Plot

Jill Banford and Nellie March are two women nearly thirty who work on a farm, Baley Farm, in Blewbury (England); after Banford' s grandfather's death, they lost his help and decided to go on keeping the farm with fewer beasts.

While Banford deals with financial resources, March attends to manual labour: they frequently have to face difficulties, mainly provoked by scarcity of food connected to the War and by their not complete interest in farm work. However the worst problem is due to a fox which lurks in the neighbourhood and kills chickens; they try fruitlessly to catch or shoot at it: they are rather disconsolate about the farm future, nothing gives them ground for going on striving and their friendship is getting worse.

One day March sees the fox in a meadow and walks up to it: she is carrying a gun to kill it, but in the moment when the fox stares her eyes she feels fascinated, as if it dominated and bewitched her, and she can't shoot at it. In the following months March frequently thinks of the beast, tries to find it and her soul seems dominated by the image of the fox, like a witchcraft.

One evening in November March and Banford, sat in the sitting room, hear a footstep: a young man, Henry Grenfel, enters the house believing it is still owned by his grandfather; he tells that after some years in Canada as a soldier he has decided to return home. At first the women are afraid of him, but after listening to his story they welcome him; the day after Henry convinces them to house him for some weeks and he promises to return by helping them in farm works.

At the beginning Banford is really hospitable and gentle with the man, while March doesn't feel at easy: on the contrary she feels the same emotions the fox has aroused in her: as a result she associates Henry to the animal. Henry is actually interested in taking possession of the farm and he decides to seduce March and marry her in order to own a part of the estate.

During his stay at the farm he is very curious (he observes and listens to the women's dialogue) and shows particular attention to March, seducing her. One afternoon he finally proposes March to become his wife, but she considers it a fool proposal; Henry insists and seduces her making her doubt. After dinner he insists again and tries to kiss her: such manners induce the woman to say yes.

The day after Henry informs Banford of their decision: she is very disappointed and doesn't agree with March's decision; Banford tries to dissuade March, telling her Henry is only interested in the farm possession and he will abandon her, and she obviously provokes Henry's hate against her.

After the killing of the fox thanks to the youth, Henry begins to settle the marriage and other future projects: he wants to go back to Canada, but only after marrying March; after that they will leave England towards America together or separately. March seems more and more doubtful because of Banford's invitation to be prudent: it follows that an aversion grows between Henry and Banford. The man doesn't want to be defeated, also because he feels a profound love passion towards March, even if he blames her for her slavish behaviour towards Banford.

The struggle between the man and Banford seems to end in favour of Henry who one evening convinces March to marry him, and doesn't let her comfort Jill.

The morning after he leaves Blewbury to the military camp in Salisbury Plain; at the same time March sends him a letter saying she has made a mistake: she actually loves Banford and wants to remain with her, she can't marry him.

Henry returns to the farm in order to make her change of mind: he provokes Banford's death by falling a tree; March is now alone and impressionable by Henry. They finally get married, but their life together is not joyful, they both feel unsatisfied; they therefore hope to reach Canada as soon as possible believing that their marriage will improve over there.

Setting

The story is set in 1918 in England; most of the events happen on the Baley Farm, near Blewbury, but a sequence in the last part of the novel is set in the military camp in Salisbury Plain and the conclusion is set in Cornwall, in a village near the coast.

The chronological setting is significant mainly in the first part, where there is a clear reference to the War and to consequent difficult conditions of life, that influence the women's management of the farm; moreover the reader may understand March's insecurity and sense of inner loss considering the cultural dimension during the Modern Age (absence of points of reference, loss of previous tenets...).

As for the place, the events are set in a farm among wide meadows and far from the town crowd: the protagonists live their struggles in isolation, as if they couldn't escape from one another or received help by other people; moreover the wild hostile aspect of the surrounding woods and meadows reflects hostility between them and the difficulties, also new and mysterious, they have to face.

It follows that the spatial setting may be considered an external, natural, concrete  replication of one's inwardness and the story may be considered a metaphor for an inner struggle in front of a choice: March's pondering can be interpreted as a conflict between her rationality (represented by Banford) and her passion (represented by Henry). 

Characters

At first Banford's and March's characterization provides information about their activities, roles in managing the farm and physical aspects. They seem to lack femininity, because they both attend to masculine works: Jill deals with financial resources and Nellie applies herself in carpentry and joinery; moreover March's body appears as a man's one (strong shoulders and strength), but her face is typically feminine. Their similarity to men refers to their aspiration to be independent and to lead their lives how they will without being bounded and limited by husbands or by other men (especially after Jill's grandfather's death): they manage the farm in the conviction that life shouldn't be only work. However they know that the estate is their only possession: it follows that they live heifers' escape or the fox presence with a lot of anxiety.

