Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Black Beauty, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Horse Care, Abuse, and Neglect
Class, Transportation, and Victorian England
Good, Evil, and Power
Dignity and Religion
Summary
Analysis
Once Black Beauty’s knees are healed, he’s put in a small meadow for a few months. He’s lonely all by himself—but one day, Ginger is turned in with him. They’re happy to see each other, but Ginger shares that she’s not here for Black Beauty’s benefit: hard riding has ruined her, and they hope rest will help. Lord George is a careless rider, and he took Ginger in a steeplechase even though a groom said Ginger’s back was strained. Ginger came in in the top three, but she couldn’t breathe, and her back is even worse now. She laments that both she and Black Beauty have been ruined in their prime by “a drunkard” and a “fool.” The horses happily spend time together in the meadow until Lord W returns.
The fact that both Ginger and Black Beauty end up in this field after being “ruined” highlights that Squire Gordon’s good intentions couldn’t save his beloved horses. They’re powerless to care for or defend themselves against abuse and mistreatment. It’s worth considering that at this point in time, when horses are the primary mode of transportation, being “ruined” (that is, unable to work) is a dangerous place to be in. If a horse can’t work, after all, it’s useless—and its life may be at risk.
Themes
Lord W and York come to the meadow one day. Lord W is very annoyed; he says he’s lost a lot of money, and he ruined Squire Gordon’s favorite horses. Ginger, he says, will have a year of rest, but Black Beauty isn’t fit to be here with his knees. They must sell him. York says he knows a man in Bath who owns livery stables and would happily take a good, if unsightly, horse. The men leave, and Ginger laments that she’s going to lose her only friend.
Fortunately for Black Beauty, at least, Ginger’s use of “ruined” seems to be somewhat exaggerated; he can work, just not for someone as wealthy as Lord W. This again shows how Lord W is willing to prioritize his own desire to look fashionable over the wellbeing of the horse. And once Black Beauty leaves, he’ll no longer have Lord W’s protection against further abuse or neglect.
Themes
A week later, a groom comes to the field, halters Black Beauty, and leads him away. Black Beauty travels by train to the livery stable in Bath. There, the stables aren’t as pleasant as he’s used to: the stalls are on a slope and horses are tied in their stalls, so he can never get any rest on flat ground. But Black Beauty believes his new master does the best he can to care for his horses.
Things are getting progressively worse for Black Beauty, and now he begins to introduce readers to what bad stable management looks like. He begins by describing the sloping stables, which makes work hard since he can’t get proper rest. This also highlights the importance of rest to a horse’s wellbeing.
Themes
