcasses of slaughtered animals. He marries a factory girl, has many children, and turns to alcohol to escape what seems to be his own domestic dissatisfaction. One daughter, Alice, marries a collier, leading to a turbulent marriage with many children. The other daughter, Effie, stays home initially but marries later, prompting Tom to propose to Lydia.

In this generation, the narrator (and the mother) focus on Tom, who works hard in school despite being a poor student. Tom despises books "as if they were his enemies." However, he possesses "a generous, honest nature" that becomes more evident when he marries Lydia Lensky, a Polish widow, and adopts her child, Anna. Anna seems to represent a connection to the broader world, one that excludes Tom due to his discomfort with education. Tom inherits the farm, which grants him a certain status despite his academic struggles and lack of social mobility. The farm also appears to support his marriage to Lydia.

Lydia Lensky, petite, delicate, and elegant, is a widow with a young daughter. She has come to Cossethay to care for a dying vicar. Her first encounter with Brangwen happens when she goes to buy butter from him. She seems out of his league, and the scene where he dresses up to propose to her is quite touching. However, when he arrives at the vicar's house, it is Lydia, not Brangwen, who ends up proposing. Lydia has already lived a full life by the time she meets Brangwen. Her late husband, Lensky, was a doctor who died of an illness in London. Their two sons also died, presumably from diphtheria, but it is suggested that their deaths were partly due to neglect caused by their involvement in revolutionary activities for the Polish rebellion. The contrast between her marriage to Lensky and her later marriage to Brangwen provides deep insights into the differing needs of men and women in marriage and the forces that contribute to or hinder marital success. Dr. Lensky's life is portrayed as being wasted on a cause that the narrator deems unworthy. Although courageous, Lensky dragged his wife into a "whirl of patriotism." Flashbacks to this marriage, shown right after Tom's death from the flood, emphasize the more fulfilling life Lydia has experienced with Tom. Lensky had been a domineering partner, reducing her to a sex slave and using her primarily to keep himself fit for his activities, which he ultimately fails at, leaving her and their new baby, Anna, in poverty. He did not mourn their children because he had no time. He dies "a broken, cold man... with no affection for her or for anyone." To Lydia, her former husband, despite having enchanted her, had never truly known her or lived. In stark contrast, Tom Brangwen had "given her being." Lydia shares much of her reflections on her two marriages with her grandchild, Ursula, who later in the novel contends with a much shallower and more cowardly version of Lensky, Anton Skrebensky. As a mother, Lydia has specific priorities and goals for her children that differ from Brangwen’s. She is indifferent to "outer things at all," such as when they sell their watches to spend money at the Nottingham fair. However, she reprimands them for poor report cards and becomes furious if they loiter around the slaughterhouse. The narrator seems to be tongue-in-cheek when calling these "odd little things," especially given the drunken butcher lifestyle chosen by their Uncle Frank. Lydia's goals are precisely those that, if achieved, will elevate her children to a more refined life than that offered on the farm. To her (and implicitly to the author), this is more important than the small economy of maximizing the use of a wristwatch.

The Brangwen marriage evolves over time into a strong and fulfilling relationship for the husband, wife, and child through mutual understanding. There is an emotional moment when both admit to neglecting each other's needs, and Anna's insecurity diminishes when Lydia and Tom meet as equals. As previously mentioned, their union is depicted in religious terms, foreshadowing the rainbow symbol at the end. Additionally, Brangwen becomes a devoted father to Anna: "He stood like a rock between her and the world."

However, the fulfilling marriage of her parents only begins to address Anna's struggles in life. She feels and acts superior to other children, referring to them as "bagatelle." She emulates Alexandra, Princess of Wales, and clashes with school authorities, viewing them as trivial. Religion also causes conflict for her; although she suppresses religious feelings and puts away her rosary, she becomes an enthusiastic churchgoer. She feels stifled and belittled, unable to "stretch her length and stride her stride," and even imagines herself in the cramped torture cell of Bishop La Balue. Mrs. Alfred Brangwen, unhappily married to an unfaithful lacemaker, decides to send her son William from Nottingham to Ilkeston, where the Marsh farm is located. William has taken an apprenticeship at a lace factory there, leading to Anna's escape from her problems through an early but not entirely unsuccessful marriage to her cousin. This marriage is heavily supported by Tom Brangwen, who overcomes his dislike for Will because of his love for Anna.