Just from the start readers understand they are rather different; while March is the physical force in the farm, Banford deals with abstract affairs (money). Such a difference refers to the main one: Jill is very rational and sees facts in a clear way, while March is more sensitive, passionate, frequently dominated by the unconscious and by the instinct. For example the story leaves room to March's dreams (dreams symbolize one's unconscious): their presence emphasizes her attitude to be instinctual. Moreover Nellie is frequently described motionless, looking at the landscape or at the animals, without having a concrete connection with reality: in these moments she is absentminded, overcome by the unconscious, without knowing where she is or what she sees/hears, as if she were in another world. She lives the rapt state also in front of the fox, but with more intensity.

The fox represents the evil for the farm, an enemy to kill, something mysterious, fast, elusive and very shrewd; when March sees it she stops and feels fascinated and when the fox stares her eyes, she gets the impression it knows her and possesses her: she remains spellbound and she feels mastered by the animal, whose image enters her mind and dominates her unconscious. The idea of the fox becomes obsessive and provokes a frequent similar state of mind.

The effect the animal provokes can be understood by attributing it a metaphorical meaning: it is described as a contemptuous, shrewd, impudent but also fascinating animal; it may represents a danger, or something both attractive and negative, improper: rationally Nellie would consider it a hostile beast to kill, but instinctually she remains fascinated by it and can't react. The episode in front of the fox symbolizes the struggle rationality-passion Nellie will live in front of Henry: she associates him to the beast, since he arouses the same emotions provoked by the animal.

On the contrary Banford doesn't live Nellie's emotions, on the contrary when she calls and shakes Nellie from her rapt state, Jill represents rationality that calls Nellie back from her absence to the concrete reality.

The narrator describes the women's different reaction in front of the fox to anticipate the following similar experience with Henry; when he enters their house Jill and Nellie are both afraid of him, consider him dangerous and not reliable; in a second moment he is welcomed by Banford, while Nellie is still distrustful towards him; at the ned Banford can't stand him, while Nellie feels attracted by him, only constrained by her affection and sense of duty towards Jill.

The reader understands there is a transformation during time: at the end situation appear turned upside down if compared with the beginning.

When the boy arrives at the farm March feels nearly threatened by him: when they are together in the sitting room, she doesn't want to be observed by him and therefore she hides herself in the shadow; describing the way in which they speak and spend time together the narrator provides frequent references to light and dark to emphasise Nellie's attempt to be invisible and Henry's opposite attempt to see her. The shadow around March's body makes her an indefinite and obscure figure: it symbolizes the initial difficulties in the relationship with Henry, who doesn't know her and doesn't succeed in knowing her, because she retreats.

Since Henry is associated to the fox, he also appears shrewd, mocking and interested in keeping away something that the women possess; such characterization is mainly expressed indirectly, through references to his eyes, voice and face: the narrator frequently defines them soft, gentle, pleased, tender, grateful...; these adjectives are repeated so many times that readers understand they are only a facade, they correspond not to the boy's real nature but to his efforts to please and seduce the two women. His dishonesty can be perceived also considering the way he looks, eats (in a very rough way), laughs and his pressing questions about their farm (how they manage the estate, how they consider their work, what they are going to do in the future); he very often laughs at the women's speeches: the reader gets the impression he is pulling their legs and cheating them. Moreover he appears very satisfied and reveals a cunning smile when he obtains the possibility of quartering still in the farm.

Actually he wants to take possession of the farm: it follows that he is very curious and pays attention to Jill and Nellie, probably to discover how to screw them; the narrator frequently puts the focus on his eyes as if they dominated his body (the metonymy emphasises his attitude to observe); also the two girls' eyes (especially March's ones) are often described, in order to underline the effect Henry provokes on them, mainly on March. The association Henry-fox is conveyed also through the way he spends time: he likes going on hunting and walking through the woods, revealing his appeal to wild nature.

The relationship Henry-March is just from the start strange and nearly terrible: he looks at her avidly, as if he were only interested in having master on her; as a result March is spellbound, with dilated eyes and she is making efforts to keep her consciousness, that is to say she is already loosing her self-control and she is dominated by the man. This is the reason why she feels not at easy, especially when he acquires some positions similar to the fox (the way in which he looks at her and his colours are similar to the fox ones): the narrator often describes the man's glace and manners to underline the similarity. The focus is also put on the characters' voices: Henry's is soft and tender, typical of somebody seducing someone else, while Nellie's is laconic, plangent, distant and nonchalant and reveals her rapt state.

