In Which way are women presented in a variety of pre 1914 stories.
Hannah Day 11R
English coursework
Short stories
In Which way are women presented in a variety of pre 1914 stories
Introduction
In the following three stories 'The unexpected' Kate Chapin, Tony Kytes-Thomas Hardy and The sons veto- Thomas Hardy present women in different manners. Dorothea in the Unexpected seems to be maverick, she is non conformist. Milly in Tony Kytes is also a conformist. Sophy in Sons veto marries out of her class and has to put up with the consequences of her action.
The Unexpected- Kate Chapin
Your First impression of Dorothea is that she is truly in love and awaits the return of her beloved Randall who leaves her for a month.
"Lingering hisses and sighs"
They test their love by exchanging letters once a day.
"Daily letters, impassioned and interminable."
Whilst Randall is away he falls seriously ill, he prepares his home-coming and describes himself to be not the man he used to be in letters to Dorothea.
"All the fever and pain of this detestable illness"
Dorothea looks hour upon hour at Randall's portrait reminding her self of what he used to look like. This gives the impression that she is self-centred and loved Randall for his looks; also she is threatened by Randall's illness.
"Devilish transformation was she undergoing in contemplating him"
When Randall asked her to marry him and promised her all the riches when he died, Dorothea said no as she doesn't want to be married to a unattractive man and with the threat of his death. She doesn't want to become widow at such a young age and his offer of money did not change her mind.
" Appearing whom she would be forced to face and speak to"
This was because the role of single women is important because marriage is for life and if she were a widow, she would be looked down upon as a lower class. Also she could become lonely and looked upon by a middle-aged man. Not young males again. This shows that she is self-obsessed and wants a squeaky-clean image and a future with the upper class society. Also a young man who is handsome, wealthy and attractive.
The language used by the author shows passion between the lovers.
"Lingering kisses and sighs"
"Clinging till last wrench came"
This use of language shows real love and that the lovers could not bear to be apart. The author then goes on describing the words which were used in the letters sent everyday between the lovers.
"Impassioned and interminable"
This again shows the love and how strong their relationship is. After Randall falls ill the author describes how he writes the letters.
"Tremulous scrawl"
As he is ill he writes with effort and love it becomes a scrawl which shows that he is not him self.
The author also describes how he feels.
"Hunger for her presence"
This clearly shows that he wants to see his beloved Dorothea and is in love. When Dorothea knows that Randall is not the same. The author uses language, which shows her personality.
"Perfect specimen of youthful health" D
Dorothea wants to have a perfect looking man that can give her a perfect life.
When Dorothea meets Randall again the author describes his features in depth.
"Eyes were sunken"
"Skin was waxy and hectic"
The words used create an image of a sick man, who has obviously changed, which is created in the reader's mind. The author then goes on about the passionate love they had, has gone for Dorothea but not for Randall.
"Kissed her so hungrily"
This use of language shows that he missed her and was so pleased to see her.
The author then describes the lips that he was kissing her with.
"Dry and parched"
Not soft healthy lips he once kissed her with such youth.
When Dorothea leaves him the author describes her.
"Fleeing as if death himself pursued her"
This describes her feelings that death will catch up with her and ruin her life.
Tony Kytes, the arch deceiver- Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy has a Narrator to introduce the characters.
"Mr Burton a colourful Wessex dialect of what happens to Tony Kytes a young man who is about to be engaged to Milly"
Tony Kytes who's a handsome ladies man.
"Quite the women's favourite"
Tony is planned to be married to a young girl called Milly Richards.
Tony driving his wagon sees Unity Sallet another girl who he had feelings for.
"Young women he'd been very tender toward"
Unity asks for a lift home, he accepts and she starts to question Tony for his love for Milly Richards.
"Why did ye desert me for that other one"
Unity comes across as a lower class and forces herself upon Tony. Unity carries on questioning Tony about her appearance.
"Can you say I'm not pretty"
Unity is very modice and loves the attention Tony Kytes gives her, she feels betrayed and wants him to question his own love for Milly.
Tony Kytes spots his ...
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"Young women he'd been very tender toward"
Unity asks for a lift home, he accepts and she starts to question Tony for his love for Milly Richards.
"Why did ye desert me for that other one"
Unity comes across as a lower class and forces herself upon Tony. Unity carries on questioning Tony about her appearance.
