Horse Dealer Daughter

A detailed Summary of Horse Dealer Daughter

The short story, "The Horse Dealer's Daughter", by D. H. Lawrence, contains many gaps. I think the most significant gap in the reading was, why did Mabel try to kill herself by walking into the pond? The story begins with Mabel and her three brothers Fred Henry, Joe, and Malcom being forced to move from their home to lead new lives in separate directions. All three brothers had set destinations and were excited to go, but Mabel had nowhere to go except for sister, Lucy's house. Mabel had no intentions of going there though, so she felt lonely and unhappy. I think that since she had no one to turn to, she felt unwanted and depressed. She thought the only way to get any one to realize how miserable she was, was to kill herself.

There were many signs in the short story that lead us to believe that she was going to commit suicide. For example she went to visit her mother's grave to clip the grass around the tomb. " She felt an immediate contact with the world of her mother"(548). Also throughout the scene of Mabel walking in the churchyard, there were many descriptive words symbolizing death, like "It was a grey wintry day, with saddened, dark green fields..."(548), and "...in the dusk of the dead af

Finally, Mr. Fergusson felt the same way after she had told him that she loved him. He said he loved her too, but that totally shocked him that he felt that way. Earlier he was just doing his job by helping a patient and now it was more than that, he actually had feelings for Mabel. An example of this is when he for the first time said "Yes. The word cost him a painful effort. Not because it wasn't true. But because it was too newly true, the saying seemed to tear open again his newly torn heart. And hardly wanted it to be true, even now"(553). Another example was "...he had not the power to move out of her presence, until she sent him. I was as if she had the life of his body in her hands, and he could not extricate himself. Or perhaps he did not want to"(551). After Mabel made him believe that they were in love he then asked her to marry him. After, she felt guilty because she had manipulated Mr. Fergusson. I think she knew it wasn't out of love but out of sympathy for her.

ternoon"(550). These moments lead us to the important gap question, why Mabel tried to drown in the pond.

The most important sign that led us to believe Mabel was going to kill herself was when she started walking into the pond. This was where Mr. Fergusson comes in and rescues Mabel. I believe Mabel might have faked the suicide in hope that Mr. Fergusson would take notice in her. When he carried her back to the hous

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 945
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English