The Internal Conflict of Relationships in D.H. Lawrence's The Horse Dealer's Daughter

1180 Words3 Pages

The Internal Conflict of Relationships in D.H. Lawrence's The Horse Dealer's Daughter

Love is one of the most complex and boundless emotions that human kind experiences. There is no set definition as to what it is or how it is felt by all, to each person it is a very intimate and personal evolution of a bit of the soul. It is for that reason that it is not strange to find both Mable Pervin's and Jack Fergusson's identification of love so vastly different. Love is also a timeless emotion, where in the rules of love have changed only slightly over the years.

The obvious place for love to start is when two people meet, which is another strange point for Mable and Jack. We are told that Jack is a new physician in the area, for how long we do not know. We can also determine that both he and the three brothers have been acquainted for a reasonable amount of time judging from their greeting of one another. However, when Jack looks at Mable, "Mable looked at him with her steady, dangerous eyes, that always made him uncomfortable, unsettling and superficial ease." # It is certainly not love at first sight. Jack makes reference to the fact that she has looked at him this way before, and he has always felt the same reaction from her stare. He feels no physical attraction to her that we are make aware of and there is little chance that this is love at first sight. Mable is not giving a reaction to his glances; she seems indifferent while in the presence of her brothers. Although this piece was written so many years ago, the events are still common place. Very few couples today have fallen in love at first sight.

The next opportunity for both Mable and Jack to meet is during her visit to the graveyard. Jack is aware of her presence the...

... middle of paper ...

...ve natural symbolism, are the mark of his best works."# These common conflicted ending are a signature of Lawrence's works, but a greater theme through out is that of the "author's frankness in describing sexual relations between men and women upset a great many people," # It was for Lawrence's honesty of the situation of conflict in the lives of men and women's personal life that lead him to many years of wandering to find thoughs who would accept his works, little did he know that he was merely writing for the wrong century of readers.

Bibliography:

D. H. Lawrence. Beal, A. Boston City Press, Boston. 1960.

Literature of the Western World. Hurt, James and Wilkie, Brian. Prentice Hall, New Jersey. 2001.

D. H. Lawrence, Artist & Rebel, A study of Lawrence's Fiction. Tedlock, E.W. The University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. 1963.

Open Document