How Green Was My Valley

Angharad returns to London. Ceridwen and Beth go to stay with her for some time. Gwilym misses Beth and writes to her about every minor event. Huw returns to a mine and takes on a 12-year-old apprentice. When the boy gets into a fight, Huw defends him. The other man references the gossip about Angharad, so Huw breaks his ribs, nose, and jaw. After work, Huw must talk to the police. He is fired and charged with assault and battery. Reverend Gruffydd visits, revealing that the police have been encouraged to press charges by Elias the Shop. The priest reveals that he is going away from the Valley. Huw and his father talk about the situation. Reverend Gruffydd plans to go to Patagonia, Argentina, Gwilym says, where there is a small community of Welsh speakers. Beth returns with news that Angharad will be travelling to South Africa to join her husband.

Huw appears in court with a solicitor. He has bid a tearful farewell to Bronwen, in case he is sent to prison, and he now understands the depths of her “loneliness” (384). The injured man comes to Huw and, speaking through his brother, apologizes for the situation. The case is quickly dismissed as the witnesses have withdrawn, but the prosecuting lawyer—hired by Elias—makes note of the rumors and gossip which were the catalyst for the fight, airing the scandal in public. Huw returns home. Later, Gwilym is summoned to a meeting of the chapel deacons. Huw learns the outcome of the meeting: the deacons have voted Reverend Gruffydd out of the chapel. Bronwen tells Huw to wait until the next day to speak to the priest.

Huw visits Reverend Gruffydd. He announces his immediate departure and gives Huw a watch, given to him by his father. Huw goes up the mountain to reflect and, by the time he returns, the priest has left. A quietness falls over the Valley. The fallout in the chapel means that the Morgans need a new place to pray. They set up a temporary church in a renovated stable and Gwilym leads the services and the songs. Over the coming months, the congregation grows, and the church is improved. Huw is invited to watch Dai Bando fight in a boxing match against a man named Big Shoni.

Huw leaves the quiet, peaceful home he shares with Bronwen and attends the boxing match. The loud, boisterous crowd seem to be baying for blood, Huw worries. Huw and Cynfartha sit in Dai’s corner in the fight against the massive opponent. The fight is brutal. Though he takes a savage beating, Dai knocks out Big Shoni. Huw helps to carry Dai out of the ring and then home, over the mountain. During the walk, Cynfartha frets that Dai’s injuries are too severe. Dai loses his sight at a result of the injuries. Dai and Cynfartha pool their savings and buy the local pub, with Cynfartha continuing to work in the mine and then working in the bar at night.

Huw works as a master carpenter. He remembers how two men made romantic advances toward Bronwen. Huw and Bronwen live together for many years, as her children grow up, but they never have a “serious talk” (401) about their situation. Huw thinks occasionally of Ceinwen, still, but he never pursues his wandering thoughts. One day, a man named Matty Harries asks Bronwen to marry him. Huw admits that the thought of Bronwen with another man seems wrong to him, but he cannot quite explain why. Huw and Bronwen can never marry, as the law prohibits a man from marrying his brother’s wife. Huw understands that Bronwen sees Ivor’s likeness in him and that she has never allowed herself to love him romantically for this reason, even though she knows that Huw loves her. As they talk about love, he confesses that he had sex with Ceinwen many years before. Bronwen admits that she wants to be with Huw, in spite of the law. She asks him whether he has ever had a desire to be a father, hinting as to whether he may have impregnated Ceinwen many years ago. Huw is shocked. Bronwen says she will think about Matt Harries’s proposal and Huw insists that he is not jealous. He claims that he cannot be with her out of respect for his brother’s memory, which makes Bronwen feel as though she is “a belonging” (408) rather than a person. She insists that she will marry nobody and goes to her bedroom, locking her door. Huw is hurt. Over the coming days, there is a bitter feeling between them. Matt Harries talks to Huw and, in a respectful manner, tells him about the gossip. Huw realizes how naïve he has been to believe that he could live in a house with a widowed woman for so long and not encourage people to believe that he and Bronwen were romantically involved. When he says this to Bronwen, she laughs. She has known for years.

After venturing up the mountain to collect his thoughts, Huw sees workmen building a new slag heap site right above the Valley. He worries that the slag heap will fall and destroy the village, but the foreman rubbishes his concerns. Huw complains to his father, but Gwilym says that “the slag must go somewhere” (411). The land for the slag heap was sold by Elias. The workers, Gwilym says, cannot afford to protest. Over time, Huw and his family have no choice but to watch the slag heap grow above their homes. One day, Davy complains that his wages are short. When he complains, he is told to stay away from work. He tries to sue the company even though the lawyers cost money. The lawyers encourage Davy and Gwilym to settle the case, but Gwilym insists on having justice. The company’s lawyers call the other miners as witnesses to claim that Davy is “incompetent” (413) and therefore not deserving of his wages. Davy shows his previous wage slips as proofs of his competency. The judge rules in his favor. People visit the Morgan house that night to celebrate. However, Gwilym and Beth know that their time in the mines is over. Davy plans to go to New Zealand while Ianto plans to go to Germany. The family gathers around to listen to Gwilym read from the Bible.

