Question

In "The Horse Dealer's Daughter," what is Mabel's situation within her family? What is her relationship with her brothers? What are her feelings for her mother? For her father?

Accepted Answer

It is clear from the ways in which her brothers treat her and discuss her future without compassion or care that Mabel does not occupy a very good position in the family of which she is a part. At the beginning of the story, when she and her three brothers are together for what may well be the last time whilst they overlook the dissolution of their family and their belongings, the brothers discuss what she might do without really including...

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But Mabel did not take any notice of him. They had talked at her and round her for so many years, that she hardly heard them at all.

Mabel therefore has been in the position of having been talked "at" and "round" in demeaning and upsetting ways that she has ceased to even register their words or take notice of what it is that they actually say. It is clear from the brothers that whilst they are happy to discuss what she could do as something of an abstract question, they will not do anything for her, and she must make her own way in the world, indicating that their love and affection towards her is profoundly limited.

The Horse Dealer's Daughter

In "The Horse Dealer's Daughter," what is Mabel's situation within her family? What is her relationship with her brothers? What are her feelings for her mother? For her father?

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In "The Horse Dealer's Daughter," what is Mabel's situation within her family? What is her relationship with her brothers? What are her feelings for her mother? For her father?

Expert Answers

Unlock This Answer Now

Related Questions

In D.H. Lawrence's "The Horse Dealer's Daughter," what powerful feeling do both Mabel and the doctor share?

What are the major themes evident in "The Horse Dealer's Daughter"?

In "The Horse Dealer's Daughter," in what way does the opening scene help us to understand Mabel and the events that follow?

What is the central theme of "The Horse Dealer's Daughter"?

What is the point of view in &quot;The Horse Dealer's Daughter&quot;?

What is the point of view in "The Horse Dealer's Daughter"?