The Rocking Horse Winner by D H Lawrence - Essay Example

The Rocking-Horse Winner The short fictional story "The Rocking Horse Winner" is a work by D. H. Lawrence that portrays the adult world through the eyes of a child and his toy. Lawrence was often criticized for producing work that promoted sexual awareness as he fought his own private war against censorship (Coleman). Lawrence could avoid the criticism of the censor by using imagery and symbolism instead of words. "The Rocking Horse Winner" is thinly veiled as Lawrence enters into such taboo areas as childhood gambling, unspoken poverty, greed, and the Oedophelia complex. From the very beginning of the story Lawrence draws the boy Paul into the adult world. Early in the story the boy Paul has a talk with his mother about money. But the talk is not the usual mother-son conversation that promotes hard work and ingenuity. The mother advocates the avenue of easy money by the use of luck. She carries the definition a step farther as she blurs the line between money and luck. "Filthy lucre does mean money," said the mother. "But its lucre, not luck" (Lawrence). The use of the words filthy lucre interjects an almost obscene sense of money and wealth. The mother continues her idolization of the character trait of being lucky. She insults Pauls father and says "...its better to be born lucky than rich" (Lawrence). She then tells Paul that his own father is "very unlucky" marking him as a failure as a father and a husband. These images are burned into the mind of Paul at this young age and tempers his value system throughout the rest of his short life. The mother has almost no connection with her husband or family. She occupies the house in body but not in spirit. The household had healthy children and a modest income, yet it was squandered by the mothers view of it. Lawrence describes it as "at the centre of her heart was a hard little place that could not feel love, no, not for anybody". It was love that Paul craved and needed, and it was his mothers love that he would spend the story in search of. Because she was distant and disconnected, she would be easily satisfied with material goods, money, and a lust for it. Paul could sense the emptiness in his mother and her need for a husband, luck, and money. Pauls early attempt at fulfilling his mothers needs, and thus replacing the father, is seen in his early experience on the rocking horse. Lawrence describes Pauls quest to satisfy his mothers need for money, luck, and sexual satisfaction. There is a scene where he is furiously riding his rocking horse striking it with a whip that he had gotten from his Uncle Oscar, his mentor in his search for luck. "He knew the horse could take him to where there was luck, if only he forced it. So he would mount again and start on his furious ride, hoping at last to get there" (Lawrence). Paul had packaged his mothers needs into one parcel and had a single path to fulfilling them. He was also attempting to, "distinguish himself from his unlucky father to gain his mother’s affections" (Schwartzburg 24). As the rocking horse takes him to the name of a winning horse in a future race, that is the moment of Pauls ecstasy and the act that could satisfy his mothers needs. Pauls attempts to secure luck and therefore money were also reinforced by the whispering of the house. The family was of modest means as is illustrated by the presence of a nurse and toys. The father had employment and there are no signs of extraordinary need. However, for the mother, and therefore the household, it was never enough. The constant whispering of the house would say, "There must be more money! There must be more money!" (Lawrence). Here we see Paul being taught the unspoken shame of poverty. He is also taught that there is an unspoken lust for money. These contrasting forces allowed Paul to pursue gambling as a way to satisfy both aspects of English life in 1925. Paul would search for luck as a means to become the man of the house that his mother never had. Being a child, he was forced to do this with a quietness, secrecy, and a "sort of stealth" (Lawrence). As Paul begins to get the names of the winners in the local horse races, he confides in trusted adults. He doesnt involve his father, whom his mother has labeled a failure in Pauls mind. He turns to the gardener and his role model, Uncle Oscar. Uncle Oscar has luck. Lawrence paints the seamy side of gambling and taunts the subject of it being broached by a child. On the one hand, Paul is making bets at the track and reading racing forms. This paints a picture of the low side of life. Its risky and risqué. Lawrence puts it into the childs landscape when Paul tells Uncle Oscar of his efforts. Paul asks Oscar to keep it secret and uses the phrase "Honour bright?" (Lawrence). This is a childs phrase used to elicit a promise. He uses the words again later when