The Rainbow: Metaphors 15 key examples

Living on his family's farm, Tom is both fascinated by the world beyond the village where he was raised but is also reluctant to leave Cossethay. During his brief trip to Matlock, Tom is attracted to the woman, whose sexually assertive manner strikes him as new and modern, but he is even more interested in her husband, whose status as a foreigner pushes Tom to think of the world beyond the daily routines of his small village. Lawrence writes that this couple "set fire to the homestead of his nature," leaving him "burned out of cover."

Here, Lawrence's metaphor emphasizes the impact that this brief encounter with the couple has on Tom. If Tom is mentally bound to the "homestead" of his family farm, then they "set fire" to this image and force him to confront the world. Throughout the novel, Tom is captivated by foreigners who give him some glimpse of lands far from Cossethay, including Lydia, the Polish woman he later marries. 

Here, "She" refers to Mrs. Brangwen but also to the women of the family in general. Living in a rural area, she has little relationship to that "far-off world of cities and governments," which she regards as being as distant as a "magic land." While the men of her family "face inwards," focusing on the land upon which they work, the women "faced outwards" to the world, yearning to get a closer look at the new, more modern world emerging in Britain's cities and urban environments. Here, Lawrence's metaphor uses the notion of looking either toward or away from the outer world in order to describe the contrasting attitudes held by the Brangwen men and women toward modernity.

Here, "She" refers both to Mrs. Brangwen but also to the women of the family in general. "She" is not fully satisfied by the family's isolated life in a rural farm, instead looking out toward "the activity of man in the world at large." Lawrence uses a series of metaphors related to warfare in order to express the longing felt by the Brangwen women for greater connection to the world beyond the farm. The women, he writes, "strained her eyes to see what man had done in fighting outwards to knowledge." Here, advances in science, technology, the arts, and other arenas of cultural accomplishment are described, metaphorically, as a war or act of "conquest," a "battle" taking place in some far off place. The Brangwen women, despite the lack of opportunities available to women in Britain in the 19th century, long to "be a part of the fighting host," or in other words, hope to participate in cultural transformations of modernity. Throughout the novel, Lawrence contrasts the familiar comforts of traditional rural life with new, more "modern" ways of living. 

In the early days of his marriage, Tom is struck both by contrasting feelings: he feels, simultaneously, transformed by the presence of Lydia and her daughter Anna in his life and home, while also struggling with the emotional distance between them. He feels, Lawrence writes, like he has been blinded by a strong light and, also, that some force "like a secret power" connects him to Lydia, transforming them both. These similes all underscore Tom's sense that a rapid and profound change has come to his life. Further, Lawrence writes that Tom "went about in a daze," stuck in a state of "metamorphosis," in a manner "like a creature evolving to a new birth." Throughout this passage, these various similes and metaphors exaggerate Tom's sense that he has been transformed by marriage, hyperbolically suggesting that he has been reborn in a new form. 

Here, Lawrence describes the feelings of the men of the family when they return home after a busy day. Where the Brangwen women are curious about the world beyond the family farm, the men, who work directly with the land, have little interest in the outside world. They return home feeling "impregnated with the day," a metaphor that suggests that their bodies bear the physical marks of their difficult work. Additionally, this metaphor conveys a deep sense of satisfaction. In their daily work, the men interact with "cattle and earth and vegetation and the sky," and their senses are suffused with the richness of the natural world, leaving them with little need for further stimulation.

A more mature Lydia looks back ambivalently on her first marriage to Paul Lensky. The narrative characterizes him as "a fire-eater," a metaphor that suggests that he was willing to accept risks and danger in the pursuit of Polish nationalism. Additionally, Lawrence, using hyperbole, writes that Lydia was "obliterated" by the passion of her husband, who worked himself to the bone "till nothing lived in him but his eyes." These exaggerated statements suggest that Lensky was entirely swept up in his political ideals, sacrificing both health and security for the cause of Polish independence.

In contrast, Lydia "followed him like a shadow," a simile that underscores her loyalty to her husband but also suggests that she was animated by personal loyalty rather than political beliefs. Later, Lydia feels that her marriage to Paul was a dangerous and costly mistake. 

After the deaths of two of her children and her husband, Lydia enters a daze-like state as she attempts to adjust to her new life in England. Her first assignment as a nurse is to attend to "an old rector in his rectory by the sea," a development in Lydia's life that Lawrence describes as "the first shake of the kaleidoscope." This metaphor, drawn from a colorful optical instrument frequently used as a children's toy, suggests that Lydia's life has been shaken up and is slowly shifting into new patterns. Using vibrant imagery, Lawrence describes the "green and silver and blue in the air" as Lydia attends to the elderly rector in his home near the ocean. This imagery corresponds to the previous metaphor, emphasizing the bursts of color viewed through a kaleidoscope. Lydia, then, experiences her new life as a kaleidoscopic flash of colors, but she also feels distant and remote from those around her. 

Though Tom and Lydia are occasionally close and treat each other with tenderness, Lydia often falls into a state of depression and detachment. Though Tom would be happy to give his wife "all his love, all his passion, all his essential energy," she is not yet open to this kind of emotional and physical closeness. In order to give "some sort of course to his troublesome current of life," Tom diverts "a part of his stream of life" to Anna, "relieving the main flood to his wife."

In this metaphor, then, Lawrence imagines Tom's capacity for love and affection as an overflowing river. Just as the strength and volume of a river might be reduced by creating channels or alternate routes for water, so too is Tom able to channel his energy and emotions to Anna. Ultimately, Tom develops a closer relationship to Anna than to his own sons with Lydia, though she later hurts him deeply by suggesting that she does not truly view him as her father.