In the early days of their marriage, Will and Anna Brangwen's relationship is described as a lights-out affair. They enjoy a prolonged honeymoon, spending long hours in bed and neglecting daily responsibilities, including earning a living. The relationship soon deteriorates into quarrels, until Will leaves for Nottingham and returns with a picture book of Bamberg Cathedral. They reconcile temporarily as they explore the book together.

However, Will's intense interest in the church becomes a significant source of conflict between him and Anna, who suppresses her religious feelings. They argue over whether miraculous stories, such as the Wedding at Cana, should be taken literally. She stifles his Christian beliefs, and having essentially broken him, she turns to childbearing for fulfillment. Yet, something remains missing for her. The narrator describes her as looking out from Pisgah mount, aware that there is more to life but content not to pursue it at the moment. Later, as her childbearing years come to an end, their relationship appears to reach a crisis. Will begins to see another woman, but after returning from this affair, the couple rediscovers a limited sensual passion, which allows Will to develop himself professionally.

Will's two brothers, Tom and Fred, join their household. Tom is worldly and socially ambitious, while Fred, the younger brother, resembles a Brangwen with his generous and open nature. Tom experiences a fallout with his mentor, prompting travels to Italy and America, which ultimately leave him feeling "outside of everything" and "in a deep misery." He eventually becomes a wealthy but insensitive colliery manager. Together, the brothers bring a more refined atmosphere to the Marsh farm.

Will and Anna's marriage introduces Ursula, their first child among nine. Ursula's confusion about religion mirrors her mother's but grows into resentment towards her mother's indifference. She is enchanted by her father's dedication to the church, yet also fearful and mesmerized by it. She sneaks into the parish office to read, but when her father slaps her with a duster for leaving the door open, she begins to mistrust him. Unlike her mother, Ursula excels academically but is impatient with subjects she doesn't grasp quickly. After Tom Brangwen's death, she forms a close bond with her widowed grandmother, Lydia. Lydia shares insights about her two marriages and the differences between her younger and mature selves. Ursula is drawn to her grandmother's intimate, secret world, away from the bustling life of the Marsh farm. Ursula and her younger sister, Gudrun, later become central characters in Lawrence's novel, Women in Love.

Ursula, unlike her mother but similar to her father, is captivated by the church's stories, symbols, and promises of the sublime. The narrator describes her: "She clung to the secret hope, the aspiration. She lived a dual life, one where the facts of daily life encompassed everything, being legion, and the other wherein the facts of daily life were superseded by the eternal truth." Ursula's issue with the church is not its transcendence or mysteries but that it has become stale and mechanical for her. As a young woman, she temporarily rejects religion, prioritizing her daily life. Her growing need for spiritual fulfillment parallels Lawrence's own, making her quest for connection and meaning the central focus of the remainder of the book.

Much of the remaining narrative focuses on Ursula's endeavors to establish herself independently as a teacher and her attempts to find love with Anton Skrebensky. Anton is the son of Lydia's friend, the Baron Skrebensky, whom Ursula had visited with her grandmother earlier in the novel. For a brief period, Ursula also explores a relationship with her teacher, Miss Inger. However, the inadequacy of these experiences only strengthens her spiritual pursuit for a more meaningful and connected life.

Initially, Ursula is drawn to Skrebensky due to his charm and his ties to a world unfamiliar to her. Their relationship begins when she is just sixteen. One of their early outings is to a fair where he takes her on the swing boats, a ride that had terrified and sickened her years earlier when she was with her father. They also visit a church under construction, but the coarse language of the workmen ruins any chance of a sublime experience.

An early indication of their ultimate incompatibility is revealed when Anton tells her about a friend who had romantic encounters in a church. Anton expects Ursula to be shocked, but she is actually delighted by the idea. Their romance is temporarily interrupted when Skrebensky is called away by the army, but it resumes at Fred's wedding to Laura. However, when Ursula is physically close to Skrebensky, she feels an emptiness, and his influence over her begins to diminish.

The intervals in Ursula's relationship with Skrebensky are caused not only by his absence and her need to study for exams to gain independence, but also by her infatuation with her teacher, Winifred Inger. Inger symbolizes someone who navigates the professional world independently, which Lawrence views as predominantly male. Ursula admires Inger for her beauty and "well-ordered" demeanor, embodying a crisp professionalism. Inger aims to educate Ursula in various ways, especially scientifically: "They took religion and rid it of all its dogmas, its falsehoods." Additionally, Inger is somewhat of a feminist, arguing that men, when they love women, only love an idea of themselves. Ursula starts to distance herself from Inger because she perceives her as "perverted." This aversion is not due to Inger's gender but because her philosophies are reactionary and not self-affirming: Ursula "wanted some fine intensity, instead of this heavy cleaving of moist clay, that cleaves because it has no life of its own."

