What is true love? In D.H. Lawrence's short story "The Horse Dealer's
Daughter" we observe as Mabel, the protagonist of the story, suffers through crisis to find
love with a man named Jack Fergusson. However, what Mabel and Jack both find is not
love but a mockery of it. For the love they hold is only a perverse bond created by the
fulfillment of their internal and personal needs for one another.
Many of the first images we are given of characters in this story are of them
having animalistic traits. Mabel's brothers are shown as being horse like and dull witted,
connecting them with the horses they once raised. Mabel herself is described as being,
"good-looking, save for the impressive fixity of her face, "bull-dog," as her brothers
called it." This "bull-dog" description directly links her to the dog who sits within the
kitchen with them during their finally family conclave. It is through the description of
this dog, one of it being your typical subservient house dog, that we get a more in depth
view of Mabel. The image painted of Mabel is that of a woman who needs the support of
others and is incapable on her own as is the dog.
We are however within this story shown another aspect of her personality, the
only other aspect in fact. That she is a prideful woman who values social class and
wealth. When the author writes, "But so long as there was money, the girl felt herself
established, and brutally proud and reserved." we are given a firm idea of what it is she
values. The catch to this other aspect of her personality, however, is that she must derive
this wealth and pride from those to whom she is associated. Since, she is incapable of
supporting herself she must cling to someone else.
While Mabel needs the support others Jack Fergusson is another case. What he
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