Eyes In The Rocking Horse Winner

Throughout the course of literature, eyes have been viewed as gateways to one's true nature and thought process; there's even a cliché that states as much, one that is consistently being reiterated. D.H. Lawrence's "Rocking-Horse Winner" contains various instances of this motif in action, with the repeated mention of eyes providing crucial insight into both Paul and his mother by revealing the true nature of the latter's feelings towards her children whenever they look into each other's eyes and by revealing the true intensity and ferocity behind the former's determination when various characters make note of his eyes and even compare them to "fire," which also provides a glimpse into his smothering and overzealous attitude, one that resurfaces time and time again throughout the story.
Almost immediately within the first paragraph, the mother’s insecurities and attitude toward her children come
Notably, this occurs most often during the times he rides his rocking horse, chasing after a premonition of newfound luck. Paul’s sisters realize his frenzied state when they recognize the “strange glare [he has in his eyes and dare] not speak to him” (4). Then later, as his caretakers urge him to give up his horse because of how ferociously he rocks on it, he “only [glares] at them in silence” (4), an action that reappears once more when his mother and uncle stumble upon him riding his horse and suggest that he may be too old for it. The “blue glare” of Paul’s eyes even causes his mother to “[watch] him with an anxious expression” (5). So enveloped is he in chasing luck that he discards any awareness of the outside world — in this case, his on-looking sisters, his nurses, and even his