The Rainbow Themes

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The Complexities of Love

Lawrence is a deeply romantic—even erotic—writer. Still, he does not shy away from
portraying the more negative side of relationships. Just as his characters fall in love, so too
can they fall into hatred or resentment of one another. Indeed, the word “hatred” recurs with
notable frequency in The Rainbow.

Lawrence’s complex depiction of love can be found most obviously in the relationship
between Anna and Will. While they begin their marriage in intense infatuation, their
relationship soon becomes full of anger and resentment. They fight violently and Will is
“always ready to burst out murderously against her” (158). Anna soon begins to speak of “the
tragedy of her young married life” (163). Yet Will and Anna stay together and come to raise a
large, mostly happy, family.

Through the depiction of relationships like that of Will and Anna, Lawrence pushes back
against unrealistic depictions of perfect love. Instead, he demonstrates that love is complex
and that moments of anger—or worse, hatred—are hardly uncommon in relationships.
Lawrence’s characters crave love and desperately seek it out, even if that means risking the
negative aspects of it.

The Difficulties of Faith

Lawrence dedicates much attention in The Rainbow to describing his character's
relationships with religion. To varying degrees, they believe and participate in the Anglican
church. Importantly, however, their beliefs are never static and always developing. It is not
uncommon for his characters to fluctuate between devotion and faithlessness.

Lawrence pays particular attention to the spiritual development of Ursula. As a young girl,
she loves attending church to the point that “Sunday was very precious to her” (254) At the
same time, her religious views are unorthodox as she believes that “there was no actual Sin”
(255). Later her religious convictions wane as she realizes that “one lived by action” and not
by faith or worship (263). Then, just as suddenly, her faith returns to her and she feels the
presence of Jesus with her in the countryside.

Similarly, Ursula’s father, Will, wrestles with his religious beliefs. This is particularly evident
when he takes Anna to the Lincoln Cathedral. While he initially has a transcendent
experience viewing the architecture, his wife, Anna, begins joking about some wood carvings
in the church. Suddenly, Will’s belief in the divinity of the Cathedral is dashed and he feels

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“that his cathedrals would never again be the same to him as they had been” (190). The
experience is painful for him, although he later regains his faith and begins tending to a
nearby cathedral.

In these depictions of faith, Lawrence demonstrates that religious worship is a deeply

personal, sometimes painful, and always changing practice. If his characters momentarily
lose faith, it is because Lawrence suggests that doubt is essential to faith.

The Possibility of Renewal

Throughout The Rainbow, characters routinely have transcendent experiences after which
they feel rejuvenated or reborn. Just as spring is sure to follow even the darkest of winters,
Lawrence’s characters, regardless of how dire their circumstances, always have the chance
to experience such a renewal. This is seen in the religious faith of characters like Ursula,
which routinely wavers and then is strengthened again, and also in the love between
characters such as Will and Anna, which dies before it is kindled again. Indeed, after a
prolonged period without intimacy, Will and Anna rekindle their passion between them and
the effect is so great that Will is described as a “new man” (220).

One can see a link in Lawrence’s depictions of renewals to the Christian belief in
resurrection. Above all, he is suggesting that life does not merely begin with birth but rather
consists of perpetual rebirths. The rainbow that Ursula sees at the end of the novel is a
poignant reminder that even the most tempestuous weather can be followed by great beauty.

The Experiences of Gender

From the outset of the novel, it is clear that the experiences of the characters in The
Rainbow are largely determined by their gender. The men tend to the farm while the women
tend to the home and dream of “another form of life than this” (11). Whereas male characters
such as Tom and Anton have the freedom to travel and choose their professions, female
characters are expected to stay home, be courted by men, marry, and then raise a family.

Yet Lawrence introduces characters who seek to rebel against the gendered expectations
placed upon them. Ursula, in particular, rejects the “enforced domestic life” of her mother and
desires freedom and mobility (329). Against her parents' wishes, she begins working at a
school. In so doing, she asserts herself in opposition to “the dry, tyrannical man-world” (381).
Ursula also befriends Maggie Schofield, an advocate for women’s voting rights and a person
for whom “the liberty of women meant something real and deep” (377). At the novel’s
conclusion, Ursula has rejected Anton’s proposals and thus succeeds in her dream to be
independent.

