The secret of the rocking horse is not revealed to Pauls' mother until the end of the story because she probably would have found it as strange as the reader. However, the reader is given many clues about how Paul is finding the winner of the horse races and this helps us to understand the sick relationship between mother and son. The obvious sexual overtones of riding a horse make Paul's obsession with pleasing his mother even more bizarre than if he were reading tarot cards or something like that. Leaving Paul's secret to the end also helps show Hester's insensibility and carelessness about her son. She does have some hint and anxiety about his odd behavior, but chooses to ignore those feelings until it is too late. Thus, Lawrence has created much suspense by leaving Hester in the dark about her son's behavior and also shown the audience her true personality by leaving the secret until the end of the story.

In "The Rocking-Horse Winner," why is the rocking horse's secret revealed near the end?

The narrator does this to contrast Hester's greed and Paul's unselfish giving. When Paul begins winning money, he unselfishly gives it to his mother, Hester, without her knowing it is from him. Hester greedily takes the money without question as to where it came from. Unfortunately, Paul's luck seems to run short as his mother is still unsatisfied with the free income. Paul sacrifices his health, and eventually his life, to make his mother happy, to make sure that his mother will have an abundance of money. In the end, Hester realizes that Paul is the one who has been providing the money. However, it is too late for her to show her love.

In the end,