D.H. Lawrence

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses D.H. Lawrence's stories. "Rex", "Adolf" and "Rocking-Horse Winner." The paper presents two different, although not discordant, views of the mother-son relationship that is always so prevalent in Lawrence's work. The underlying theme of a need for unconditional love is examined and explained.

From the Paper:

"Yet, despite such honest words, there is a sense of secrecy and hush over the entire story. In fact we are only aware after the fact of the boy accumulating wealth through his having the gardener place bets. Hester, the mother is not a bad woman; she is as much a victim as anyone, although she is a victim of her own materialism, or at least from putting her faith there. Paul, her son, no doubt would have been quite happy to trade his fine house, his tutor, his expensive Christmas presents for the love and presence of his mother. She speaks to him gently and though she does a poor job of it tries to hide the facts of her reality from him. When he interrogates her about luck and lucre -- two words he confuses -- and eventually asks her if she was lucky, she says, "I used to think I was, before I married. Now I think I am very unlucky indeed." However when he asks why she remembers who is supposed to be the adult and tries to retreat. "Well, never mind! Perhaps I'm not really." And when he looks to see if she means the retraction, "he saw, by the lines of her mouth, that she was only trying to hide something from him." "

More papers on D.H. Lawrence:

• Analytical Essay # 56062 : "Five Stages of D.H Lawrence's Poetic Maturation"
• Analytical Essay # 5881 : "Benjamin Franklin and D. H. Lawrence"
• Analytical Essay # 53683 : "Hades in Toyland: D.H. Lawrence's "The Rocking Horse Winner"
• Analytical Essay # 26532 : "D. H. Lawrence and Freud"

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