The tension in their fading relationship reaches a sort of resolution when Ursula introduces Winifred Inger to her Uncle Tom, a colliery manager who has fully succumbed to industrialization (see above, Social Concerns). Brangwen believes "neither in good nor evil"; he resides in a vast brick house overlooking the barrack-like dwellings of the colliers. The town is described as having "no meeting place, no centre, no artery, no organic formation," and is portrayed as a "red-brick confusion rapidly spreading, like a skin disease." Tom Brangwen and Winifred Inger serve as contrasting figures to Ursula, who yearns for a meaningful connection to life, a desire they do not share. Witnessing them together stirs in Ursula a sudden urge to destroy the colliery; Tom and Winifred seem to unite "as if against her."

From this sterile union, Ursula returns home to find her mother in her ninth pregnancy. The narrator notes, "Ursula came back to Cossethay to fight with her mother." Farm life, described as "herded domesticity," is not what Ursula desires. Anna remains in a "long trance of complacent child-bearing," while her husband is "in a rich drowse of physical heat." Ursula introduces feminist ideals, advocating that women should "take equal place with men in the field of action and work," provoking Anna, who retorts that a pile of socks needing mending can be Ursula's "field of action." The domestic life drives Ursula to the challenging environment of a teaching job, introducing another cast of characters who, like others in the novel, range from humane and sensitive to cruel and mechanized. To Ursula, most are "jolty, jerky, bossy people."

The school resembles a prison, with an unnamed teacher Ursula encounters upon entering, diligently grading 63 papers. His "cold, against his nature" demeanor is partly due to overwork. Both Miss Harby and her brother, who manage the school, have mechanized the educational process, likely out of necessity given the large number of students. They treat Ursula in a perfunctory manner.

The depersonalization escalates to outright horror when managing her "squadron" of 50 children in Standard Five becomes unmanageable. Mr. Brunt, fittingly named, advises her to regain control. Subsequently, Mr. Harby undermines her authority in front of the entire class, wanting her gone. The situation deteriorates until some pupils stone her on her way home. Ultimately, she is forced to beat a frail but troublesome boy in front of the class to assert her authority; this action succeeds where others failed because it usurps Mr. Harby's influence. This brutal act earns Mr. Brunt's approval, who advises her to do the same to two more students if she wants to be "all right." In a disturbing aftermath, the beaten student's mother complains to the school. Harby further undermines her by not disciplining any students sent to his office, now angry at Ursula for regaining control.

The one positive influence during Ursula's time at St. Philip's school is a fellow teacher, Maggie Schofield. Together, they attend suffragette meetings and bicycle to nearby towns. Thanks to Maggie, Ursula soon sets aside teaching and focuses on her personal life. She never mentions Winifred Inger to Maggie, calling it "the closed door she had not strength to open." Despite their friendship, Ursula and Maggie have a fundamental difference: their views on love. Maggie believes love "blossom[s] unexpectedly and without law," while Ursula sees it as something more significant and enduring.

The development of Ursula's relationship with Anton Skrebensky occupies much of the rest of the novel. However, during a visit to the Schofields, Ursula is momentarily attracted to Maggie's brother, Anthony, who possesses the "eyes of a satyr." Anthony prematurely proposes to Ursula, but she feels "separated . . . infinitely" from him because he fails to connect with the beautiful natural surroundings. She thinks, "He has no soul." While Anthony represents a rustic version of a soulless man, Skrebensky evolves into a more sinister and corrupt worldly counterpart. A significant transition to her next encounter with Skrebensky is introduced through Dr. Frankstone, a female physics professor at the college. Some critics see echoes of Frankenstein in her character. Dr. Frankstone concludes that there is "no special mystery to life." In contrast, Ursula looks through her microscope and sees "not limited mechanical energy" but "a being infinite." She mistakenly believes Skrebensky can connect her to this infinite life. However, when he visits her, she finds him "alien to her being"; "He was always side-tracking, always side-tracking his own soul." Their intense physical attraction leads to a sexual relationship, resulting in her pregnancy. Despite this, she realizes he does not share her profound demands on life. After failing her exams, she sends him a telegram to reestablish their relationship upon discovering she is pregnant. By the time he responds, informing her he has married someone else, she has already miscarried.

