Horse Dealer\'s Daughter by D. H. Lawrence

¶ … DH Lawrence's "The Horse Dealer's Daughter"

The short story by DH Lawrence entitled, "The Horse Dealer's Daughter" talks about the sudden love that both Mabel Pervin and Dr. Jack Fergusson had experienced when he accidentally saved Mabel from the suicide she intends to do. Aside from the theme of love, one of the main issues that will be discussed in relation to the theme of love is the importance of both protagonists' (Mabel and Jack) role in their small community, and how the roles that they have affects their own conception of real love.

Mabel Pervin is illustrated in the story as a very quiet and reserved woman, talking and saying nothing to her brothers at the start of the story. It is evident that there is no bond between the brothers and their sister Mabel, who, after several attempts from her brothers' part to talk to her, remain motionless and uncommunicative, answering their questions with curt replies, sometimes, not even answering at all. The unfavorable relationship between the brothers and Mabel is reflected through Henry's (Mabel's brother) description of Mabel to Jack: "The sulkiest ***** that ever trod!" Mabel Pervin's character is justified after the incident with her brothers. As the story progresses, we learn that she had no close women acquaintances except for her sister who had died already, and was left alone to the care of her brothers and father. Unfortunately, her circle of friends became smaller as her father passed away, and Mabel was left with no one to confide in to except for the intimate and 'close' relationship that she maintains with her mother, through her mother's grave at the back of the church in their community. The act of cleaning her grave is symbolic of the devotion that she has for her mother, and this reflects her loneliness for being a woman with no on to be with, and no one to take care of her. Prior to her attempted suicide, the character of Mabel Pervin can be illustrated as a lonely, silently frustrated woman, who craves for the love of an individual who will see her as worthy of loving, or just to be taken care of. Meanwhile, Dr. Jack Pervin can be described as a doctor in the strictest sense, and this was illustrated when he recalled how Mabel's body looked like when he undressed her. His inability to recall Mabel's naked body tells us of the strict patient- doctor relationship that Jack maintains even to a close family friend like Mabel. In essence, Jack is a man who is somewhat contented with life as a country doctor, and he does not display sophistication in his manners or ways. Just like Mabel, Jack Fergusson is a man who has a need for love; only, he was not able to confront this fact until Mabel confronted him with that fact.