he says, "But its between you and me, uncle. Honour bright?" (Lawrence). Lawrence is emphasizing that Paul is a child. He is confiding in his role model, the man that had supplied the original ten shillings to Paul. Paul is not gambling for himself. Paul never purchases anything for himself. He saves his money back. As Paul gains a substantial amount of money, he finds a way to give it to his mother. Paul could not go directly to his mother. She would not approve of his gambling, yet she could welcome the gains from it. The infusion of money into the household gives his mother great satisfaction, but in her insatiable state it can never be enough. The money is passed through a lawyer and given to the mother anonymously. Her craving for greed is exemplified by the speed at which she spent it. The house was suddenly filled with luxury, Paul had a tutor, and a bright future attending Eton. Lawrence points out that Eton was "his fathers school" as if to once aging accent the boy taking the fathers place in the home. Paul had become the provider for the family. Now when the house whispered it said "...in a sort of ecstasy: There must be more money! Oh-h-h; there must be more money. Oh, now, now-w! Now-w-w - there must be more money! - more than ever! More than ever!" (Lawrence). This is the mothers voice as symbolized by the house and household screaming in the peak of sexual ecstasy (Beauchamp). Paul had succeeded in giving his mother what his father could not. After this initial sexual contact with his mother, Paul would never be the same. It had stripped away his childhood innocence and left him with the need to satisfy her further. His mother asks him to participate in a childhood activity and says, "Youd better go to the seaside. Wouldnt you like to go now to the seaside" (Lawrence). Paul is too absorbed in his new role as husband of the household and replies, "I couldnt possibly go before the Derby, mother!" he said. "I couldnt possibly!" (Lawrence). Pauls life was consumed by the new adult role he had assumed. Paul is now obsessed with his mothers insatiable appetite. His efforts to fulfill it revolve around his rides on the horse. His mother sees the horse as an extramarital affair for the boy and wonders about its appropriateness and asks, "Do you feel he keeps you company?" (Lawrence). The boy replies, "Oh yes! Hes very good" (Lawrence). She can accept this because the horse also fills her desires. It is the source of the new found wealth. The mother is what Beauchamp calls a "...fiscal, rather than a physical, nymphomaniac". Money can continue to bring her to orgasm and if an affair with the horse is the vehicle it takes, she can allow it. Even though she sees the horse as age-inappropriate by remarking, "Surely youre too big for a rocking-horse!" (Lawrence). The mother never questions that he may be too young to assume the responsibilities that have been thrust upon him. The story finally brings about the realization in his mothers mind as to the source of her satisfaction. The scene shocks her. Lawrence has Paul "in his green pyjamas, madly surging on the rocking-horse". His mother looks on in "fear and amazement" (Lawrence). They are both wearing green which is a symbol of envy. In the bright light of the bedroom, the mother and son are linked in a common need. The child is confronted by his mother as a sexual object who Lawrence describes as, "blonde, in her dress of pale green and crystal". The bright light has been shone upon the perverted relationship that Paul has formed with his mother. The father only has one cold hearted comment of "I dont know" (Lawrence). This experience was the end of Paul as it depletes his sense of self by the realization of what he has done. In the end, Paul would die and his mother would be left with a small fortune. The mother traded her sons innocence for her own self-satisfaction. D. H. Lawrence was able to tell a story with a childhood mythical quality while exploring the very dark issues of adulthood. Pauls foray into gambling and horse tracks was juxtaposed against his need for a childhood toy. His drive to see his mother satisfied was welcomed by his mother as she remained in denial of its consequences. The short work of fiction may at first glance seem to be an innocent fairy tale of luck and winning, but Lawrence has threaded the tale with the taboos that gained him his reputation and his criticism. Works Cited Beauchamp, Gorman. "Lawrences The Rocking-Horse Winner." Journal Article Excerpt, The Explicator, Vol. 31, 1973. 2007. Questia Media. 17 Apr. 2007 . Coleman, Peter. "D.H. Lawrence: Genius or Joke?" Quadrant Magazine Sep. 2006. 17 Apr. 2007 . Lawrence, D H. "The Rocking Horse Winner." Dowse Fiction. 2005. 17 Apr. 2007 . Schwartzburg, Molly. "Encyclopedic Novelties: On Kenneth Goldsmith’s Tomes." Open Letter. 2005. Ontario Arts Council. 17 Apr. 2007 . Read More