Greed In The Rocking Horse Winner

“The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D. H. Lawrence contrasts a seemingly perfect family on the outside to the emptiness of the inside. Lawrence examines the idea of greed and the effects it has on a family through Paul’s mother, Hester, and how dissatisfied she is with her living condtion financially. Hester’s obsession with money greatly influences Paul’s actions and also contributes to the unloving and dysfuntional characteristics of the family as well as to the tragic death of her own son. The need for money seems to constitute the heart of Paul’s family problems. Throughout the story, Hester complains about not having enough luck, which ultimately results in the family to not have enough money. This is emphasized through the “whisphering” that comes from within the house (291). The phrase: “There must be more money,” haunts the house and everyone in the family is knowlegeble of their need for money (291). However, there doesn’t seem to be a solution that can stop the whisphering. When Hester recieves a letter on her birthday informing her that she was to be given “a thousand pounds” per year over the course of the next five years, she immediately contacted the lawer asking for permission to withdraw the money all at once without telling anyone else about it. This reveals just how important money is to her and how greedy she is as she does not discuss the matter with neither her husband or her children. After acquiring the money though, she had spend it materialistically and