Electrical double layer theory is used to analyze an idealized model unit of a clay particle system with the purpose of describing the mechanical stability in terms of an equilibrium of attractive and repulsive forces. Restricting the analysis to two dimensions, a symmetrical parallelogram formed by four typical clay mineral particles is taken as a representative unit of a flocculated clay and the interactions of mineral faces and associated electrolyte is investigated. The distortion energy of the system thus found is then directly related to the mechanical stability of the model unit’s structure as it varies from parallel to perpendicular orientation. The general pattern of behaviour of the model unit will be shown to be compatible with the mechanical behavior of the clay mass.