The Rocking Horse Winner Literary Analysis
The Rocking Horse Winner by DH Lawrence, critiqued from a psychoanalytic point of view emphasizes the key theories and aspects of the human psyche that Sigmund Freud hypothesized. In The Rocking Horse Winner, the Oedipus complex, the three zones of the Human Psyche and the exploration of Freudian Infantile behaviour are seen throughout the text to best describe the child 's deep desire, where all of his actions have motivation and reason, even if he was not consciously aware of them (class notes).
The Oedipus complex is explored throughout the text, it is a term developed by Freud in his theory whereby the child develops an unconscious rivalry with his father competing for the love of his mother (class notes). This is evident when the young
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Freud asserted that childhood is a time of intense erotic experience (class notes) and it is known that children will operate on Id traits, not necessary sexual in nature. Dreams are manifestations of the unconscious mind and in this case, Paul’s dream is driven by his unconscious desire to win the attention of his mother, “I never told you, mother, that if I can ride my horse...did I ever tell you? I am lucky!” (Lawrence, 9). Ultimately, it is the same desire that in actual fact prove to be his downfall in the end. “The child, it is true, plays by himself or forms a closed psychical system with other children for the purposes of a game; but even though he may not play his game in front of the grown-ups, he does not, on the other hand, conceal it from them.” (class notes).
The Rocking Horse winner, when analyzed through a Psychoanalytical perspective, it is clear that the theories regarding the Oedipus complex, the different zones of the psyche, whereby it be Id, ego or superego and the way in which infantile behaviour can be explained, are all major elements in this text. These elements are put forth to help better understand the way in which our psyche works as well as why decisions are made the way they are and the consequences there
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