The root of evil in "The Rocking-Horse Winner" is the mother's desire for more and more money. Although the family lives comfortably in a large house with servants, the mother expected more from life and feels disappointed. The family lives beyond its means and the need for "more" permeates the entire atmosphere of the home, until the walls themselves seem to be calling for more money. The sensitive young son, Paul, feels his mother's yearning, anxious desire for more and more money. Being young, he doesn't realize that probably no amount of money will ever be "enough" to satisfy his mother. Instead, wanting to earn her love and to please her, he rides his rocking-horse, because he knows if he rides it hard enough, he will be able to predict the winner of upcoming horse races. He wins 5,000 pounds for his mother in a race, but it's not enough for her. Finally, he kills himself to win her a substantial amount of money in the Derby. The moral of the story might be summed up as "the love of money is the root of all evil." The root problem in the family is not an absolute need for money: they are fine financially by any objective standard, but the problem is yearning for more style and status, putting being at a certain place on the class ladder above human needs for love and affection.
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