# IX: Coal-Dust explained — Women in Love

> Chapter companion for Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence.

## What happens

Gudrun Brangwen is drawn to the dark, sensual atmosphere of the mining town Beldover, feeling a nostalgic ache for its powerful, underworld men. She walks the streets with Palmer, an electrician, both fascinated by the colliers. Later, at a railway crossing, Gerald Crich forces his terrified mare to stand as a colliery train passes, displaying his will to power and cruelty, which both fascinates and horrifies Gudrun and Ursula.

## Themes in this chapter

### Industrialization and Modernity

The mining town is portrayed as a world of powerful, half-automatised colliers and machinery, with the train and electricians symbolizing industrial progress.

### Male-Female Polarity and Power

Gerald's domination of the mare mirrors his will to power over the feminine, while Gudrun's fascination with the colliers and Palmer reflects a complex attraction to male force.

### Nature vs. Civilization

The mare, a natural creature, is terrorized by the mechanical train, and Gerald's forcing of her will represents the imposition of human/civilized control over nature.

## Character check-ins

### Gudrun Brangwen

Feels a potent, half-repulsive attraction to the mining district and its men; walks the streets with Palmer, experiencing a nostalgia for the place.

### Ursula Brangwen

Present with Gudrun at the railway crossing; cries out in protest at Gerald's treatment of the mare.

### Gerald Crich

Rides a red Arab mare to the crossing; forces the terrified horse to stand as the train passes, displaying a glistening, half-smiling look of fixed amusement.

### Palmer

An electrician introduced under Gerald's scheme; walks with Gudrun on Friday evenings, sharing her nostalgia for the colliers but remaining cold and impersonal.

## Key lines

> It has a foul kind of beauty, this place

Gudrun finds the mining town ugly yet strangely beautiful and fascinating.

_Gudrun expresses her conflicted attraction to Beldover's industrial squalor._

> He bit himself down on the mare like a keen edge biting home, and forced her round.

Gerald exerted intense, sharp pressure on the mare to compel her obedience.

_Describes Gerald's cruel determination to dominate the terrified horse._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/women_in_love_se/chapters/ix-coal-dust
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/women_in_love_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/women_in_love_se/chapters