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The Rainbow is a masterful account of the ways in which gender impacts one’s experiences
of the world. With tenacious and admirable characters like Ursula and Maggie, Lawrence
voices his disapproval with patriarchy and sexism and demonstrates his support for the
empowerment of women.

The Bonds of Family

As a novel following a single clan, it is evident that the dynamics of family are a major theme
in The Rainbow. Indeed, much of the novel is focused on the relationships between various
family members. The forms of relation are unique between each character. For example,
Lydia is “almost afraid” of her two sons but adores her granddaughter Ursula. These familial
relationships can bring great joy, as they do between Tom and his adopted daughter Anna,
but can be characterized by coldness and lack of connection, as with Anna and her daughter
Ursula.

As with everything in the novel, these relationships are also subject to change. After Will
catches the children playing in the parish office, he hits Ursula in the face with a cloth. The
two were once very close but afterwards “the fire of mistrust and defiance burned in her,
burned away her connection with him” (249).

For these reasons, The Rainbow is a remarkable depiction of the joys and pains of family
life. Through his complex mapping of family relations, Lawrence suggests that while we may
not choose our families, we are inextricably bound to them. Whether or not we choose to
remain close to our families, Lawrence uses three generations of the Brangwens to
demonstrate that we are invariably shaped by what our parents did—or did not—teach and
model for us.

The Side Effects of Industrial Capitalism

The Rainbow is set during what is known as the Second Industrial Revolution, in which
technological developments such as the steam engine drastically accelerated the
manufacturing and transportation of goods. Just a few pages into the book, a canal is cut
across the Brangwen’s farm to support the nearby coal mines followed by a railway line
shortly thereafter. The developments in the area in which Brangwen's live is indicative of the
broader changes occurring across the country at the same time.

The changes occurring amidst the Second Industrial Revolution prompt fear and revulsion for
the characters in the novel. Ursula, in particular, is deeply connected to the natural world and
takes considerable issue with the degradation of the landscape brought about by industrial
capitalism. For example, when she visits her uncle Tom, who manages a coal mine, she is
struck by the “demon-like colliery with her wheels twinkling in the heavens, the formless
squalid mass of town lying aside” (324). She speaks derisively about “the machine” which
stands in for the processes of industrialization more broadly (325).

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Later, in a devastating scene, she stands beside Anton at the seaside and they both realize
“what England would be in a few hours’ time—a blind and sordid, strenuous activity, all for
nothing, fuming with dirty smoke and running trains and groping in the bowels of the Earth''
(431). It is clear that Lawrence shares this opinion and believed that the changes brought
about by the Industrial Revolutions had robbed the world of beauty and mysticism and had
left a homogenized, corrupted system in its place.

Colonial Logic
While it is perhaps less obvious than other themes in the novel, it is important to touch upon
the colonial context present in The Rainbow. During the time in which the novel is set, Britain
was continuing to expand its colonial reach across the world. In order to maintain control of
its colonies, British troops were sent to fight in overseas wars. This was the case with the
Boer War in South Africa to which Anton was sent.

To contemporary readers, the few discussions of race which take place in the novel will most
likely appear problematic. For example, when Anton is due to be sent for a position as a
colonial administrator in India, Ursula imagines him as “one of the governing class,
superimposed upon an old civilization, lord and master of a clumsier civilization than his own”
(411). She then reasons that “the country did need the civilisation which he represented”
(411). Such statements, while undoubtedly troubling, are instructive examples of the racist
and prejudicial beliefs that upheld and justified the colonial system which Anton serves and
Ursala approves.

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The Rainbow Characters | GradeSaver
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Alfred Brangwen
The first character introduced in the novel, Alfred tends to the Marsh Farms. With his wife—
an unnamed character—Alfred is the father of six children including Alfred, Frank, Alice, Effie
and Tom. He dies after falling from a haystack and Tom takes over the farm.

