"But the woman wanted another form of life than this, something that was not blood-intimacy. Her house faced out from the farm-buildings and fields, looked out to the road and the village with church and Hall and the world beyond" (11).
Early in the novel, Lawrence introduces the dynamics of gender that will continue to surface throughout the novel. Here, he makes it clear that women in the Brangwen family long desired a life beyond Marsh Farm, and an engagement with the broader world. This foreshadows the life of Ursula, who in many ways actualizes this desire. The tragedy, however, is that both her and her mother remain confined to their domestic lives, even though they wished to experience "the world beyond" (11).
"Did he, or did her not believe that he belonged to this world of Cossethay and Ilkeston? There was nothing in it he wanted. Yet could he ever get out of it? Was there anything in himself that would carry him out of it? Or was he a dunderheaded baby, not man enough to be like the other young fellows who drank a good deal and wenched a little without any question, and were satisfied" (28).
Lawrence invests a great deal of psychological depth into each of his characters. Here, we see a young Tom struggle to find both a sense of belonging and a place within the world. As Lawrence has previously indicated, Tom has "too low an opinion of himself" (19). He doubts whether he's "man enough" to make a life for himself different than his ancestors who have lived on Marsh Farm for generations. While Tom decides to stay and spend his life on the Farm, a sense of doubt and self-consciousness plagues him for the rest of his life. In this quote, then, Lawrence speaks to the doubt that we all face at times.
"A shiver, a sickness of new birth with passed over her, the flame leaped up him, under his skin. She wanted it, this new life from him, with him, yet she must defend self against it, for it was a destruction" (39).
This passage describes Lydia's feelings when she visits Tom's at the farm during their courtship. It highlights many of the characteristics that appear throughout the novel: the idea of resurrection or "new birth," the motif of the "flame," and the threat of destruction. Even before they are married, it is clear that there is a fraught and paradoxical nature to Tom and Lydia's relationship as it provides both "new life" but promises "destruction."
It is also important to note how Lawrence uses punctuation as a form of emphasis in his writing. Here, the numerous commas halt the flow of the sentence and highlight each of the clauses so that the reader is better able to grasp the complexity of his imagery.
“'You are not my father—my father is dead—you are not my father" (118).
In this climactic scene, Tom confronts Anna about her plans to marry Will. When he voices his disapproval with the arrangement, she makes it clear that he is not her father and thus has no authority over her. The scene is deeply saddening as Tom and Anna had previously shared an intensely close relationship even though he was not her biological father. This revelation from Anna propels Tom into an existential crisis and he is forced to realizes that "he was her guardian, no more" (119).
In this moment, Lawrence demonstrates that even the closest bonds of family can be broken and that the things we say even in moments of anger can bring irreparable damage to our dearest relationships.
"Then his mouth drew near, pressing open her mouth, a hot, drenching surge rose within her, she opened her lips to him, in pained, poignant eddies she drew him nearer, she let him come further, his lips came surging, surging, oh soft, yet oh, like the powerful surge of water, irresistible, till with a bling cry, she broke away" (278).
It is important to remember just how scandalous Lawrence's work was when it was first released. Passages like this—in which Lawrence describes Ursula having an orgasm while kissing Anton—lead to the novel being banned in the United Kingdom for over a decade. Today, we are able to more fully appreciate Lawrence's talent for steamy writing. Here he vividly captures the physical experience of pleasure, and his syntax ("oh soft, yet oh") mimics the experience of pleasure itself. As he often does, he turns to aquatic metaphors to describe the "poignant eddies" of Ursula pulling Anton closer, and he relies on repetition ("surging, surging") to heighten the intensity. Evidently, Lawrence's reputation as an erotic writer is not without merit!
"The good of the greatest number was all that mattered. That which was the greatest good for them all, collectively, was the greatest good for the individual. And so, every man must give himself to support the State, and so labour for the greatest good of all. One might make improvements in the State, perhaps, but always with a view to preserving it intact" (305).
This passage lays out Anton's political philosophy. His beliefs are particularly utilitarian—that is to say, concerned with "the greatest number" as opposed to the singular individual. In this way, Anton's beliefs are indicative of the advent of mass modernity. Previously, the Brangwens tended to their farm as a family, staying local and largely independent from broader society except for their connection to the nearby church. This was fundamentally changed by the Industrial Revolution, which connected rural areas to the cities with railways and brought about a boom in the population. Lawrence uses this philosophical thought to illustrate the historical shift away from the previous social order represented by the Brangwens to the industrialized, largely urban mass society represented by Anton.
