SOURCE: Meyers, Jeffrey. “D. H. Lawrence and Tradition: ‘The Horse Dealer's Daughter’.” Studies in Short Fiction 26, no. 3 (summer 1989): 346-51.

In the following essay, Meyers finds allusions to mythology, literature, and Lawrence's earlier work in “The Horse Dealer's Daughter.”

“The Horse Dealer's Daughter” (1922) has often been read as a story of resurrection,¹ though this does not fully account for its extraordinary mystery and power. Previous critics have not noticed that in this tale Lawrence combines both classical and Christian resurrection myths, draws on literary allusions and transforms analogues in nineteenth-century fiction to express his characteristic themes: revelation of truth through nakedness and touch, release of primitive emotions through ritual and ceremony, self-discovery and return to life through regenerative love. These techniques and themes connect this story to the works Lawrence completed during the last five years of his life: “The Woman Who Rode Away,” St. Mawr, The Virgin and...