Alfred Brangwen II
Tom’s brother and the father of Will. As a teenager he is sent to grammar school but
struggles with academics, and later becomes a draftsman. Although he is originally
described as “somewhat uncouth” he marries a woman from a good family and transforms
into “something of a snob” (15). He later engages in an affair with a woman in Derbyshire.

Alfred is described as a “saturnine”—or gloomy—character. He is financially prosperous and

enjoys culture, such as the poetry of Robert Browning. He has a distant relationship with
much of his family, particularly with Tom, who feels that “his brother was bigger than himself”
(133).

Frank Brangwen
The son of Alfred and the brother of Tom. He is handsome, though he drinks heavily and is
described as being “weaker in character” than the rest of his family (16). He marries at the
age of eighteen and has many children with his wife.

Alice Brangwen
The elder daughter of Alfred and the sister of Tom. She never appears directly in the novel
but was said to have married a coal miner and settled in Yorkshire with her large family.

Effie Brangwen
The younger daughter of Alfred and the sister of Tom. Effie lives alone at the farm with Tom
after their father dies before marrying and moving away from the farm.

Tom Brangwen
Tom is the protagonist of the first generation of the Brangwen family described in the novel.
He is the youngest child amongst his siblings but he takes over the Marsh at the age of
seventeen after his father’s death. He marries Lydia and they raise three children together:

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Anna, Tom and Fred. Halfway through the novel, Tom drowns when the canal running
through the Marsh overflows.

Tom is a complex, highly sensitive character. He is stubborn and prone to outrage and heavy
drinking, although he is also very kind, particularly to his step-daughter, Anna. Initially, he
refuses to allow her to marry his nephew, William, although he later relents and supports
them emotionally and financially. At times, Tom directs his anger at Lydia but elsewhere he is
romantic and compassionate to her. Often, he is filled with existential anxiety and feels both
inadequate and insecure with his place in the world. In particular, he feels a sense of cultural
inferiority to people like his brother, Alfred, who can appreciate art and poetry. Nonetheless,
he is a talented farmer and salesman who brings the Brangwens a great deal of prosperity.
Above all, he is a relatable, if not always likable, character.

Tilly
The Brangwen’s servant. She is stern and loyal, and remains with the family for decades. It is
revealed that she is in love with Tom, although it is unclear if it is in a romantic or familial way.

Lydia Brangwen (formerly Lansky)

Lydia is Tom’s husband and a major character in the first generation of the Brangwen family.
Born and raised in Poland, Lydia married a doctor, Paul Lansky, in Warsaw and trained to
work as a nurse. Lydia and Paul had two children together, both of whom died of diphtheria.
They relocated to London where she gave birth to another daughter, Anna, before Paul died.
After relocating to Cossethay, Lydia meets Tom and they are married. In addition to Anna,
they have two sons: Tom and Alfred.

Lydia is prone to depression and angry outbursts, although she works hard to take care of
her family. She shares a tumultuous marriage with Tom, but admits to loving him after he
drowns. While Tom and Anna are quite close, Lydia is more reserved with her daughter,
although she later develops a close relationship with her grand-daughter, Ursula. Several
years after Tom, she dies of an undisclosed illness.

Paul Lansky
Lydia’s first husband who died before the novel begins. Trained as a doctor, Paul becomes
heavily involved in the fight for Polish nationalism. He becomes obsessed with the cause,
and even after Lydia and Paul immigrate to London he had “his life locked into a resistance
and could not relax again” (50). He begins to waste away and soon dies, leaving Lydia a
widow with their young daughter, Anna.

Baron Rudolph Skrebensky

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Father of Anton Skrebensky. Like Lydia, Rudolph is Polish and relocated to England to
become a vicar in a countryside church. He is admired by those around him, particularly the
young Anna Brangwen who likes his “extravagance and his exuberant manner” (93). He
marries an English nobleman, Millicent Maud Pearse, and they raise Anton in the fictional
town of Briswell.

Millicent Maud Pearse

Wife of Rudolph and mother to Anton. Appearing briefly in the novel, Millicent is the
educated, attractive wife of Rudolph. Described as a “little, creamy-skinned, insidious thing,”
Millicent flirts openly with Tom and toys with his affections.

