Mable Pervin: An Awakening Most people would view this as a love story, and in a way, it is. Mostly this is the story of a woman reaching her sexual awakening and regaining hope during an impossible situation. In the short story, “The Horse Dealers Daughter” by D.H. Lawrence, Mabel Pervin is found with few options as her brothers suggest various rather unpleasant prospects. Mabel’s reservation, determination, and pride kept her a self- assured woman up until the point of her sexual awakening giving her hope for the future. Mable, is shown as a reserved young woman with few friends and neutral to her surroundings, the option of marriage not in question. Lawrence describes her as “sullen-looking young woman of twenty-seven…who would have been …show more content…
Mable did not allow her family’s impoverished situation lessen her pride. “so long as there was money, the girl felt herself established, and brutally proud” (D.H. Lawrence 95). She was unwilling to demean herself to live with her sister or as a servant, “Why should she answer to anybody” (D.H. Lawrence 95) Mable’s pride was far more powerful than her humility and she believed herself above the life of a spinster or skivvy, thus Mabel found death a better option. Mable’s pride is also what intrigued doctor Jack Fergusson, he was captivated by her “looking at him with slow, large, portentous eyes…her face…seemed to mesmerize him.” (D.H. Lawrence 102) He was attracted to her overly solemn, pompous, expression but not enough to act upon …show more content…
This love story revealed with Mable’s sexual awakening and the glimmer of hope presented to her through Jack Fergusson. Mable Pervin with her reservation, determination, and pride overcame her struggle and found love. Works Cited: Faue, Elizabeth. “Women's Suffrage, 1900-1920.” Encyclopedia of American History, Vol. 7, Revised Edition, Facts On File, 2009. History Research Center, online.infobase.com/Article/Details/202463?q=women's suffrage . Accessed 26 Aug. 2017. Grossman, Mark. “Lawrence, D. H.” Encyclopedia of the Interwar Years, Facts On File, 2000. American History, online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/250817?q=england 1920. Accessed 25 Aug. 2017. Lawrence D.H. “The Horse Dealers Daughter”, Faculty.Weber, faculty.weber.edu/jyoung/Electronic%20Reserve%203400/Horse%20Dealer's%20Daughter.pdf . Accessed 24 August
"The Women's Rights Movement, 1848–1920." The Women's Rights Movement, 1848-1920. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. .
In the years after 1870 there were many reasons for the development of the women’s suffrage movement. The main reasons were changes in the law. Some affecting directly affecting women, and some not, but they all added to the momentum of Women’s campaign for the vote.
"The Fight for Women's Suffrage — History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts." History.com — History Made Every Day — American & World History. A&E Television Networks. Web. 12 Dec. 2011. .
Louise, the unfortunate spouse of Brently Mallard dies of a supposed “heart disease.” Upon the doctor’s diagnosis, it is the death of a “joy that kills.” This is a paradox of happiness resulting into a dreadful ending. Nevertheless, in reality it is actually the other way around. Of which, is the irony of Louise dying due to her suffering from a massive amount of depression knowing her husband is not dead, but alive. This is the prime example to show how women are unfairly treated. If it is logical enough for a wife to be this jovial about her husband’s mournful state of life then she must be in a marriage of never-ending nightmares. This shows how terribly the wife is being exploited due her gender in the relationship. As a result of a female being treated or perceived in such a manner, she will often times lose herself like the “girl
Mrs. Mallard?s freedom did not last but a few moments. Her reaction to the news of the death of her husband was not the way most people would have reacted. We do not know much about Mr. And Mrs. Mallards relationship. We gather from the text that her freedom must have been limited in some way for her to be feeling this way. Years ago women were expected to act a certain way and not to deviate from that. Mrs. Mallard could have been very young when she and Brently were married. She may not have had the opportunity to see the world through a liberated woman?s eyes and she thought now was her chance.
Cooney, Robert. Winning the vote: The Triumph of the American Women Suffrage Movement. California: American Graphic Press, 2005. Print.
Newspapers printed stories about the women’s treatment in jail, garnering public sympathy and support for the cause. By 1918, President Wilson publicly announced his support for suffrage. Thus, victory for women suffrage happened in 1920. After looking closely at all four documents, the Progressive Era ended child labor, improved working conditions, and brought victory to women suffrage. Goals of the movement and the people who took part in it have also been highlighted.
"Working and Voting — Women in the 1920s." American History USA RSS. Web. 11 May 2014. http://www.americanhistoryusa.com/working-voting-women-1920s/
Hill, Christopher. A. A. The World Turned Upside Down: Radical Ideas During the English Revolution. London: Temple Smith, 1972. Maus, Katherine. "
D.H. Lawrence’s writing’s in “Horse Dealer’s Daughter” shows the raw emotions of a young innocent woman who has just lost her father and mourns for her mother. Mabel is a very reserved and quiet girl who is not treated very well. After Mabel’s father dies he leaves behind an immense amount of debt. Mabel is being forced by her brothers to move away and start a new life. Not knowing where to go or what to do she begins to become depressed and misses the comfort of her deceased mother.
Hollister, C. Warren. The Making of England. 7th ed. A History of England. Ed. Lacey Baldwin Smith. Vol. 1. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath, 1996.
She would not have grieved over someone she did not love. Even in the heat of her passion, she thinks about her lost love. She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked safe with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. Her love may not have been the greatest love of all time, but it was still love. Marriage was not kind to Mrs. Mallard, her life was dull and not worth living, her face showed the years of repression.
Many authors are recognized by a reoccurring theme found throughout their works. The author D.H. Lawrence can be classified into this group. He is well known for his reoccurring theme that romantic love is psychologically redeeming. He wrote “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter” , a short story that exemplifies this theme quite accurately, in 1922 (Sagar 12). Through excellent use of symbolism in “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter”, Lawrence renders his theme of romantic love being psychologically redeeming through the emotional development of the two main characters, Mabel and Dr. Fergusson.
Mrs. Mallard’s repressed married life is a secret that she keeps to herself. She is not open and honest with her sister Josephine who has shown nothing but concern. This is clearly evident in the great care that her sister and husband’s friend Richard show to break the news of her husband’s tragic death as gently as they can. They think that she is so much in love with him that hearing the news of his death would aggravate her poor heart condition and lead to death. Little do they know that she did not love him dearly at all and in fact took the news in a very positive way, opening her arms to welcome a new life without her husband. This can be seen in the fact that when she storms into her room and her focus shifts drastically from that of her husband’s death to nature that is symbolic of new life and possibilities awaiting her. Her senses came to life; they come alive to the beauty in the nature. Her eyes could reach the vastness of the sky; she could smell the delicious breath of rain in the air; and ears became attentive to a song f...
In actuality, she was defiant, and ate macaroons secretly when her husband had forbidden her to do so. She was quite wise and resourceful. While her husband was gravely ill she forged her father’s signature and borrowed money without her father or husband’s permission to do so and then boastfully related the story of doing so to her friend, Mrs. Linde. She was proud of the sacrifices she made for her husband, but her perceptions of what her husband truly thought of her would become clear. She had realized that the childlike and submissive role she was playing for her husband was no longer a role she wanted to play. She defied the normal roles of the nineteenth century and chose to find her true self, leaving her husband and children