The narrator exploits a metaphor to explain Henry-Nellie relation: the man is associated to the fox, while March is described as a beast which takes refuge and hides itself in a cave; the images are very efficient in conveying Henry's power on March, so much strong that it overcomes the woman and compels her to be still and passive. Such a relation is possible because it is surrounded by silence, seducing glances, fascination and her inner loss.

Clear consequences appear in Nellie's behaviours in the sitting room, for example in her silence: most of the dialogues in the story are carried out by Jill and Henry, also when they speak about Nellie's decision to marry him: March seems not to be present in the room, but in her abstract world of the unconscious, while the other two characters discuss about her life pretending they are alone and they have to chose in place of her; March is passive, unable to take decisions and responsibilities by her own, she is always affected by another person's will as if she hadn't got enough strength to impose her choices: she seems not to have an individuality and therefore she is easily overcome by the others. During the discussion about the future marriage, March expresses her own doubts only because she is supported by her friend, otherwise she wouldn't have enough courage.

During the period he remains at Baley Farm, Henry feels attracted by March, a keen excitement he wants to keep hidden: his shrewd attitude not to show himself is a source of strength, because he doesn't give the women the occasion to understand his real intentions or his weaknesses. His frequent isolation among meadows and woods refers to his wild obscure intention to cheat them, in a shrewd, subtle, cruel way: the reader connotes him in such a manner when Henry decides to use March, by marrying her, to realize his plans to enrichment; this is the reason why he wants to master her, exploiting her vulnerability and fear, often resorting to his glance. Metaphorically, Henry's purpose consists in taking possession of what is shared by the two women, that is their friendship.

The negativity of his plan is conveyed through a metaphor, similar to the previous one, but much more eloquent about Henry's manners towards Nellie: he is a fierce animal that is going to attack and kill another beast (March); the image reveals a subtle battle: Henry hides his real purpose, masks his manners and he gradually takes dominance on the girl, like the shrewd fox which rounds on without being seen.

Nellie's dependence on the man is never total, but at the end of the story: it implies a frequent struggle in the woman who feels divided into two inclinations, that alternate in dominating her.

When the youth asks her to marry him, he speaks with a soft and subtle tone and insists a lot to destroy her doubts; Nellie, even if she considers the proposal a crock, feels afraid, lost, relaxed, without power, in a semiconscious and painful state, as if she had been killed; it is a clear clue about the power Henry is taking over her.

However Nellie is not convinced and she lives contradictory moments.

In the following days, Banford tries to convince her not to marry the boy: now Jill can't stand him, because he is impudent, he is not adequate if compared with the atmosphere in the sitting room and because she has realized he doesn't really love her and he is going to screw them. On the other side Henry goes on affecting Nellie, trough his suggestive voice, making the room darker (the juxtaposition light-dark refers to the power practiced by the man), insisting in his proposal, embracing her in a way not to leave her any outlet. His behaviour has to be considered in a metaphorical way: it stands for a strong love passion that one can't repress, while Banford's speeches symbolize the rational objective point of view.

After promising Henry to marry him, in a passionate moment, March seems to change her mind: even if she is still confused she agrees with Banford's invitation not to marry him before his leaving for Canada. The discussion represents a failure for Henry, who thinks the two women have formed a league against him. The episode is conveyed through an image, the fox's death: finally it will not disturb them longer; however when March sees its red delicate fur, she is fascinated by it, she is bemused with big vacant eyes in a unconscious state, nearly sorry for its death: her reaction may be interpreted as a remorse for having refused the man, revealing she is still attracted by him.

At the same time the aversion between Henry and Jill (struggle between passion and reason) has grown up: rationality is temporally stronger but feelings want to take revenge.

Passion reinforcement is expressed by the description of Nellie's dress during one evening: Henry, who has previously considered her shy, virgin, grim and shrew (also because of her tightened mouth), thinks she is now different, he feels more attracted, he feels a man with responsibilities as for his love relation with Nellie and for universal male destiny; the episode reveals a change in the youth, whose intentions are now guided by a real attraction and by a desire of possessing the female he has chosen (proud attitude). It follows that he succeeds in convincing Nellie to marry him before Christmas and in taking her away from Jill; Jill's weep reveals her failure, but also the conviction she is loosing a friend, with her affection. As a matter of fact Nellie's choice implies an exchange: she has to substitute her affection to Jill (that has previously been total) with her love to Henry. March finally agrees both because she thinks of the future and because she wants to reach peace and quietness, to end such a trouble by resigning herself to Henry. Her partitioning to passion is conveyed through her reaction in front of Henry's departure: she feels abandoned, as if she had lost a part of herself, she is unable to see anything else but his going away; at the same time she is confused, she can't put order among her thoughts and gets the impression she doesn't really knows him, as if she had not lived any experience with him.

