YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE

Helen M Walters looks at how to use money in fiction with a short story by DH Lawrence

Last month’s story was about love, but this month we have a story that starts with an absence of love. In The Rocking Horse Winner by DH Lawrence, Hester is a woman who should feel love for her children, but doesn’t. On life’s balance sheet she has the advantage of good birth and good looks, but she lacks love and also luck. As always, you will get the most benefit from this masterclass if you read the story yourself: https://writ.rs/ rockinghorsewinner

One reason for the lack of love in the household is worry about lack of money, to the extent that money has become a bit of an obsession and this obsession runs through the story. Hester is convinced that she doesn’t have enough money because she is unlucky and has married unluckily. As the story progresses it emerges that in her mind money, luck and love are all closely linked.

Because she had an ‘advantaged’ background, the trappings and appearances of money are very important to her. Although she finds it hard to give her children love, she does give them expensive presents. Notice how her keenness to give the appearance of love to her children despite its absence, parallels her need to appear to have more money than she has. And even when she does manage to make some money it is not enough. The more money she has, the more she wants.

The link between money and luck is underlined as the story progresses and the son of the house, Paul, turns to gambling on the horses to make money. He has internalised the message from his mother that luck and money are closely linked. If she cannot be lucky, then he must be instead. Of course, the flip side of gambling is that it can do great damage, and that will turn out to be crucial in this story.

The story is run through with a feeling of anxiety. Notice how the children are aware of their mother’s lack of love for them and also of the precarious family finances. They feel like they can hear the house whispering to them that it needs more money. There is an unsettling sense that not only the house, but also the doll belonging to the girls and the rocking horse belonging to the boy are somehow sentient and standing in judgement.

The scene is set as we get to know the family with its lack of love, luck and money, then the rest of the story revolves around Paul’s efforts to win money through betting on horse races. This consists of complicated arrangements involving the rocking horse, Bassett the gardener, and Paul’s uncle Oscar. Notice the insistence on luck. Paul is somehow convinced that the rocking horse can lead him to luck. And, indeed, as it turns out it is while riding the horse to the point of frenzy that he is able to pick winners of various races and bet on them with Bassett’s help.

One interesting aspect of the story is the way in which none of the adults involved seem to have any qualms about involving a small boy in gambling. Oscar and Bassett even use his insights for their own ends as they mirror his bets.

Note also how Paul believes at least some of his luck has come to him via Oscar since it was pocket money given to him by his uncle that formed his

IN THE MONEY

first successful wager. Luck, lacking in both his parents, can flow into the family from a more distant relative.

The reason that Paul manages to do so well with his bets is that sometimes he just ‘knows’ a horse will win. He is reluctant to tell his uncle how he knows, and indeed, the reader is left not really understanding other than that it is something that comes to him when he rides his rocking horse. Is it a voice coming to him in a supernatural way, akin to the voices in the house that incessantly ask for more money, or is it simply that he is able to make a fortunate guess, being endowed with the luck that bypassed his parents?

In order to quell the house’s demands for money, Paul schemes with Oscar to get some of his winnings to his parents. But notice how he calls on Oscar to keep it secret. He doesn’t want his mother to know about the fact that he is lucky, because she might want to stop him. It almost feels like her involvement could in some way negate the luck. Possibly predictably, the money isn’t enough for Hester and she wants more. As she spends the money, the voices in the house become insistent that they want even more. Paul has found luck, but he still hasn’t managed to find love or enough money to keep his mother happy.

And this sows the seeds of the ultimate tragedy for the family. Under even more pressure to win money Paul becomes more desperate to be sure about a horse he can bet on in a big race such as the Grand National or the Derby. This leads to more frenzied riding of the rocking horse in an attempt to achieve the trance like state in which he can pick a winner.

Sadly, this leads to him becoming dangerously ill. He wins a huge amount as a result of picking the winner of the Derby, but just as he declares to his mother how lucky he is, he takes a turn for the worse and dies. He has achieved both luck and money, but he’s paid a very high price for it. In a final twist, the reader feels that at last Hester loves the son she has lost and even the huge amount of money he has won for her will be no comfort.

Money. Making it. Spending it. Saving it. It’s a huge factor in most people’s lives, so it’s not surprising it often plays a big role in fiction.

If we look back in time, stories involving money are everywhere. Who can forget Rumpelstiltskin spinning straw into gold? Who wasn’t captivated as a child by the story of Cinderella going from rags to riches? What about the biblical story of Jesus throwing over the money lenders’ tables in the temple or telling the parable of the widow’s mite? Or the myth of King Midas who turned everything he touched into gold? Perhaps you could take inspiration from one of these ideas and give it a modern take as the basis of a story.

Money also makes its way into many of our most common phrases and sayings. Money makes the world go round. A fool and his money are soon parted. Money can’t buy happiness. Money is the root of all evil. A penny for your thoughts. Throwing good money after bad. Could you use one of these as a starting point for a story?

Here are a few things to think about if you want to use money as a theme or important part of the plot of your story. Firstly, what’s your character’s relationship with money like? Where did their money come from? Did they earn it, inherit it or win it on the lottery? Is it easy come, easy go or do they like to hang on to every penny? Have they got all the money they need, or are they constantly craving more? How do they like to handle their money. Do they like cold hard cash? Or do they prefer to keep all their transactions virtual and electronic? Or are they traditional enough to still write the odd cheque or send a postal order occasionally?

Maybe they even stash bundles of fivers in a tea caddy or at the back of the cupboard.

Ask yourself what your character wants money for. Is it for the sake of appearances? Is it just an attempt to ‘keep up with the Joneses’ and be surrounded by the trappings of wealth? Or is there a specific reason why they need money. Perhaps it’s for medical treatment they can’t get on the NHS. Maybe they want to pay off a student loan. Do they want to buy a lavish present or throw an extravagant party in order to impress someone? Maybe they want to go on the trip of a lifetime and see the world.

Or is there a more sinister reason? Are they being blackmailed or have they run up huge gambling debts? Could it be that they need to pay a fine? You can really crank up the drama here. Why not see if you can come up with a plot idea where the need for money becomes a matter of life and death. Alternatively, what’s the most trivial or self-indulgent reason for needing money you can think of? Does that give you any plot ideas?

Maybe even more important than what your character needs money for is what are they willing to do to get it? Perhaps they are willing to hold down three jobs and work all the hours god sends. Or they might be willing to go further than that. Would they be willing to break the law to get more money? Would they beg, borrow or steal? Would they kill for it?

Whether your story is rags to riches, or riches to rags, if you can really nail your character’s relationship with money you’ll have a great insight into them and how their story will unfold.