How Green Was My Valley

The chapel in the Valley is built by the community and, Huw’s father Gwilym insists, will be ready in time for the wedding between Ivor and Bronwen. Everyone wears new suits and Bronwen is married in her great-grandmother’s dress. The celebration afterward includes vast quantities of food as everyone brings “something made special” (17). Huw and his friend Cedric sit beneath a table and gorge themselves on food. Huw wins a foot race and a singing competition. He inherits his singing talents from his father, who nicknames him “the family soloist” (19). The next in the family to get married is Huw’s older brother Ianto, who gets married in a different town and moves away. Huw’s brother Davy is the most intelligent brother, but he is not able to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor. He becomes miserable as the wages for the men who work in the local mine are cut. The economic outlook for local people is bleak, he believes. Davy’s warnings are proved correct. His father Gwilym is a “kind of leader” (21) among the miners and he announces to Davy that the men are planning to strike in response to their dwindling wages. The men strike for months. As money becomes incredibly tight, the men finally agree to go back to work even as they accept that their wages must be cut. As the men wake up and head to work, they sing hymns while they march through the street.

Huw attends school in a little house near the village. The school is run by Mrs. Tom Jenkins; Tom is unable to work after being “burnt by molten iron” (23) so his wife teaches to earn money. She teaches children to help mankind and helps Huw to think about the nature of existence. He wants to live his life “in a decent manner” (25). On the day the men go back to work after the strike, the company takes away the hut that allowed Gwilym to shelter from the rain. Davy is infuriated and he argues with his father in favor of a larger strike. Huw and his brother Gwilym Jr. overhear the argument, learning that Davy wants to “fight against the bloody English” (27) who make up the management. Huw’s father Gwilym believes that Davy’s socialist beliefs are not feasible, but his brother Gwilym Jr. tends to agree with his older brother. The young Huw grows close to Bronwen, who nicknames him “the Old Man” (28). She encourages Huw’s rebellious attitude and assures him that Davy is trying “to make things better his own way” (29).

Huw asks his father about Davy, but Gwilym tells Huw to focus on his studies. Mervyn Ellis, one of Huw’s best friends, tells Huw about “some plot or other” (30) that is being led by Davy. For months, men from the surrounding valleys have been meeting. Huw sneaks out of bed at night and attends one of these meetings with Mervyn. They see a crowd of hundreds of men listening to Davy’s speech. Huw runs home and tries to sneak back into his bedroom, but his father catches him. Gwilym makes Huw dry his wet clothes and clean the mess he has left on the floor. In the future, Gwilym says, he should think of his mother before he goes chasing after Davy.

The next day, Huw’s mother Beth is “quiet and worried” (36) when he returns from school. Gwilym and Davy have argued, he learns, and Davy has moved out to live with his friends in Mrs. Benyon’s lodging house. Huw’s brother Owen is a quiet, industrious boy. Owen interrupts his father to describe the miners as “fools” (37) for working in such terrible conditions and insists that he will speak out against anything he sees as wrong, despite his father’s insistence that he should learn manners. Owen and Gwilym Jr. argue with their father and leave the house to be with Davy. Gwilym allows them to leave. Only Ivor and Huw remain of the male children. The memory of Beth crying is burned into Huw’s memory. His sisters Angharad and Ceridwen cry as well. Angharad wants to leave with the boys. Gwilym leaves Beth to deal with the daughter. Huw and his father go for a walk. They catch trout and Huw notices that they are near the place where Davy held the meeting of the men. Huw convinces his father to walk nearer the place, whereupon they spot “a big crowd of men” (43). Davy invites his father Gwilym to talk; Huw finds a place to watch. Gwilym gives a speech, saying that he agrees with the men’s objectives but he believes that they are “wrong in [their] ways” (45) of achieving them. A man in the crowd points to Huw as an example of the people who will suffer if they do not act. Gwilym quietly leaves with Huw, and, when they are far enough away, they sit on a rock together. Huw’s father talks about his sadness regarding the “ugliness and hate and foolishness” (47) of the modern, ungodly world. They return home and find Beth sitting alone in the quiet kitchen. Angharad has gone to support her brothers, Beth says. While Gwilym goes to talk to her, Huw assures his mother that he will “never leave this house” (49) unless she sends him away. Gwilym returns with Angharad, who tells Beth about the holes in her sons’ clothing. Angharad admits to Huw that she has sided with her brothers against her father, even though she has returned home. Huw cannot understand why his father is wrong to suggest that the men pray for help rather than “making the old owners give them it” (50). Beth arranges for the sons to return home. Since they are all grown men now, she explains, they will share the bedroom and Huw—since he is so young—will sleep in the back of the kitchen. Huw listens to his brothers’ return. He hears his father talk and explain that he is proud of Davy and his sons, though he does not agree with them. He will allow them to return on the condition that they all regard themselves as lodgers in the house, him included.