Anna Brangwen
The daughter of Lydia and the step-daughter of Tom. Anna was born in London shortly
before the death of her father, Paul Lansky, and is later brought to Cossethay where her
mother marries Tom. Anna is depicted as a fiercely independent girl, “at once shy and wild”
and “always at outs with authority” (92, 95). She struggles to make friends with her peers,
and instead prefers to spend time with Tom. She develops an incredibly close, caring
relationship with her step-father but remains distant with her father.

At the age of eighteen, Anna develops an intense relationship with Tom’s nephew, Will. They
are married, and begin a volatile relationship. Like her mother, Anna is prone to anger,
depression, and isolation. At times, she can be cruel, as when she mocks the cathedral that
Will adores, thus ruining the experience for him. Unlike her husband, Anna is not religiously
inclined, and she struggles to understand her husband’s faith. Nonetheless, they fall in and
out of love with one another and end up having nine children by the novel's conclusion,
including Ursula, Gudrun, Theresa, Catherine and William. Much to Ursula’s disapproval,
Anna is said to care only about “the children, the house, and a little local gossip” (328).

William (Will) Brangwen

The son of Alfred and the nephew of Tom. Like his father, Will is trained as a draughtsman
and moves to Ilkeston at the age of twenty to take a job at the local lace factory. There, he
meets Anna and begins courting her. He is a skilled craftsman and artisan, and he spends
much time at work on a wood-carving of Adam and Eve which he later destroys in a fit of
rage. He proposes to Anna, and despite Tom’s initial disapproval, he is persistent and they
are soon married.

Like Anna, Will can be angry, hateful, and prone to drastic changes in his mood. Sometimes
he loves Anna but just as often he is “coiled round a centre of hatred” for her (142). In
passing, it is revealed that Will can be physically violent towards his wife. Given this, it is
somewhat ironic that Will is devoutly religious. He feels deeply moved by cathedrals and

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christian imagery, which Anna mocks. He also has an artistic sensibility, and collects
reproductions of Renaissance artists such as Raphael. He spends much of his time working
in the fields.

Of his children, Will grows closest to his eldest daughter, Ursula, and like Tom and Anna,
they develop a close relationship. As Ursula grows up and rebels against her parent’s
wishes, Will is stern yet supportive. As Will also ages, he becomes less angry and more
engaged in the community, later moving the family to Nottingham to take up a job teaching
wood-work to young boys. Like Tom before him, Will is a difficult character and one in which
Lawrence invests deep psychological detail.

Tom Brangwen II
Eldest son of Tom and Lydia, half-brother of Anna. Tom is described as a highly attractive,
intelligent character with a “refined manner” (224). He trains as an engineer, and later travels
around the world before taking up a job as the manager of a collier in Wiggiston. He is kind
and generous, and often brings presents for his young niece, Ursula. Later in the novel, he
marries Ursula’s former lover, Winnifred Inger. Ursula grows disgusted with his role in the
mining industry, and she concludes that “his only happy moments, his only moments of pure
freedom, were when he was serving the machine” (325).

Fred Brangwen
Younger son of Tom and Lydia, half-brother of Anna. Fred is much more like his father than
his daring, attractive brother. Like his father, he is sensitive and enjoys reading. He takes
over the farm following Tom’s daughter and later marries a school-mistress.

Ursula Brangwen
Daughter of Will and Anna. Ursula is the protagonist of the third and final generation of the
Brangwen family depicted in the novel. From a young age, she is described as being fiercely
independent and self-assured. She is very close with Will to the point that it is said that “only
her father occupied any permanent position in the childish consciousness” (203). She works
with him in the fields and travels with him to the markets.

As she ages, Ursula becomes highly ambitious. She desires a place for herself in the world,
and actively stands up against the prejudice that women face. While attending school, Ursula
engages in a sexual relationship with her teacher, Winifred Inger, who later marries her uncle
Tom. Ursula then becomes a teacher and starts a relationship with Anton Skrebensky.
Although he proposes, she rejects him several times. The novel ends when she fears that
she is pregnant and writes a letter to Anton agreeing to marry him, only to discover that he
has married another woman.

