Money Obsession in David Herbert Lawrences The...

Money Obsession in David Herbert Lawrences The Rocking-Horse Winner We have all heard the expression, Money makes the world go round. But does this make it worthwhile to abandon happiness in order to gain more of it? David Herbert Lawrence reveals the folly of substituting money and luck for family and love in The Rocking-Horse Winner, the story of a womans insatiable need to become rich, and her sons struggle to gain her approval. The mother, Hester, obsesses over money. She comes from a fairly rich family, seemingly, as there was never enough money ... not nearly enough for the social position which [the family] had to keep up (363). She grows bitter through the years of her marriage not only due to her unluckiness†¦show more content†¦In an attempt to cheer his mothers bitterness, Paul proclaims that he is lucky, but this statement only seems to further irritate Hester, so he is driven to truly become lucky and prove her disbelief wrong. Paul seeks the clue to luck in his toy rocking horse. By riding for long periods of time, he can foretell the winner of the next big horse race and then bet money on it. I started it for mother, (369) he tells his uncle Oscar when worry of his success arises. Paul hopes to help his mother and stop the houses whispering be being lucky. So with the aid of his uncle, Paul invents a plan to give his winnings to Hester anonymously. Starting on her next birthday, Paul decides to give Hester a thousand pounds a year up to the five thousand he has saved for her. But instead of being content with receiving her five thousand pounds in increments, she asks if the whole five thousand could not be advanced at once, as she was in debt (370). Paul is eager enough to oblige, despite his uncles warning against it. The whispering does not stop, and the family does not climb out of debt. In fact, their financial situation grows even worse, and the voices in the house suddenly went mad, like a chorus of frogs on a spring evening (371). Oscar urges Paul not to worry, for even if he wins every other race and earns his mother ten times more money, she will only spend more and remain unsatisfied. But Paul will not be satisfied unless she is. And to