“The Horse Dealer’s Daughter”

Abstract：“The Horse Dealers Daughter” is usually interpreted as being about loves redeeming power. However， if more attention is paid to the main protagonist， we will find that it is also a story about seduction.

Key words：a shrewd girl； personality； seduction

Mabel is a shrewd girl， who picks out Dr. Fergusson， an eligible doctor， and exerts all her forces to seduce him. She discovers and uses all her sexual power to get herself a husband successfully. So it is a story about seduction——a shrewd girls seduction.

1. The Predicament of Mabel and Her Personality

（1）The Predicament of Mabel

Mabel， the daughter of a horse dealer， is an unmarried woman of twenty-seven. She lives in a business family and used to live a pretty good life. However， with his fathers death， “there was nothing but debt and threatening.” Mabel， not only loses her father to depend upon and feel secure in， but also loses her job as the manager of her house. Whats worse， none of her three brothers really cares what she can do， only asking her dutifully. She doesnt know what to do and where to go.

（2）The Personality of Mabel

Firstly， Mabel is not close to her brothers. Mabel is a plain， uninteresting woman. She seldom shows emotion on her face. Her brothers can be described as three handsome and well-spoken men. Mabel is independent， having taken care of the house for ten years without a servant. Even though they depend upon her， they seem to have control over her. Her brothers feel superior to her. This treatment could have led to her insecurity. Secondly， the title should be taken into consider. Since her father has been dead from the very beginning， his appearance in the title deserves attention. Horse traders， in order to get rid of unsatisfactory horses and make profits， sometimes use tricks to dupe or sting a buyer. It is not surprising that maybe she has learnt a few tricks of his fathers trade and makes good use of them.

2. The Process of Mabels Seduction

（1） Beginning of the Seduction

So as mentioned above， Mabel is very close to despair. But she would always hold the keys of her own situation and at the moment， Dr. Fergusson breaks in her world. Mabel has the idea in mind that this man is what she needs and she is going to capture his heart. Saying “No” to his question is obviously the very first step toward her plan of seducing. Mabel clearly knows that say no to men can attract their interest because she has been living with four men for a long time. And she does attract his interest. He is a bachelor too. Seemingly impossible， she still can have the dream if she is lucky enough， she can find herself a husband， which is certainly better than being a paid skivvy in someones household or a babysitter without pay in her sisters house. Moreover， Dr. Fergussons circumstances are no better than her. He is sad as he is going to miss his buddies； he is weak as he has a cold and feels rotten； he is a relatively newcomer in town.

（2） Practical Actions to Seduce

Another thing noticeable is that “the doctors house was just by the church.” Therefore， Mabel has the chance to carry out her perfect plan that when she is cleaning her mothers grave in the churchyard. On the grey， wintry day， when their eyes meet， he cant forget the slow， large and portentous eyes and her face. There is a kind of special feeling， partly sympathy， partly unknown. And then， Mabel chooses the perfect time， to jump into the pond to join her mother. There is the possibility that she might know the route he takes and know the time he goes out of the surgery since it is in a small town. She has a bet on her own life which is also her only wager. Fortunately and definitely， she wins the bet.

Then what Mabel needs to do is to flirt with Dr. Fergusson to make him fall in love with her and marry her： “The house was empty. The fire was burning in the grate.” Perfect environment it is. And how skillful Mabel is！ Once Mabel wakes up she uses a series of questions to captivate and induce Dr. Fergusson： “What did I do？ Was I out of my mind？ Who undressed me？” All these questions have the perfect effect to induce Dr. Fergusson to answer Mabels next question. That is “Do you love me then？” What a perfect speaking skill！ Mabel has successfully induced Dr. Fergusson to the point that he has fallen in love with her. Or we can say Mabel has successfully suggested Dr. Fergusson that he is in love with her. Although Dr. Fergusson has never thought of himself fall in love with the girl， he does fall in love with her and he is courage to admit that he loves her after Mabels seduction with her half-naked body， her kisses and her tears： “A flame seemed to burn the hand that grasped her soft shoulder.” How can a man resist！ It is animal instinct. Her eyes are full of powerful love and her face is shining beautifully， which are also strong weapons of women. He is conquered at last. Thus， Step by step， Mabel relies on her usual charms， the powerful eyes and shining face to allure Fergusson， not her good looks or good nature. And she makes it.

3. CONCLUSION

Mabel has made a good deal for her. All comes from the doctors question， which shows interest in her as she thinks so that she seduces him with all the trading tricks she knows. Her knowledge of these things is innate. Her feminine power is instinctive. Her personality， that she is shrewd and persistent paves the way of her successful seduction.

【WORKS CITED】

[1] 李金奎. 壓抑與沖動之間的搖擺——勞倫斯的《馬販子的女兒》中“血的意識”[J]. 信陽師范學院學報， 2007（5）：119-121.

[2] 盧 敏. 戴倫·勞倫斯作品導讀[M]. 武漢：武漢大學出版社， 2003.

[3] 金朝霞. 描繪心靈軌跡的詩篇——《馬販子的女兒》的心理描寫[J]. 洛陽師專學報， 1998（3）：64-65.

【作者簡介】

鄧倩倩（1992—），女，漢族，四川閬中人，西安外國語大學英文學院研究生部2014級英語語言文學專業碩士研究生。主要研究方向：美國文學。