D H Lawrence and the Human Animal
... In “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter”, D. H. Lawrence explores the “dog” in everyone, that ever-present animal instinct. It prevails even in the “non-animalistic” animal: the human. D. H. Lawrence portrayed the characters of “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter” by applying animal qualities to each of them in their dominance and submission, in their sexually tainted perception of love, and in their need for self-sufficiency. ... In humans, there exists these same extremes of animal behaviorisms. ... His life was over, he would be a subject animal now. (page 227) Joe was a submissive animal. ... She was a free animal, a dominant animal. These characters are marked by their animal actions and attributes. D. H. Lawrence also displayed Mabel’s animal quality when she was with Dr.