It is clear that her previous certainties collapse and her passion is not established yet; Nellie is now totally affected by Jill's speeches and, as a result, she decides not to marry him. In the letter she writes to Henry, the reader understands what her passion implies: alongside Henry, she feels blind, as if she couldn't see reality in an objective way, as if she were in a fantastic world; on the contrary when she is with Jill she is objective, aware of herself and of her real future projects. It means that abandoning to love implies you have to lose some self-control, some authority on your life, because you have to rely also on the beloved person; on the contrary March wants to remain master of her life.

Henry's revenge and Jill's death symbolizes the conclusion of the struggle: finally March abandons her past affection and leaves room to her love passion, because her previous hesitation has collapsed.

The final part of the novel deals with Henry's and Nellie's inner condition after marriage: they are both pained by something.

Though his sense of victory after Jill's death and his conviction he is at last above March, Henry realizes that she is not totally abandoned to him: both of them wants to live together but she seems to be sad and unfree and therefore Henry is foiled.

March feels pressed as if she can't regenerate her soul after Banford's death: she is still bounded to her affection to her friend and doesn't succeed in giving her heart totally to Henry; she feels that her love is not still spontaneous, even if she strains. The obstacle is provoked by her usual behaviour: in past she has always taken responsibilities to improve reality, to make Jill more happy, while now she has to leave herself to her husband.

Even if she realizes that the search for happiness can't achieve the aim and therefore she has failed with Jill, she can't abandon herself to him: she wants to be an independent woman, she wants to be aware of anything, she wants to know, to watch, as if she hadn't a total faith in him (probably she still remembers Jill's device); on the other side she is tired of fighting and would like to rely on him.

On the contrary Henry wants her to be totally submerged by his love and subdued to him: he wants to take away her consciousness and her tension, letting them be only a male and a female.

Such contrast seems to come to a solution only by leaving England to Canada: they both hope to depart as soon as possible in the conviction that they will feel better over there; here the narrator describes a typical attitude among people who have to solve problems: they often believe that an external change or an escape will help them, without realizing they will always keep their inner nature.

Even if March doesn't seem so faithful she at last ends her attempts to be aware of anything, she realizes she can't establish anything about her future.

The conclusion hints at some future probable peace, but at the same time Henry's exclamation reveals that it is still far and they have still to wait and hope.

The short story mainly deals with the problems, inner conditions and behaviours that love implies: D.H. Lawrence was interested in investigating human natural instinct; he believed that the process of industrialization had weakened human spontaneity and feelings and it had encouraged people to privilege reason, logic and material wealthy instead of spontaneous behaviours. He wanted to exploit literature to revaluate senses and instincts.

The last part presents also the theme of happiness, providing a philosophical reflection about the human tension to become totally happy.

Narrator and narrative techniques

The narrator is a third-person omniscient narrator, who often clears actions and speeches up.

The short story is different if compared with XIX century novels: the events told follows a very slow rhythm, some of them are apparently trivial and not necessary in the economy of the narration, March and Banford are not presented with their biography or education or past experiences, the story requires readers' interpretation to understand what it means, which tenets it conveys, what consequences it determines for each character.

On the other side the narrator often helps the reader, making emotions, feelings, intentions explicit, exploiting traditional devices (such as the letter written by March) and putting some general reflections (for example the one about human happiness): it follows that he is sometimes perceivable and he guides readers' interpretation, although he doesn't impose one.

To convey the characters' inner motions, the narrator exploits the shift of the point of view: he enters their minds and builds free indirect speeches that reveal subjective reality; however the eclipse of the narrator is restricted to some specific sequences, while in the last part of the story he directly intervenes in the narration, referring to his contemporary reality (she felt the weary need of our day to exert herself in love): he refers to contemporary love conception, that is accompanied by the idea of endeavour rather then spontaneity and he seems to condemn it, accordingly to his idea of love and human emotions.

Events are told in past tenses, with physical descriptions of the characters and the landscape around the farm and frequent direct speeches; the focus is often put on the characters' eyes, voices, manners, faces, which become very eloquent about their emotions.

Natural descriptions are useful to convey emotions or inner status in a concrete way: D.H. Lawrence often resorted to natural life to explain the wordless working of human mind.

The rhythm is quite homogenous, even if some sequences are completely dedicate to thoughts and other ones speak about time passing month by month.