The Rainbow
A 1915 novel by D. H. Lawrence follows three generations of the Brangwen family as their relationships change amid social and personal transformation.
Brangwen family: A fictional English family whose members anchor D. H. Lawrence’s novels The Rainbow and Women in Love. Three generations of Brangwens carry the novel’s exploration of changing intimacy and identity.
Generational saga: A narrative spanning multiple generations of a family and tracing change across time. The novel links three Brangwen generations to show shifting forms of love and independence.
Edwardian era: The period of British history associated with Edward VII’s reign, from 1901 to 1910. The novel’s earlier generations inhabit social conventions inherited from this period.
Sons and Lovers: A 1913 novel by D. H. Lawrence about Paul Morel’s family ties and emotional development. Its concentrated autobiographical family story contrasts with The Rainbow’s three-generation scope.
D. H. Lawrence: An English novelist, poet, and essayist whose works examine sexuality, industrial society, and human relationships. His literary interests shape the novel’s treatment of desire, family, and modernity.
Ursula Brangwen: A fictional character in D. H. Lawrence’s The Rainbow and Women in Love, the eldest daughter of Will and Anna Brangwen. Her search for education, work, and sexual self-determination gives the final generation its focus.
First World War: A global war fought from 1914 to 1918, involving the Allied and Central Powers. The novel appeared during the war, though its narrative centers on prewar family change.
Victorian novel: A novel written during Queen Victoria’s reign, often shaped by social realism and moral convention. The Rainbow inherits the family novel’s social canvas while challenging its sexual reticence.
Modernism: A broad artistic movement that challenged inherited forms and conventions in response to modern life. The novel’s shifting perspectives and unconventional treatment of sexuality connect it to modernist fiction.
Anna Brangwen: A fictional character in The Rainbow, the daughter of Lydia Lensky and wife of Will Brangwen. Her marriage dramatizes the struggle between individual will and intimacy.