Women in Love · Chapter
Flitting explained
Ursula and Gudrun discuss the impossibility of conventional marriage and domesticity, rejecting the idea of a 'little grey home in the west.' Birkin arrives and they move out of the empty house.
What happens
Ursula and Gudrun discuss the impossibility of conventional marriage and domesticity, rejecting the idea of a 'little grey home in the west.' Birkin arrives and they move out of the empty house. Gudrun feels torn between her desire for marriage with Gerald and her fear of being trapped. Later, Ursula announces she will marry Birkin the next day, provoking a violent confrontation with her father, after which she flees the house.
Themes in this chapter
Critique of Love and Marriage
The chapter explicitly critiques conventional marriage as a 'little grey home in the west' and explores the tension between freedom and domesticity.
Individual vs. Society
Ursula's defiant choice to marry on her own terms and flee her family exemplifies the struggle for individual autonomy against societal and familial expectations.
Male-Female Polarity and Power
The violent confrontation between Ursula and her father highlights patriarchal power dynamics, while Gudrun's ambivalence about Gerald reflects gendered expectations.
Characters to notice
- Ursula Brangwen
Rejects conventional marriage, joyfully announces her marriage to Birkin, and flees her father's house after a violent argument.
- Gudrun Brangwen
Ambivalent about marriage; envies Ursula's freedom but longs for stability with Gerald; feels unsatisfied and rootless.
- Rupert Birkin
Arrives to help with the flitting; his presence enlivens Ursula; supports the idea of freedom over domesticity.
- Gerald Crich
Mentioned as Gudrun's lover; suggested a group trip at Christmas, which Gudrun finds presumptuous yet appealing.
- Will Brangwen
Violently opposes Ursula's marriage announcement, strikes her, and is left defeated after she flees.
Key passages
“But with the ordinary man, who has his life fixed in one place, marriage is just impossible. There may be, and there are , thousands of women who want it, and could conceive of nothing else. But the very thought of it sends me mad . One must be free, above all, one must be free.”
For a man tied to a settled life, marriage is unthinkable; many women desire it, but the idea drives me insane—freedom is paramount.
Birkin expresses his rejection of conventional marriage as a constraint on personal freedom.
“The old idea of marriage was right even now—marriage and the home. Yet her mouth gave a little grimace at the words.”
Gudrun acknowledges that the traditional concept of marriage and home is still valid, but she cannot help feeling a bitter distaste for it.
Gudrun's internal conflict between desiring stability and rejecting domesticity.
“You only wanted to bully me—you never cared for my happiness.”
You only ever wanted to dominate me; you never truly cared about my well-being.
Ursula accuses her father of using authority to control rather than support her.