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Ursula is a highly introspective character. She has a close, almost sacred, connection with
nature and she intensely mourns the degradation of the environment caused by the Industrial
Revolutions. Throughout the novel, she struggles with her religious faith, at times being
devout and at other times regarding religion as “a tale, a myth, an illusion” (263).

Ursula can also be considered a feminist. She asserts her place in the world and desires “to
see beautiful things, and have the joy of them for ever” (377). She fights her parents to be
allowed to work as a school-teacher, and overcomes sexism at the job. With her friend
Maggie, Ursula engages in the suffragette movement to secure women the vote. She also
rejects Anton’s proposals because she wants freedom and not the “enforced domestic life” of
her mother. In Ursula, Lawrence created a strong, powerful female character with relatable
aspirations at a time before women even had the right to vote.

Anton Skrebensky
The son of Baron Rudolph Skrebensky and Millicent Maud Pearse. Anton meets Ursula
during a month leave from his position in the army when he is twenty-one and she is sixteen.
He is described as being well-mannered and funny though “almost ugly” (270). He and
Ursula begin an intense courtship before he is forced to return for service. Later, he is sent to
serve in the Boer War in present day South Africa. When he returns, he and Ursula continue
their tumultuous relationship. When she rejects his proposals for marriage, he accepts a post
as an officer in colonial India and marries the daughter of his Colonel.

In many ways, Anton is the representation of the individual in mass, modern society. He
drives an automobile and believes that he has an obligation to both the citizens of England
and the institution of the British Empire. Unlike characters earlier in the novel, he spends
much of his time in cities like London. He and Ursula also have sexual intercourse before
they are married, which was not as common at that time.

Yet in a distinct difference from the male archetype at the time, Anton is also highly
emotional. Her behavior often upsets him deeply and when Ursula rejects his proposal he
begins to sob uncontrollably in public, which shocks her. Near the end of their relationship he
feels that “his manhood was cruelly, coldly defaced” (433). Like many characters in the novel,
he is prone to depression and he feels “like a corpse” after Ursula and him split up (423). He,
along with Ursula, finds solace in a connection to nature but comes to detest the “blind,
sordid, strenuous activity” of industrial capitalism (431).

Winifred Inger
Winifred is the mistress at Ursula’s school, and later, her lover. She is described as a
“fearless seeming, clean type of modern woman” and she inspires Ursula with her self-
assuredness and independence (311). She is involved in the suffragette movement and has

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a large circle of educated friends. After Winifred moves to London after the end of the school
year, she and Ursula drift apart. Ursula then decides to introduce Winifred to her uncle Tom.
The two admire each other's strength and independence and agree to marry.

Gudrun Brangwen
Daughter of Will and Anna, sister to Ursula. In contrast to her elder sister, Ursula, Gudrun is
described as quiet “strangely placid, almost passive” (204). She is close with Ursula, though
she is said to live in a world “of her own difference and being” (243). She later attends Art
School and develops a talent for sculpture. Although she is successful and wants to try life in
London, her parents forbid her. Compared to Ursula she is described as “the more beautiful
of the two” (401).

Maggie Schofield
Ursula and Maggie become friends while working at St. Philips School. She is described as
“rather beautiful [and] meditative” and she offers Ursula support during the many challenges
of the school year (351). Maggie is actively involved in the suffragette movement and desires
freedom and agency for women. She comes from a family of gardeners, and her brother,
Anthony, proposes to Ursula.

Anthony Schofield
Maggie’s brother. Anthony works as a gardener and is described as “strong and well-made”
(383). Ursula admires his tenderness and attentiveness, yet she rejects his proposal for
marriage.

Mr. Harby
The headmaster at St. Philips School. Harby is a stern, unpleasant man. He routinely
intervenes in Ursula’s classes and offers her little support when the class grows unruly. He
comes to represent the “strength and male power” which makes it so difficult for women like
Ursula to gain acceptance in the professional world. Although he seems ready to fire Ursula,
she eventually wins his quiet respect after she beats a misbehaved student.