Ianto and Davy leave. Huw tries to comfort his mother, but Beth is too sad. Gwilym correctly predicts that the winter will be difficult. The union meetings take on a more violent, fretful tone. Huw has plenty of carpentry work. He takes Bronwen into town for her birthday. She feels people watching her. Huw buys books for Bronwen’s sons and they buy food, clothes, and toys with the money Huw has made from his business. When they travel home, however, they pass a large meeting. Huw insists on stopping to hear what is being said. He hears a speaker talking about “Marx and Hegel” (423). The unruly crowd is speaking of revolution. Huw walks home alone in the dark, worried about the future of the union. At home, Gwilym assures Huw that the men will soon “be tired” (425) of this revolutionary talk. Later, Huw gives Bronwen a broach as a birthday gift. When she reacts with quiet emotion, he feels as though he has made a mistake. The following day, the men announce that they are on strike. Olwen says that the strikers have threatened Bronwen because they were visiting Tyn-y-Coed, which the strikers associate with rich owners such as Iestyn. Gwilym tells Huw that the strikers should be left alone as they are “drunk with unreason” (427).

That night, Huw goes to the pub now run by Dai Bando and Cynfartha. Dai is angry about the strike. Rumors suggest that the strikers would rather flood the pits and close the mines if the owners will not negotiate with the workers. Dai is furious that the strikers have been rude to Huw’s sisters. They are interrupted by the news that the Home Secretary, Winston Churchill, has sent English soldiers to the Welsh valleys to forcibly break up the strikes. Sometime later, a man named Old Sami Canal Water is struck by a policeman during a protest. Sami is considered to be neurodivergent in the community and he makes a living selling ginger beer to the miners. The strikers consider the attack on Sami to be an act of “war” (431). The strikers attack the owners’ offices. Dai and Cynfartha try to intervene. Huw helps them defend the mine that night and, the following day, Bronwen brings food to the small band of men. Huw insists that he must wait for relief to protect the mine from being damaged by the angry men. In that moment, Huw feels his love for Bronwen swell but he knows that he has “never told her” (434). They look deeply at one another, and she says goodbye to him.

Huw returns to eat breakfast with Dai and Cynfartha. Each day, they sit in the pump room to protect the mines from being flooded. The strikers riot in the towns and the police respond with brutal violence. When Olwen tries to bring them food, the crowd harasses her. Olwen tells them that the pit horses need food and care. Huw rallies the strikers to save the animals. Gwilym inspects the mines to make sure that they remain functional. When he does not resurface for one day, Cynfartha is worried that the pit is flooded. None of the strikers will go down to help Gwilym or to save the mine from being flooded. Huw goes to Dai to tell him that Cynfartha has gone down into the mines. Then, he runs to his mother to update her. He notices that Bronwen’s house seems eerily quiet. Beth is sitting alone, worried about Gwilym. She mentions that Ivor has come to see her. Huw is worried that his mother has seen his dead brother in the kitchen. He notices his mother’s face is twitching. She insists that Huw go to find his father. Huw passes by the pub and accepts Dai’s offer of a large drink of brandy as they rush back to the half-flooded mine. They repair the pumps and search for Cynfartha and Gwilym. They find that a section of the roof has collapsed. The men dig through the rubble in shifts for hours. Dai Bando works harder than anyone, even though he cannot see. He finds Cynfartha’s coat then hear the sound of Cynfartha’s pick on a distant rock. Dai gives thanks to God and digs with a renewed energy, refusing to stop. Dai carries Cynfartha out of the mine. Huw asks Cynfartha about his father and, in a weak voice, Cynfartha says that he was just behind Gwilym when the tunnel collapsed. Huw goes back into the mine and, after digging hard, he finds Gwilym half-buried by rocks. Huw sends the men to fetch supplies to dig Gwilym out of the tunnel. Huw prays for his father to live but knows that he is too late. Gwilym smiles and Huw feels proud. Gwilym dies and Huw holds his father tight to him. Huw tells the others that his “Dada is dead” (446). Huw gives the news to his mother.

Huw remembers the day of his father’s death in vivid detail. He thinks back on the good and bad of his life. Now, everyone he knows is gone from his life and his Valley. Their memories live on with him, however, and he has written this book to memorialize them. If the memory of them dies, he suggests, then he will die too. He thinks again about the greenness of his Valley and “the Valley of them that have gone” (447).