Here, the narration reflects Anna's own somewhat exaggerated perception of Will as "the only reality in her world," a hyperbolic claim that highlights both Anna's obsession with Will and also her own immaturity. Lawrence adds that, to Anna, "there was this one tense, vivid body of a man, and then many other shadowy men," a metaphor that suggests that Anna only has eyes for Will, regarding other men as insignificant and insubstantial, like shadows. Will is, to Anna, the "centre of reality," a "rock" from which "the very fountain of life flowed," and she is, in contrast, "a flame that consumed him." These metaphors, drawn from the natural world, again underscore the central role that Will assumes in Anna's life. Ultimately, theirs is a tempestuous marriage marked by both conflict and passion. 

Anna is unmoved by Will's attempt to assert his rights as "man of the house," noting that Tom, her step-father, exhibited strength quietly. Though Will feels ashamed of his own attempts to "steer the ship of their dual life," he nevertheless continues to insist upon his "position as the captain of the ship," hoping to "loom important as master of one of the innumerable domestic craft that make up the great fleet of society." Will imagines the various families in the nation as individual ships in a gigantic "fleet" of ships, each captained by the husband and father. These nautical metaphors, then, reflect Will's outdated belief in traditional gender roles.

In contrast, Anna, who embraces "modern" ideas, perceives this metaphorical "fleet" as nothing but "a ridiculous armada of tubs jostling in futility," an image that mocks Will's patriarchal vision. These differences in their ideals become a source of consistent strain in Will and Anna's relationship.

Previously, Anna grew bored with Will's attempts to enforce traditional morality, religion, and gender roles upon their household. In this scene, she intuits that Will has, in some way, overcome his own prohibitions and now approaches her with undisguised sexual interest. She welcomes this change, accepting that he is "blossoming out into his real self," a metaphor that suggests that Will has overcome some immature stage and can now confront his desires more openly. She, too, feels "liberated" by what she perceives as a new "game" between them, meeting his "cruel smile" with a "brilliant challenge" of her own.

Ultimately, Anna refuses to meet Will's expectation that she would "keep the moral fortress," a metaphor that imagines traditional morality as a castle, one that Anna would happily surrender rather than defend. Through these metaphors, then, Lawrence depicts a marked shift in the nature of Will and Anna's relationship. Though they have abandoned a more traditional and idealized form of love, both now feel emboldened to use each other as sources of sexual pleasure. 

When he finds that his equipment has been played with by the younger children, he insults Ursula and hits her across the face with a towel. Anna rebukes Will for his cruelty but he insists upon the righteousness of his actions. When she retreats to cry in private, Ursula perceives that her father recognizes her sensitivity to his insults and deliberately "wanted to hurt her." Lawrence writes that Ursula's "heart burnt in isolation, like a watchfire lighted," language that underscores the intensity of her private feelings.

Though Ursula later makes up with her father, the "seed of mistrust and defiance" has been planted. Through this metaphor, Lawrence suggests that Ursula begins to harbor a private feeling of rebellion after this incident. "The fire of mistrust and defiance," Lawrence adds, "burned away her connection with him." Through this densely metaphorical language of sees and fires, Lawrence underscores the permanent shift in Ursula's once-close relationship to her father and foreshadows Ursula's later rebellion against the traditional values defended by her father. Indeed, Ursula later embraces "modern" ideals, choosing science over religion and personal independence over marriage. 

Though Maggie has many modern and progressive ideas regarding religion, gender, and sexuality, Ursula remains hesitant to acknowledge to Maggie her own past relationship with a woman. Previously, while she was still a student, Ursula began a same-sex relationship with a teacher named Winifred Inger. Later, she felt herself growing distant from Winifred and introduced her to her uncle, Tom Brangwen Jr., whom Winifred later marries.

Now, Ursula considers her time with Winifred to be "a secret side-show to her life," a metaphor that suggests that Ursula thinks of her past relationship as a minor diversion in the story of her life, much as a "side show" is just a small warm-up act in a carnival or circus. She also thinks of that past relationship as a "closed door," a metaphor that conveys a clear sense of permanence in her separation from Winifred. Nevertheless, it is clear that she has unresolved feelings about Winifred, as she feels that she lacks the "strength" to even think about her. 

During her own school days, Ursula was free-spirited, independent, and even rebellious. As a teacher, she first hopes to help foster the individualism of her students. She is quickly disillusioned, however, when she learns how difficult it is to embody these ideas while controlling a class of 50 students. "The children," Lawrence writes with a clear sense of situational irony, "were her masters." Because of her inexperience, then, she "deferred" to her students, though as a teacher, she should be leading and directing them.

While she attempts to control her own classroom, she can hear Mr. Brunt, another teacher at the school, speaking to his students "like a machine," a simile that emphasizes Mr. Brunt's experience but also what Lawrence regards as the "inhuman" and repetitive aspects of this form of education. As she begins to feel increasingly overwhelmed, Ursula perceives her students as a "squadron," or a unit of soldiers. Through this military metaphor, then, Lawrence highlights the increasingly oppositional stance Ursula assumes toward her students.  

Throughout the novel, Lawrence draws from the natural world in order to describe the inner lives of his characters. Here, Ursula sees a mental image of "acorns in February lying on the floor of a wood with their shells burst and discarded." She perceives herself, metaphorically, as a "naked, clear kernel thrusting forth the clear and powerful shoot." Extending this metaphor, she imagines that she has just left the difficult "winter" of her life and, like an acorn, is ready to leave behind the "shell" of her previous life in order to come into her own, authentic life. Despite all of the difficulties she has faced, including her previous state of indecision, this metaphor reflects the growing optimism that she feels about her future in the final pages of the novel.