The Rainbow · Chapter
X: The Widening Circle explained
Ursula Brangwen begins attending the High School in Nottingham, where she is initially filled with idealistic excitement about learning and the refined atmosphere.
What happens
Ursula Brangwen begins attending the High School in Nottingham, where she is initially filled with idealistic excitement about learning and the refined atmosphere. However, she struggles with authority and her own imperfections, often rebelling against teachers and rules. At home, she bears the burden of being the eldest sibling, responsible for her younger sisters Gudrun, Theresa, and Catherine, as well as her brother Billy. The Brangwen girls engage in feuds and alliances with the local Phillips boys, though Ursula and Gudrun maintain a certain detachment. Gudrun is portrayed as dreamy and indifferent to reality, relying on Ursula, while Ursula feels constrained by her family duties and the constant threat of the 'commonplace' mob. Sunday provides a temporary escape, a day of freedom and domestic chaos that Ursula cherishes.
Themes in this chapter
Self-Discovery and Growth
Ursula's journey at the High School represents her quest for intellectual and personal perfection, though she struggles with her own imperfections and rebellion against authority.
Class and Social Mobility
The Brangwen girls' superior status at Marsh Farm and in the village school highlights class distinctions, with Ursula feeling the pressure of representing her family and aspiring to a higher social sphere.
Individual vs. Society
Ursula feels a constant threat from the 'commonplace' mob and authority, leading her to hide her true self to avoid attack, while Sunday offers a brief respite from societal pressures.
Characters to notice
- Ursula Brangwen
Ursula begins attending the High School, feeling both exhilarated by learning and burdened by her role as eldest sibling. She struggles with authority and fears being attacked by the 'commonplace' self.
- Gudrun
Gudrun is described as shy, quiet, and wild, living in her own fancies. She is indifferent to school and relies on Ursula for understanding, being content at home unlike her sister.
- Anna Brangwen
Anna is the mother, who maintains a dignified presence despite household chaos. She intervenes in the children's feuds and insists on proper behavior.
- Will Brangwen
Will is the father, whose voice rings out powerfully. He is exasperated by the cost of schooling but is a warm presence in the household.
- Theresa
Theresa is a sturdy, bold-eyed child who instigates feuds with the Phillips boys, particularly Billy Pillins.
- Billy Pillins
Billy Pillins is a freckled, red-haired boy who feuds with the Brangwen girls, especially Theresa, and is involved in the 'sweetheart' alliances.
- Clem Phillips
Clem Phillips is one of the Phillips boys who becomes Ursula's 'sweetheart' in the fictional alliances, but later jeers at her.
- Fred Brangwen
Fred (Billy) is the younger brother, a lovable, delicate child of three, who stays at home and is not yet in school.
Key passages
“She made a new illusion of school. Miss Grey, the headmistress, had a certain silvery, school-mistressy beauty of character. The school itself had been a gentleman’s house.”
Ursula romanticized the school, seeing the headmistress as elegant and the building as refined, like a gentleman's home.
Ursula's idealization of the High School reflects her desire for a perfect, elevated life.
“She was a free, unabateable animal, she declared in her revolts: there was no law for her, nor any rule. She existed for herself alone.”
In her rebellious moments, Ursula saw herself as a wild, untamed creature beyond any rules or laws.
Ursula's fierce individualism clashes with societal expectations, a key theme in the chapter.
“Gudrun was a shy, quiet, wild creature, a thin slip of a thing hanging back from notice or twisting past to disappear into her own world again.”
Gudrun was timid and elusive, often retreating into her own private fantasies.
Gudrun's character is contrasted with Ursula's, showing her detachment from reality.
“Wherever she was, at school, among friends, in the street, in the train, she instinctively abated herself, made herself smaller, feigned to be less than she was, for fear that her undiscovered self should be seen, pounced upon, attacked by brutish resentment of the commonplace, the average Self.”
Ursula constantly diminished herself in public to avoid being targeted by the resentment of ordinary people.
This fear of the 'commonplace' mob shapes Ursula's behavior and sense of isolation.
