D.H. Lawrence's eerie short-story, The Rocking-Horse Winner, contains several memorable characters, but none are more dynamic or more clearly illustrated than Hester, the mother of the luck-crazed gambling boy, Paul. Although she struggles through the motions of being a suitable mother well enough to deceive her neighbors, she is unable to hide the truth from her children. Hester's nonmaternalistic relationship with her children, especially Paul, and her attitudes about the relationship between luck and prosperity offer insight into her characterization. The author of the short-story uses these elements to demonstrate that Hester is full of greed, and that her fixation with luck and money leads to a fatal obsession for Paul.

The first indicator of Hester's personality is her relationship with her children. Her friends and neighbors see her as an excellent mother, and comment that, "She is such a good mother. She adores her children." (1). While...