Methods have recently been developed for calculating the double-layer repulsive and the van der Waals attractive forces between two nonparallel clay particles immersed in a fluid system. In the present study, these theories are used in an approximate model of one-dimensional compression to examine the role of particle orientation on the behavior of a montmorillonite. It is shown that consideration of nonparallel fabric could potentially explain the discrepancy observed in the past between experimental and theoretical behaviors.