The Rocking Horse Winner

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud coined the term “Oedipus complex” to refer to a desire that might appear during early childhood development. What does this term mean? What are the literary origins of this term?

Teaching Suggestion: This question invites students to consider their prior knowledge of a term used frequently in psychoanalysis as well as literature: an “Oedipus complex.” Freud argued that during a child’s third and fifth year of development, depending on the environment of the household, children may develop an unhealthy attachment to the parent of the opposite sex while trying to assume the role of parent of the same sex. For boys, this was called the “Oedipus complex,” alluding to the Greek myth of Oedipus Rex, who mistakenly killed his father and married his mother. Similarly, girls who demonstrated similar behavior were said to be showing the “Electra complex.” In “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” Lawrence shows the Oedipus complex at work in Paul: After realizing that his father is “unlucky” and unable to fulfill his mother’s financial desires, Paul seeks to please her by becoming the household breadwinner. This ultimately creates an Unhealthy Relational Dynamic of Emotional Incest that leads to a Malignant Insatiability of Greed.

• Britannica provides a basic overview of the Oedipus complex, along with psychoanalyst Freud.
• UN Aligned explores Lawrence’s background and relationship with Freudian thought in “David Herbert Lawrence: The Freudian Who Hated Industrialization.”

2. Consider the social expectations for gender roles during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In particular, how were men and women expected to act? What were the roles of men and women in families, according to the social strata?

Teaching Suggestion: This question orients students with the historical and sociological contexts of the story: the social roles and expectations of Victorian-era England. This period began with the start of Victoria’s 63-year reign in 1837 and officially ended in 1901, though many of the social expectations and artistic trends of the Victorian era carried over in various ways until the start of World War I in 1914. During the Victorian era, social classes were rigid; members of the lower classes did low-paying work, while the upper class was not expected to do manual labor. In Lawrence’s story, these Victorian ideals show up as the son is concerned primarily with obtaining more money than the father is unable to provide. As a male in the household, Paul assumes the role of breadwinner to satisfy his mother’s social expectations since his father is unable to do it himself. During this era, men were expected to earn money for the family in the public sphere, while women were expected to be caregivers who tended to the private sphere. The discussion of gender roles is explored further in the Personal Connection Prompt.

• This article from McKendree University explores the ways in which patriarchal values dominated the Victorian era.
• The University of Delaware’s “British Literature Wiki” provides an overview of the Victorian era.

Short Activity

An allegory is a story with one literal meaning and at least one other, symbolic meaning. Working in small groups, research famous allegories in literature and select one to share with the class. In a brief presentation, share a summary of the allegory, as well as an analysis of the underlying message.

Teaching Suggestion: This Short Activity invites students to explore the structure of Lawrence’s story within the context of group work. Students may use the first link below in order to select a prominent allegory to read and share with the class. The second link is a useful resource for understanding how Lawrence’s story functions as an allegorical tale.

• “Allegory” on SuperSummary
• Ufuk Ege (1998) analyzes Lawrence’s structure and use of literary terms in “A Commentary Upon D.H. Lawrence’s Rocking Horse Winner and Things” (See “PDF” link in the top-left corner to view the article in its entirety.)

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the story.

Do you believe that luck is real? Or rather, do you believe that hard work and will is the way people are linked with success? Furthermore, could a person’s gender be linked to how they view luck? Why or why not?

Teaching Suggestion: This Personal Connection Prompt invites students to consider the theme of Luck: Fortune and Providence in their own context. Lawrence introduces the concept of luck in Paul’s conversation with his mother, where he learns that his family does not have many of the luxuries of others in the neighborhood because their father has no “luck” and the family is poor as a consequence. Interestingly, Lawrence makes a comment here about the deceptive nature of affluence, as the family maintains an upper-class lifestyle while desperately in need. Furthermore, the father’s bad luck affects the entire family; since the social norms of the Victorian era constrained women from working and making their own way, Paul’s mother has made herself unlucky by marrying him. This Prompt segues directly into the Discussion/Analysis Prompt.

Differentiation Suggestion: For a focus on developing oral presentation skills, this Personal Connection Prompt may be restructured to a debate, where students have the opportunity to debate for or against the following point: A person’s gender affects whether or not they can be lucky.