Rob Sherman

Eng152
Tuesday
P.Ponzio

The Misfortune of the Lucky

It is not often that I come across a story that contains characters I cannot relate to and

in fact despise well before the last line is finished. The Rocking-Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence

is one of these rare tales. It reminds me of an Aesop fable combined with an overripe apple.

The moral allegory is imparted with a chunky, obvious, and gritty style. Similar to the sensation

that you get right after biting into an apple that appears perfect, but is in fact well past it’s

prime. The devotion Paul feels towards his family has a tacky sweetness that gets bruised by

his parent’s actions. Finally, the story’s conclusion made me feel like I had just discovered the

remains of a worm hidden within the remaining flesh of the fruit.

Lawrence frames young Paul’s parents as self absorbed aristocrats that quixotically have

a massive entitlement complex complicated by severe self esteem issues. Their greed actually

becomes an unnamed character personified by the house. It’s repeated echo of “There must

be more money! There must be more money!” is presented as though it is the Victorian

equivalent of Chinese Water Torture. Lawrence does an admirable job depicting Paul’s slow

decline into madness, catatonia and eventually death. He starts out with detailing his obsessive

riding, foreshadowing complications. Lawrence then peppers the story with references to

Paul’s blue eyes as being “glassy-bright”, “hot”, and “blazing”. These adjectives build within the

readers mind the heat of Paul’s desire. This desire to please his mother and gain her approval

solidifies into the metaphysical lance Paul uses to pierce the veil of the future events. While

the battered rocking horse embodies the motile force Paul uses to chase down the “Lucky

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Rob Sherman
Eng152
Tuesday
P.Ponzio

Winner”. Much as the Headless Horseman chased down Ichabod Crane. Lawrence’s

description of the Rocking-Horse’s declining appearance directly parallels Paul’s declining

health. His desire to be lucky acting upon his body in the same manner his manic riding wears

down the Rocking-Horse. Upon reflection, I wonder if Paul was actually divining the future or

affecting it. Ursula Le Guin introduces the concept in her story The Lathe of Heaven. The

protagonist in it, George Orr, has the ability to dream into existence a new reality. One could

draw a correlation between Paul’s desire and the therapist that attempts to control George’s

dreams.

An issue I have with The Rocking-Horse Winner is the parents. I cannot help but find them

loathsome. The mother is shown to have talent and ability, but not the patience to refine her work. She

is the consummate dilettante and takes no pride in anything except her public persona. Seeing this lack

of drive frustrates me to no end. Lawrence depicts the father as unmotivated, unattached, and rarely

involved in his children’s lives. Their sense of entitlement blocks any motivation to improve and allows

them to blame their unhappiness on luck. Both of them trapped in a gilded cage by their greed, and

modeling to their children how to be the ultimate in dysfunctional people.