The Rocking-Horse Winner
Encyclopedia
"The Rocking-Horse Winner" is a short story by D. H. Lawrence
. It was first published in July 1926, in Harper's Bazaar
and subsequently appeared in the first volume of Lawrence's collected short stories. It was made into a full-length film
directed by Anthony Pelissier
and starring John Howard Davies
, Valerie Hobson
and John Mills
; the film was released in the United Kingdom in 1949 and in 1950 in the United States.
Money is something that the family, especially the mother, craves to have. The family had to keep up with the “style” in which they lived in, but the problem with that is they didn’t have the money in order to do that. With that the mother feels as if she cant love her children the way that she should.
Luck is everything to the family. Like the mother says in the story, “If you’re lucky you have money. That’s why it’s better to be born lucky than rich. If you’re rich you may lose your money. But if you’re lucky, you will always get more money.” (Lawrence 527). The boy, Paul, does anything that he can to prove to his mother that he has luck and win her love. The way that he does this is by winning bets on horse racing, so that he can give his mother all the money that she can have.
Paul’s rocking horse has the most significant symbolism in the whole story. The rocking horse symbolizes real horses, which sometimes gave him luck. When Paul would ride his horse for long periods of time he became “nearly hypnotized”, where he is able to determine what horse is going to win the next big horse race (Magill Book Reviews). Paul would then bet on the horse, and win money which he later gives to him mother. In the end of the story, Paul only wants his mother’s love, so he rides his rocking horse ferociously in order to find out what horse is going to win the last big race of the season. Once Paul finds out that the horse that he chose to win won, and that “his mother is 80,000 pounds to the good”, he dies in his mother’s arms (Magill Book Reviews).
Even though there is multiple things that one can take symbolism from in the story, these are the three main ones that D. H. Lawrence concentrated on.
Hester: Paul’s mother. She becomes “dissatisfied with her marriage” when she finds that her husband is not lucky and doesn’t make enough money due to that fact (Cummings).
Basset: The family gardener. Is the one who gets Paul into horse racing, and later becomes “betting partners” (Cummings).
Oscar Creswell: Paul’s uncle and his mother’s brother. Provided the money that Paul used to make his first win at the horse race. Signed the lawyer papers in order for Paul’s mother to receive “one thousand pounds at a time, on the mother’s birthday, for the next five year” (532). Becomes partners with Paul and Basset.
offered a Freudian interpretation of the story in The Hudson Review
in 1958. His interpretation hinged on the resemblance of "luck" to "lucre", and the vaguer resemblance of both to "love." Snodgrass argued that Paul's desire "to be lucky" represents an oedipal desire to replace his father in his mother's life.
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
. It was first published in July 1926, in Harper's Bazaar
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
and subsequently appeared in the first volume of Lawrence's collected short stories. It was made into a full-length film
The Rocking Horse Winner (film)
The Rocking Horse Winner is a 1949 fantasy film about a young boy who can pick winners in horse races with complete accuracy. It is an adaptation of the D. H. Lawrence short story "The Rocking-Horse Winner" and starred Valerie Hobson, John Howard Davies and Ronald Squire...
directed by Anthony Pelissier
Anthony Pelissier
Harry Anthony Compton Pelissier was an English actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Biography:Pelissier was born in Barnet and came from a theatrical family. His parents were the theatre producer H. G. Pelissier and the distinguished actress Fay Compton...
and starring John Howard Davies
John Howard Davies
John Howard Davies was an English television director and producer and former child actor.Davies was born in Paddington, London, the son of the scriptwriter Jack Davies...
, Valerie Hobson
Valerie Hobson
Valerie Hobson was a British actress who appeared in a number of British films during the 1940s and 1950s...
and John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
; the film was released in the United Kingdom in 1949 and in 1950 in the United States.
Symbolism
Money, luck, and a children’s rocking horse are all things that can be seen as symbolism in the story. Throughout the story there is a specific line that keeps getting repeated; “There must be more money!” This line shows how all the symbolism ties in with one another.Money is something that the family, especially the mother, craves to have. The family had to keep up with the “style” in which they lived in, but the problem with that is they didn’t have the money in order to do that. With that the mother feels as if she cant love her children the way that she should.
Luck is everything to the family. Like the mother says in the story, “If you’re lucky you have money. That’s why it’s better to be born lucky than rich. If you’re rich you may lose your money. But if you’re lucky, you will always get more money.” (Lawrence 527). The boy, Paul, does anything that he can to prove to his mother that he has luck and win her love. The way that he does this is by winning bets on horse racing, so that he can give his mother all the money that she can have.
Paul’s rocking horse has the most significant symbolism in the whole story. The rocking horse symbolizes real horses, which sometimes gave him luck. When Paul would ride his horse for long periods of time he became “nearly hypnotized”, where he is able to determine what horse is going to win the next big horse race (Magill Book Reviews). Paul would then bet on the horse, and win money which he later gives to him mother. In the end of the story, Paul only wants his mother’s love, so he rides his rocking horse ferociously in order to find out what horse is going to win the last big race of the season. Once Paul finds out that the horse that he chose to win won, and that “his mother is 80,000 pounds to the good”, he dies in his mother’s arms (Magill Book Reviews).
Even though there is multiple things that one can take symbolism from in the story, these are the three main ones that D. H. Lawrence concentrated on.
Characters
Paul: A young boy who notices that his mother doesn’t love him and his sisters, even though she “adores” them (526). When he receives a rocking horse for Christmas, he rides it often and come to find that he can predict what horse is going to win the next big horse race.Hester: Paul’s mother. She becomes “dissatisfied with her marriage” when she finds that her husband is not lucky and doesn’t make enough money due to that fact (Cummings).
Basset: The family gardener. Is the one who gets Paul into horse racing, and later becomes “betting partners” (Cummings).
Oscar Creswell: Paul’s uncle and his mother’s brother. Provided the money that Paul used to make his first win at the horse race. Signed the lawyer papers in order for Paul’s mother to receive “one thousand pounds at a time, on the mother’s birthday, for the next five year” (532). Becomes partners with Paul and Basset.
Interpretation
W. D. SnodgrassWilliam De Witt Snodgrass
William De Witt Snodgrass was an American poet who also wrote under the pseudonym S. S. Gardons. He won the 1960 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.-Life:W. D...
offered a Freudian interpretation of the story in The Hudson Review
The Hudson Review
The Hudson Review is a quarterly journal of literature and the arts. It was founded in 1947 in New York by William Ayers Arrowsmith, Joseph Deericks Bennett, and George Frederick Morgan. The first issue was introduced in the spring of 1948...
in 1958. His interpretation hinged on the resemblance of "luck" to "lucre", and the vaguer resemblance of both to "love." Snodgrass argued that Paul's desire "to be lucky" represents an oedipal desire to replace his father in his mother's life.
Standard edition
- The Woman who Rode Away and Other Stories (1928) edited by Dieter Mehl and Christa Jansohn, Cambridge University Press, 1995,pp 230-243, ISBN 0-521-22270-2