and his sisters, even though she "adores" them. When he receives a rocking horse for Christmas, he rides it often and comes to find that he can predict what horse is going to win the next big horse race. Hester: Paul's mother. She becomes "dissatisfied with her marriage" when she finds that her husband is not lucky and doesn't make enough money. Bassett: The family gardener and friend. Is the one who gets Paul into horse racing and later becomes "betting partners". Oscar Creswell: Paul's uncle and his mother's brother. Provided the money that Paul used to make his first win at the horse race. Signed the lawyer papers for Paul's mother to receive "one thousand pounds at a time, on the mother's birthday, for the next five years". Oscar becomes partners with Paul and Bassett. Themes Lawrence suggests through his story that materialism and love cannot coexist. Hester pressures Paul to satisfy her materialistic desires. By demonstrating the lack of love in materialism, Lawrence suggests that external sources like money and luck cannot bring one happiness; instead, happiness must come from within. The juxtaposition of Hester's greed with Paul's generosity highlights the dichotomy between materialism and love. Standard edition The Woman who Rode Away and Other Stories (1928) edited by Dieter Mehl and Christa Jansohn, Cambridge University Press, 1995, pp. 230–243, References Foster, Thomas C. How To Read Literature Like A Professor "The Rocking-horse Winner." Magill Book Reviews (1990): Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 Oct. 2011 External links Full text of "The Rocking-Horse Winner" on The Short Story Project Short stories by D. H. Lawrence 1926 short stories Works originally published in Harper's Bazaar Short stories adapted into films