In the Rocking Horse Winner what do the whispers symbolize?

Answer 1

There can be a few interpretations of "the whispers" within "The Rocking Horse-Winner". Personally, I believe that they represent the family's financial crisis. Isn't it ironic that after Paul gives Hester (his mom) the winnings, the whispers transform and are no longer what they are described to be at the beginning? They almost scream "There must be more money!" instead of silently taunting the family as they have done before. But why do they start screaming? In the first place, they are present because of the family's debt. When Hester spends all of the money originally intended to pay off debt and (I assume) stop the whispers, they increase. This completely supports the idea that the voices share a relationship with (or symbolize) the family's debt. Some other relations to explore could be with Paul's loss of innocence, his disappointment in Hester, his drive to win her love, and many many more but I believe I covered the most obvious.