"And what more? What more would be necessary? The great mass of activity in which mankind was engaged meant nothing to him. By nature, he had no part in it. What did he live for, then? For Anna only, and for the sake of living? What did he want on this earth? Anna only, and his children, and his life with his children and her? Was there no more?" (179).
In this troubling passage, Will questions the meaning of life. He has married Anna and is now the father of a young baby, Ursula, but somehow he's not entirely satisfied. Like his father-in-law, Tom, he is uncertain of his place and of his purpose. So often, marriage and the birth of a child are depicted as being idyllic and fundamentally rewarding, yet by placing this passage shortly after the birth of Ursula, Lawrence is suggesting that existential uncertainty can exist regardless of one's station in life. These questions are difficult—perhaps unanswerable—yet Lawrence demonstrates that questioning the meaning of life is an essential element of life itself.
"Steadily the colour gathered, mysteriously, from nowhere, it took presence upon itself, there was a faint, vast rainbow. The arc bended and strengthened itself till it arched indomitable, making great architecture of light and colour and the space of heaven, its pedestals luminous in the corruption of new houses on the low hill, its arch the top of heaven" (458).
In the final scene of the novel, Lawrence uses his incredible ability to write about nature to describe the titular rainbow that Ursula sees after a period of illness and depression. As this quote demonstrates, nature for Lawrence is evidence of divinity as the rainbow itself marks "the top of heaven" (458). In addition, nature affords escape from the compromised human environment with its "corruption of new houses." So while characters like Ursula might doubt their faith in a singular God throughout the novel, they are nonetheless able to have transcendent experiences in communion with the wonders of nature such as a pack of wild horses or the emergence of this rainbow.
Yet the rainbow also has an importance in an explicitly Christian context, particularly in the book of Genesis. For example, after Noah has built his ark and God has flooded the Earth, he says to Noah: "I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life" (9: 13-16). Throughout the book, Lawrence makes many allusions to the Garden of Eden and to the Book of Genesis more broadly. With this established, the rainbow can be regarded as a highly hopeful symbol. While Ursula has experienced considerable hardship and a real flood has killed her grandfather, the rainbow signifies a better future.
"The religion which had been another world for her, a glorious sort of play-world, where she lived, climbing the tree with the short-statured man, walking shakily on the sea like the discipline, breaking the bread into five thousand portions, like the Lord, giving a great picnic to five thousand people, now fell away from reality, and become a tale, a myth, an illusion, which, however much one might assert it to be true in historical fact, one knew was not true—at least, for this present-day life of ours" (263).
As critic James Wood notes in his introduction to The Rainbow, "Lawrence is fond of run-ons, part of his musical assault on the formal harmony of the proper sentence" (xiv). This quote, with fourteen commas and a dash, is one such "assault." In a single sentence, Lawrence packs in an incredible amount of information. In short, Ursula is doubting her faith and comes to find biblical stories like the miracle of Jesus turning five loaves of bread and two fishes into enough food to feed five thousand people (as depicted in John 6: 1-14) unbelievable. This is just one instance in which a character in the novel questions their faith and the outcome is not permanent, for just a few pages later, Ursula feels the presence of "Jesus in the countryside" (266). Thus for Lawrence doubt like that which is expressed in this passage is not wrong or sinful but rather an essential element of faith and devotion.
"He hated her for what she said. Did he not give her everything, was she not everything to him? And the shame was a bitter fire in him, that she was everything to him, that he had nothing but her. And then that she should taunt him with it, that he could not escape! The fire went black in his veins. For try as he might, he could not escape. She was everything to him, she was his life and his derivation."
Lawrence covers a considerable emotional range in The Rainbow. Characters fall in love with one another and feel deeply infatuated; however, just as often they are gripped with rage and resentment. In this passage, Will and Anna have reached the lowest point in their relationship. They fight constantly and there seems to be no love left between them. Yet even in this state, Will acknowledges that Anna is an essential part of his life. Thus, they stay together and soon their relationship begins to improve.
Through this passage, Lawrence offers a realistic—if unfortunate—portrayal of a relationship. As such, he suggests that depictions of pure, harmonious love that are so common to works of fiction are nothing more than fiction. Just as Lawrence argues that doubt is essential to faith, so too does he suggest that moments of anger and animosity may be essential to love. Anna is "everything" to Will, even if that "everything" might not always be pleasant.
