In D. H. Lawrence's "The Horse Dealers Daughter", the short story writer and
novelist depicts the struggles of a women who tries to deal with the collapse of her
family and the non existent relationship between her and her brothers. We see the
main character, Mabel, wanting to be loved by someone but is unable to find it as the
story takes place. As stated by Ford, "Lawrence uses a transparent, omniscient
narrator, a specific and natural local, clearly motivated characters, and complex,
psychological conflicts...For the story to be dramatized realistically.(Ford 240)
In the beginning of the story we learn that the main character Mabel is subject
to the constant ragging of her three brothers. "The Horse Dealer's Daughter" even
sounds like the name of a fairy tale, and Mabel Pervin is a version of Cinderella. She
is oppressed by her three brutish brothers, the prescribed number out of fairy tales.
She does the dirty work in the household, cleaning up while they sit around and call
her "the sulkiest bitch that ever trod." Mabel has no fairy godmother to transform her
into a princess. Instead, she must find her own salvation; her new life must be
Mabel is forced by her brothers to find a new place to live as the brothers are leaving
the estate after their family has lived their for so long. She tells her brothers that she
doesn't know where she is going to go; only to be replied by her brothers that if she
fails to make a decision she will be living in the streets. She addresses this threat
like all of the other ones and keeps a straight, unrevealing face to all of her brother's
taunts. This point can be emphasized by the ideas of Daleski. He says that, "
Lawrence, however, does not focus on the language of Mabel's responses or her
inexpressiveness-though her silences when she refuses to answer her brothers'
questi...