The Horse Dealer's Daughter

This presentation reviews the short story, "The Horse Dealer's Daughter," written by D. H. Lawrence. What appears to be a desperate situation in Mabel's life turns out to be a moment of epiphany between her and Fergusson when they both realize that they have stumbled upon love inadvertently. It took life teetering on the edge to force them out of their routines to see each other in a different way.

 Animals
 the three sons and daughter of the horse dealer are compared to animals (mainly dogs and horses); the older brother, Joe, is described as a "subject animal" that is about to "marry and go into harness," on the other hand, Fred Henry thinks of himself as an "animal which controls," Mabel is named " bull-dog" by her brothers.
 They are all represented by the narrator through an imagery of four horses having no sense of direction and walking in a movement that "showed a massive, slumberous strength, and a stupidity which held them in subjection."
 Writer describes the physical attributes of the characters
 Inability of both the family and the horses to intelligently respond to situations which bewilder them and over which they have no control.

 Pond
 This drowning in the pond represents the summit of Mabel's depression and confusion. The rescue, on the other hand, represents a second chance to her.
 Dead and cold.
 Dr. Fergusson had no feelings for Mabel before the incident. The narrator describes the pond as lifeless right before the doctor had entered it. Before going in, the relationship between them was dead and cold, and they had no passionate feelings for one another. Dr. Fergusson tries to rescue Mabel for no other reason but because he was doing his job. The pond also describes Dr. Fergusson's life as dull and pointless. His life was still and silent before he had met her.
 He was afraid to go in too deep into the pond, and was afraid of drowning. This represents his fear of falling in love. He was scared of the water because he