After the conflict between Gwilym and his sons finds something of a resolution, there is “peace in the house for a time” (54), though the atmosphere is more serious and less familial. Though Davy brings more and more people in support of his miners’ union, Gwilym refuses to join. They argue often. Learning that Gwilym is against the union, the English owners offer him a promotion. This makes him “one of the most important men in the village” (56), but the neighbors believe that he has sided with the owners against the other workers. Gwilym is quietly horrified that anyone would believe that he is not loyal. Beth tries to speak to Davy, asking him to vouch for his father. Davy has now amassed a union of nearly 20,000 miners, he says, and he cannot stand in the way of their unity. The matter brings about a division between Davy and Ivor, who remains loyal to his father. Beth asks Huw to take her to one of the men’s meetings while Gwilym is working a late shift. She speaks to the gathered men, calling them “a lot of cowards” (61) for believing that Gwilym would ever go against them. She swears vengeance against them if they ever do anything to hurt her husband. Huw leads her back home in the dark. He slips and falls, passing out. When he recovers, he insists on leading his mother again through the snow and wind. As they walk, Beth collapses. Since he cannot lift her, he drags her to the nearby path where he waits for the older men. When Beth nearly slips into the river, Huw must jump into the freezing water to keep her safe. Eventually, Davy finds them as Huw falls into the river.

Huw wakes up in his house. He has lost his voice and cannot call out. The sound of Bronwen’s voice brings him back to his senses. The doctor arrives. He is amazed that Huw has recovered so quickly and praises him for saving his mother. Huw’s father Gwilym tells Huw that he is “very proud” (67) of him. Huw has trouble with his legs, and he cannot move properly. He will spend the next five years in the bed, which gives him “plenty of time to think” (67). Bronwen nurses him back to health. He reads books, including the Bible. He writes letters for Davy, so learns “all about matters concerning the Union” (69) and the problems the miners face. After three years in bed, Huw wins two guineas in a local handwriting competition. Davy offers him payment for writing letters for the union. As he is nursed by Bronwen, Huw does not realize that he is falling in love with her, his sister-in-law. Owen falls in love with a local woman named Marged, who comes to help the family after Beth gives birth to a baby named Olwen. Owen is an engineer who works on a machine to cut coal more efficiently. Laying in his bed, Huw overhears a conversation between Owen and Marged. He confesses that he loves her, and they kiss. Their conversation is interrupted by Beth, who shouts down a conversation to the bedbound Huw. Later, Owen and Marged keep their confessions quiet, but Huw notices their loving glances. Gwilym Jr. organizes a party to celebrate his mother getting up from her bed. During the celebrations, Huw is introduced to the new village preacher, Mr. Gruffydd, who promises to visit him often. The cheering, singing revelers welcome Beth back to the house. She reunites with Huw. As people eat and inspect the redecorated house, they are interrupted by the sound of an argument. Marged’s father shouts at Owen, furious about Owen’s love for his daughter. The argument is quickly resolved. As the men drink and sing later into the night, Owen is “not to be found” (88).

Days later, Bronwen speaks to Owen. He has been quiet recently, and, Huw believes, Marged and Beth have both seemed “unhappy” (88). An emotional Marged confronts Owen and Bronwen. Owen admits that he is “not in love with [Marged] after everybody had a hand in the courting” (90). Bronwen takes Marged away to comfort her. Later, Marged disappears for some time and her father is furious. When they hear about Owen falling out of love, Huw’s parents are furious. Instead of Owen, Gwilym Jr. marries Marged in a small ceremony. They live in another valley and receive little support from Marged’s father. Owen stays away and spends time with his inventions. As the Union gains more power, Huw’s education continues with the help of Reverend Gruffydd. He encourages Huw to be faithful to God. That Christmas, most of the family are away. Reverend Gruffydd joins Huw’s family on Boxing Day. They sing carols in the family kitchen and many people from the village soon join. The evening is interrupted by the arrival of Elias the Shop. The shopkeeper pushes his way to the front of the crowd and decries Gwilym for profaning “the holy days” (95). Gwilym makes jokes and deals with the accusation in a diplomatic manner. Elias, Huw notes, will never forget this auspicious night.