The Rocking Horse Winner

In David Herbert (D.H.) Lawrence's "The Rocking-Horse Winner," the protagonist of the story is a small boy name Paul. Paul will eventually die because of his frenetic riding of his toy rocking-horse, a rocking-horse he rides to frenzy because when he does it provides him with the names of winners of horse races. However, Paul's death is actually the result of the characterization of his mother as written by Lawrence. In the character of Paul's mother, Lawrence provides us with a woman who is so coldly and wholly materialistic that she cannot love her own children, an obsession that is responsible for the death of her son.

Paul is a young boy whose mother is a woman with extravagant tastes. Though they have a decent lifestyle, Paul's mother is never satisfied with what they have and her only desire is to have more. Because of his mother obsession with material worth, we are told, "Although they lived in style, they felt always an anxiety in the house" (Lawrence 148). The anxiety created by Paul's mother over money is so bad that Paul believes the house is haunted by her obsession. The focus on money by his mother is so great that the house seems to whisper to Paul, "There must be more money! There must be more money" (Lawrence 149).

Even though Paul's Uncle refers to money as filthy lucre, he is wealthier than Paul's parents. When Paul asks his mother why they aren't as wealthy as his Uncle, his mother replies "We're the poor members of the family"

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