Women In Love

How do class dynamics influence the characters’ relationships with one another and their views about marriage?

What is the symbolic significance of Diana’s death by drowning in the lake in Chapter 14? What does her death reveal about the Crich family?

Violence erupts between multiple characters at various points in the novel. Examine three episodes of violence and discuss how they relate to themes of gender, power, and sexuality.

Loerke is German and a possible romantic partner for Gudrun despite the fact that England was at war with Germany during World War I. How do politics and nationality affect the characters’ relationships in Women in Love?

In The Rainbow, Ursula has a romantic relationship with a woman. How does this complicate the presentation of female/female and male/male relationships in Women in Love? Does Ursula’s concept of love change over the course of the two novels?

How do the locations of England’s Midlands and the Tyrolean Alps contrast in depictions of culture and industrialization?

Rupert has many beliefs that are paradoxical or at odds with one another. Choose one such set of beliefs and discuss how he rationalizes his opposing beliefs. By the end of the novel, does he resolve any of his internal conflicts?

Women in Love was the subject of an obscenity trial in England, and its publication was delayed due to its depictions of sex and sexuality. What specific issues did critics and publishers have with the novel, and why was it considered so controversial?