The Rocking Horse Winner

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Vargas

Toni Vargas

Professor Stoddart

English 102

April 13, 2009

For the Love of Money

In David Herbert Lawrence’s “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” Paul was a young child from a money-oriented family whose personality evolved from an introverted and inquisitive little boy seeking his mother’s attention to an obsession with trying to please her. Paul’s mother was merely attracted to material possessions and uninterested in her offspring. She was in debt and continued to live beyond their funds. Paul was starving for love and attention from his mother and struggled to please her. He became captivated with laying a bet on horse racing and making money to satisfy his mother. Paul’s obsessions with trying to gain his mother’s warmth eventually lead to his downfall.

D. H. Lawrence shows of the traumatic ruin of an upper middle class family stressed to maintain appearances in the face of customary overspending. The most terrible offender is the status-conscious mother because unfortunately, no matter how much capital Paul earns, her over-elaborate tastes only grows rapidly. In literature, theoretical analysis behaves as a crucial function in the understanding and critical meaning of a text. Some writers supply hidden meaning that is suitable to these theories to produce a greater density in the plot of the story. “The Rocking Horse Winner” is a leading example of an author skillfully utilizing this theoretical approach to the development of a story. In this story the psychoanalytic theory is applied.

In literature, there are two types of psychoanalytic theory. One is built on the work of Sigmund Freud and the other is the modification of Freud’s work by Jacques Lacan, a French psychoanalyst. From these two perspectives of this specific theory, Jacques Lacan’s theory appears to be the inspiration that Lawrence wrote his story from. In Lacan’s vision, he points toward the development of children and society. He sees the evolution of the child from the early years to maturity as a progression of stages in life. This development stresses the affiliation of the child to language and the relationships it has with others. This accentuation directly influences the child’s sense of self.

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 In application to the Psychoanalytic Theory, the story extensively reflects Lacan’s “mirror stage.” The similarity may possibly cause an individual to trust that Lawrence was an intense advocate in this theory. Not only from Paul’s obsession and ultimate downfall, but the relationship of child and mother expressed in the course of the story makes it apparent that Lacan did have a substantial inspiration on the tale. The psychological aspect of the story also manifests Freud’s Oedipus complex. Freud suggested that all boys go through a stage where they want to take their father’s place. Paul’s desire to earn money for ...

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