Women in Love

The locomotive, as if wanting to see what could be done, put on the

brakes, and back came the trucks rebounding on the iron buffers,

striking like horrible cymbals, clashing nearer and nearer in frightful

strident concussions. The mare opened her mouth and rose slowly, as if

lifted up on a wind of terror. Then suddenly her fore feet struck out,

as she convulsed herself utterly away from the horror. Back she went,

and the two girls clung to each other, feeling she must fall backwards

on top of him. But he leaned forward, his face shining with fixed

amusement, and at last he brought her down, sank her down, and was

bearing her back to the mark. But as strong as the pressure of his

compulsion was the repulsion of her utter terror, throwing her back

away from the railway, so that she spun round and round, on two legs,

as if she were in the centre of some whirlwind. It made Gudrun faint

with poignant dizziness, which seemed to penetrate to her heart.

'No--! No--! Let her go! Let her go, you fool, you FOOL--!' cried

Ursula at the top of her voice, completely outside herself. And Gudrun

hated her bitterly for being outside herself. It was unendurable that

Ursula's voice was so powerful and naked.

A sharpened look came on Gerald's face. He bit himself down on the mare

like a keen edge biting home, and FORCED her round. She roared as she

breathed, her nostrils were two wide, hot holes, her mouth was apart,

her eyes frenzied. It was a repulsive sight. But he held on her

unrelaxed, with an almost mechanical relentlessness, keen as a sword

pressing in to her. Both man and horse were sweating with violence. Yet

he seemed calm as a ray of cold sunshine.

Meanwhile the eternal trucks were rumbling on, very slowly, treading

one after the other, one after the other, like a disgusting dream that

has no end. The connecting chains were grinding and squeaking as the

tension varied, the mare pawed and struck away mechanically now, her

terror fulfilled in her, for now the man encompassed her; her paws were

blind and pathetic as she beat the air, the man closed round her, and

brought her down, almost as if she were part of his own physique.

'And she's bleeding! She's bleeding!' cried Ursula, frantic with

opposition and hatred of Gerald. She alone understood him perfectly, in

pure opposition.

Gudrun looked and saw the trickles of blood on the sides of the mare,

and she turned white. And then on the very wound the bright spurs came

down, pressing relentlessly. The world reeled and passed into

nothingness for Gudrun, she could not know any more.