The Rocking Horse Winner Theme

A comparison of theme love and relationship between D H Lawrence’s “The Rocking Horse Winner” and “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” According to the biography.com website (2014), D. H. Lawrence, a 20th century writer was considered to be one of the most influential writers was born on September 11, 1885 on the Haggs Farm in small mining town of Eastwood, Nottinghsmshire, England. Further it also states that his mining background of middle status with low income had a huge influence on his writings and one example of it is in “The rocking horse winner” which depicts class struggle. However, according to Queen Mary University of London (n.d) states that, “he engaged both positively and negatively with some of the most fashionable literary and intellectual

On the contrary, in “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” the theme of love and relationship is depicted between Connie and Mellors which is obscene. In “The Rocking Horse Winner”, the family was poor, although they didn’t appear to be infront of the society. The mother would spend all the money they had as the society was such that she would push herself to spend more and show it off to the society that they were rich and could spend more. Paul was so in need of his mother’s love that he talked to his mother and they had a conversation about luck and for her luck was something that would bring money. Therefore, desperate Paul thought that her love is to be bought with luck and money. However, Hester instead of giving Paul love she became greedier and cared about money more than loving her son. Paul started betting money on horse races with association with his uncle Oscar and the gardener Basset but it was kept secret to his mother. Paul had the ability of picking the winning horse at a race if he felt absolutely sure. He would get on his rocking horse and tried hard until he got to where he wanted to go, as if he actually was in the race riding the horse at the racetrack and returns from his trance-like state after completing the race with the name of the winning horse. Paul was so driven by his aim to achieve his mother’s love and the whispering house "There must be more money!"

His determination leads him to his death and even in his dying words he is trying to prove to his mother that he is lucky to gain her money for her love. The mother, Hester, is greedy and lives for the dollar rather than loving her children. On the contrary the love relationship depicted between Connie and Mellors are obscene despite being married to different individuals and the language used by Lawrence to describe the relationship between the two makes it totally obscene during that