The novel concludes with Ursula's encounter with horses, symbolizing the forces of annihilation, and her vision of the rainbow. Like the entombment of the Bishop's cell, the horses represent imprisoned life. They are described as "pressing to burst the grip upon their breasts, pressing forever until they went mad, running against the walls of time and never bursting free." Following the crisis with the horses, Ursula is safe in a sense but gripped by a profound death wish or depression. Her subsequent illness ends with the miscarriage but also leads to a slow recovery. Her final, powerful vision of a recreated world replaces the church spire and its irrelevance with the ancient biblical rainbow, "the world built up in a living fabric of Truth, fitting to the overarching heaven."

Anna Brangwen
As a child, Anna Brangwen shares the same sense of foreignness, separateness, and superiority as her mother, except on the farm. She carries an indomitable spirit into her adulthood. Her strong independence and desire for freedom become evident when she resists Will's attempts to dominate her. However, she can be quite selfish about her own needs, especially when she tries to sever her husband's passionate connection to the church. Anna wants to be the central focus of Will's life but becomes annoyed when he becomes too attentive. She devotes herself passionately to raising her children but loses interest in them once they reach adolescence.

Gudrun Brangwen
Gudrun Brangwen's character is not deeply developed, except as a confidant for her sister Ursula. She displays remarkable artistic talent but remains shy and withdrawn.

Lydia Brangwen
Will is drawn to Lydia Brangwen's "fineness" and self-possession before their marriage. After marrying, her separateness frustrates him when she refuses to fully open up to him. The deaths of her first husband and especially her first two children cause her to withdraw inwardly. However, she is generous and needy enough to eventually open up to Tom. Her sense of superiority keeps her distant from others; she viewed people in Poland as cattle and finds the English too foreign, so she remains isolated. Her capacity for love is evident in her care for her children and her devastation over Tom's death.

Tom Brangwen
Tom Brangwen, who becomes Anna's stepfather, has a generous and kind nature with a zest for life. Although he sometimes longs for a life beyond Marsh Farm, he understands that he is well-suited to his current world. Like all Brangwen men, he attempts to assert his will over his wife, but he is less insistent than the others. His gentleness and patience eventually win Lydia over, and the two find satisfaction in their marriage.

Tom also demonstrates his generous nature by accepting Anna as his own child. One of the most moving scenes in the novel occurs when he comforts her during her mother's labor. Later, he puts aside his sorrow over losing her to Will and helps furnish the couple's new home. He shows his loyalty and good sense by supporting her during conflicts with Will while also encouraging reconciliation.

Ursula Brangwen
Ursula Brangwen stands out among the Brangwens for her strong sense of individuality and yearning for freedom. She displays deep affection for her sister and father, but feels deeply betrayed when her father strikes her for misbehavior. Ursula is receptive to new experiences and initially holds an idealistic view of her potential success. Even when faced with failure, she remains resilient and avoids bitterness. This same openness helps her overcome despair after her miscarriage, allowing her to focus on a hopeful future.

Will Brangwen
Will Brangwen's passionate nature is evident in his love for the church and his desire for Anna. However, when Anna rejects him, his inner darkness emerges, leading to rage and aggression towards her. Will's strong will and conventional views on gender roles make him feel entitled to demand Anna's obedience. Initially indifferent to the outside world, he becomes more community-oriented after securing a position in Nottingham.

Mr. Harby
Mr. Harby, Ursula’s narrow-minded superintendent at the grammar school, aims to exert total control over his staff and students. His pettiness and vindictiveness surface whenever he is challenged, as he seeks to humiliate those who oppose him. He also displays a cruel and malevolent attitude towards the children.

Winifred Inger
Winifred Inger captivates Ursula with her independent spirit and blend of masculine and feminine traits. However, her moral emptiness makes her a fitting partner for Uncle Tom.

Maggie
Maggie, a young school teacher, becomes friends with Ursula while they both teach at the grammar school. Although her character is not fully developed, Maggie is dedicated to women's suffrage. She and Ursula grow apart after Ursula rejects Maggie's brother's marriage proposal.

Anton Skrebensky
Anton Skrebensky, the baron’s son and a young British army soldier, is Ursula’s first lover. Although attracted to his confidence, Ursula withdraws when he attempts to dominate her. His strong nationalistic views, particularly regarding Britain’s colonialism, ultimately lead Ursula to reject him as a partner.

Baron Skrebensky
Baron Skrebensky, a Polish immigrant and Lydia’s friend, takes pride in his heritage, which hinders his assimilation into the town where he serves as vicar.

Uncle Tom
Uncle Tom, though detached like his mother, lacks her capacity for love. His refined exterior conceals a corrupt and self-centered nature.