Key themes
- Modern alienation and the search for a different kind of connection
- Gerald Crich as the embodiment of industrial will — and its death
- Whether love between equals is possible in the modern world
About this book
Two sisters, Ursula and Gudrun Brangwen, form intense relationships with Rupert Birkin and Gerald Crich respectively in a Midlands mining community. Lawrence's most ambitious and controversial novel probes the nature of love, power and modern alienation — and asks whether genuine human connection is possible in an industrialised, dying world.
Written during the First World War (1916) but published in 1920, Women in Love was immediately controversial for its sexuality and its apparent nihilism. It is now considered Lawrence's masterpiece.
Discussion questions
- Birkin seeks a relationship of 'star equilibrium' with Ursula — something different from conventional love and possession. What does Lawrence mean by this — and does the novel achieve it?
- Gerald and Gudrun's relationship spirals toward destruction while Birkin and Ursula's moves toward something like resolution. What is Lawrence saying through this contrast?
- The chapter 'Gladiatorial' — in which Gerald and Birkin wrestle — is one of the most discussed in modern fiction. What is Lawrence exploring in this scene?
- Lawrence's writing is often described as prophetic — warning of the direction modern industrial civilisation is taking. Do the novel's diagnoses feel relevant now?
- Women in Love is Lawrence's most ambitious and most contested novel. What do you think it achieves — and where, if anywhere, does it fail?
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