Lawrence's horse dealer's - Essay Example

The Horse Dealer’s Daughter The Horse Dealer’s Daughter “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter” by D.H. Lawrence is not a typical love story between a man and a woman. It goes beyond the usual boy meets girl story. It is also about two person’s quest for love and happiness. Mabel is the horse dealer’s daughter who had nothing going for her life. She is a servant to his three abusive brothers and she has to run her family’s household. Mabel almost committed suicide because she was in a very desperate situation.

She felt depressed because her family has lost everything. She and her three brothers will have to live their separate lives now. All his brothers have found a way to support themselves but she has nowhere to go. She does not know what to do with her life and she felt that it was the end of the line for her. Her mind was on a turmoil and she thought, “This was at an end” (Lawrence, n.d.). I think that if she only had money left, she would not have thought of committing suicide. This can be concluded from the statement in the story, “But so long as there was money, the girl felt herself established, and brutally proud, reserved” (Lawrence, n.d.).

But since there was no more money now, Mabel felt there was no reason to live anymore. All she wanted was to be with her dead mother. The other character that completes the love story is Dr. Jack Ferguson. Like Mabel, his life was also dull and pointless. There was nothing but work for him. He even said he hated the “hellish hole”, his description of the town where he did his practice. There is so much symbolism in this story by Lawrence. One such symbolism is the pond where Mabel tried to commit suicide.

It was described as dead and cold. It symbolizes the feelings of both Mabel and Jack before the rescue incident. Both of them did not have any passionate feelings for each other. The fear of Jack to go deep into the pond represents his fear for falling in love. However, after coming out of the pond, they both emerge not dead but more hopeful individuals who unexpectedly fall into each other’s arms. Mabel thought that the doctor saved her from drowning because he loved her but it was actually just a humane act of Jack, which any other person would have done too.

I think even Jack was surprised by Mabel’s conclusion that he loves her. What brought Jack and Mabel together was when Mabel decided to drown herself into the pond. Not only did Jack rescue her from her death, he also rescued her from a life of poverty and depression. The “pond experience” was a life-changing experience for both Jack and Mabel. Jack became the “rescuer” of the downtrodden Mabel. It was the start of their “love” for each other. The pond symbolizes the rebirth of both characters.

Suddenly, there was somebody to love and care for Mabel. For Jack whose life was also meaningless, it was the start of a new life and love for him. It was passionate because they were both “dead” for a long time. There was just so much passion within them that was waiting to be unfolded. Both Jack and Mabel have never felt loved before. There was a burning desire that fills each of them. I think it is more of lust but they mistook it for love. Another symbolism which we see in this story aside from the pond is the change of clothes of Mabel at the end of the story.

This change of clothes represents the new life that she will be facing with Jack. Her wet and dirty clothes signifies her previous meaningless life. The elegant dress which she put on at the end represents her new attitude at life and probably a change in her personality. It also suggests a happy ending for the major characters in the story. . References Lawrence, D. H. (n.d.). The Horse Dealer's Daughter. Retrieved June 27, 2011, from literature.org: http://www.literature.org/authors/lawrence-david-herbert/england-my- england/chapter-08.html