Miss Violet Harby

Mr. Harby’s daughter. Violet also teaches at St. Philips and Ursula feels inferior to her
because “she could keep order and inflict knowledge on a class with remarkable efficiency”
(358)

Mr. Brunt

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A teacher at St. Phillips. He warns Ursula that she will be fired by Mr. Harby if she does not
begin to discipline her students.

Vincent Williams
A misbehaved student in Ursula’s class. He is routinely insubordinate and encourages the
other students to disobey her. Finally, she loses her patience and beats him brutally with a
cane. His mother then comes to the school and complains that he suffers from a heart
condition and that the beating made him ill. He returns to class and is better behaved.

Dorothy Russell
A friend of Ursula’s from university. She inherits an estate in Sussex where Anton and Ursula
visit her. Dorothy encourages Ursula to marry Anton.

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The Rainbow Summary
gradesaver.com/the-rainbow/study-guide/summary

The Rainbow follows the intergenerational development of the Brangwens—a family of

farmers living near Ilkeston in the East Midland region of England—from the 1840s to the
early twentieth century. Through the Bragnwen’s, Lawrence traces the broader social,
cultural, and technological changes happening in England at the same time.

The novel begins on the Brangwen’s Marsh Farm and first follows Tom Brangwen as he
courts and marries a Polish widow named Lydia. The marriage between Tom and Lydia is
marked by the feeling that “they were so foreign to each other,” as Tom struggles to make
sense of the life that Lydia lived before immigrating to England. Still, he grows close to Anna,
the daughter she had from her previous marriage. While much of the start of the novel is
dedicated to depicting the anger shared between Tom and Lydia, they proceed to have two
of their own children: Tom and Fred.

In the third chapter, the focus of the novel shifts to Anna. She is described as being a fiercely
independent and hearty young girl who adores her step-father and feels distant from her
mother. As Anna ages, she remains headstrong and solitary until she meets William, the
nephew of Tom. Despite Tom’s disapproval, the two begin a courtship and marry in a big
ceremony at the Brangwen’s farm.

Although Will and Anna share an idyllic honeymoon in their cottage, their relationship quickly
sours and soon they are fighting like Tom and Lydia before them. In this way, Lawrence
demonstrates that the ideals of perfect love and actual relationships are two very different
things. His commitment to portraying the difficulties of life and love makes The Rainbow a
work of realism.

Despite the animosity between them, Will and Anna go on to have a family of nine children
(one of whom dies in childbirth). Their eldest, Ursula, becomes the protagonist of the third
and final generation depicted in the novel. Like her mother, Ursula is a fiercely independent
child. Indeed, through the many similarities shared between the generations of the Brangwen
family, Lawrence demonstrates that our personalities are shaped to a large extent by our
families and the way in which we are raised.

Yet, Ursula is in some ways quite different from her forebearers. She is a distinctly modern
woman, who desires “to take her place in the world” (381). She is the first Brangwen woman
to find work outside of the home, she participates in the suffragette movement, and she has
a lesbian relationship with one of her teachers. Through Ursula, Lawrence demonstrates
both the progress that has been made for women’s rights and the incredible difficulty that
women still face in a “tyrannical man-world” (381).

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As a young woman, Ursula engages in a relationship with the son of her parents' friends,
Anton Skrebensky. Anton is a soldier who, in his fervent support of the state, is a
representation of British colonialism. Over several years, Ursula and Anton share a
passionate romance filled with scenes so steamy that the novel was deemed a scandal and
banned in Britain for a decade. Yet unlike her mother and grandmother, Ursula prioritizes her
personal freedom and rejects proposals from both Anton and from another man named
Anthony.

As the novel draws to a conclusion, Ursula fears that she is pregnant with Anton’s child. In a
state of panic, she writes to Anton, now stationed in India, and finally agrees to marry him.
He reveals that he has married another woman, causing Ursula to fall into a state of
depression. The novel then ends on an optimistic note as Ursula sees a rainbow forming and
is granted a renewed hope in “new growth, rising to the light and the wind and the clean rain
of heaven” (459). Many of the themes and characters in The Rainbow are developed further
in the sequel to the novel, Women in Love, which was published in 1920.

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