"Can you say I'm not pretty"
Unity is very modice and loves the attention Tony Kytes gives her, she feels betrayed and wants him to question his own love for Milly.
Tony Kytes spots his fiancée Milly round the corner and asks Unity to hide in the back of the wagon.
"Will ye lie down in the back part of the wagon"
Unity makes advances towards Tony but her guilt makes her hide, Tony then gives her hope.
"Isn't true that is all settled between her n me"
Unity comes across quite gullible and feels she as Tony in her grasp. Unity hides whilst Tony picks up Milly.
Milly greets Tony with angrily words.
"How long you been coming home!"
Milly takes their relationship very seriously.
"Since you asked me, and I promised"
Milly shows that she has morals and she has only turned up as he asked her to marry him.
"I shouldn't have come else, Mr Tony!"
The conversation then goes on which seems relaxed and natural.
"Oh no: she's just home"
Milly seems happy that she is going to marry Tony Kytes.
The next character to be introduced is Hannah Jolliver, a young pretty girl who Tony was thinking previously to ask her hand in marriage.
Tony seeing Hannah asks Milly his future wife to hide so it doesn't hurt Hannah's feelings to see them together.
"T'will prevent angry passions rising"
Milly shows that she is considerate of others feelings and crawls under some sacks.
When Hannah sees Tony she asks for a lift home.
"Me to ride home with you?"
Tony seeing Hannah remembers how beautiful she is and starts to take her home. Tony regretting asking Milly to marry him instead of Hannah starts to speak to her tenderly.
"Dear Hannah"
Even though his future wife Milly and Unity were in the wagon.
Hannah still in love with Tony wants him to leave Milly and marry her.
"Throw over Milly"
Tony still in love with Hannah shows his feelings when he tells Hannah that he can get out of marring Milly.
"I think I can get out of it"
Milly hearing what her love has said starts to squeak with anger. Hannah hearing this noise thinks that something is there.
"Something's there"
Tony remembering that Milly is still there says he has some ferrets.
"Couple of ferrets in a bag"
Nearing home Tony notices his farther, who is asking him to go over and speak to him. Tony leaves the 3 girls in his wagon to go and talk to his farther.
"I go and find out what farther wants?"
His farther asks him why his has Hannah Jolliver with him
"Why is you mean to marry Milly Richards?"
Tony's farther thinks it's a scandal having Hannah in the wagon when he's engaged to Milly, Tony then goes on and tells his farther that he has all 3 women in his wagon hidden from each other.
Tony's farther then asks him.
"Which ever of 'em did not ask to ride with thee"
Tony replies that it was Milly who didn't ask for a lift, his farther then replies.
"Then stick to Milly, she's the best"
This is because she is the only one who isn't a coquette.
Milly finds Unity and puts her in her place explaining that she is engaged to be married to Tony and has the right to be there. Unity reacts by explaining what she other heard.
"He's going to have Hannah and not you, nor me either I could hear that!"
Whilst Tony is talking to his farther the horse gets restless and starts to trot off.
"Can't hold that horse in"
Tony noticing after the wagon. Hannah losing control, the wagon goes up the bank and the 3 ladies fall out.
Hannah's farther was coming up from behind when Hannah spots him; she goes running off to him crying more than ever. Hannah's farther asks.
"If you virtue is left to ee and run a risk"
Hannah replying
"I have spent and I do refuse him!"
All out raged Hannah and Unity refuse his hand in marriage.
"I do refuse him!"
This shows that the women are strong enough to hold their ground even if they want Tony Kytes, they do not want to show weakness and lose honour.
Milly still deeply in love doesn't refuse Tony's proposal but after asking if he meant what he said.
"You didn't really mean what you said to them"
Tony denying any love for the others takes her hand in marriage. Milly determined to marry him in fact marries him the next Sunday.
"Their band were put up the very next day"
Mr Bunton concludes the story by informing the reader.
"I was not able to go to their wedding, but it was a rare party they had, by all account".
Thomas Hardy has portrayed Milly as a moral young woman of their society who was determined to get her man.
The sons veto- Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy describes a mysterious woman who nobody seems to know; yet she is a curiosity to those at the charity event. Hardy creates an interest in this character by making her seem intriguing and the reader wants to find out more about her.
Hardy describes the woman's beautiful hair in detail.
"Braided and twisted and coiled like the rushes of a basket"
He goes on describing the woman's hair and how many hours she spends creating this masterpiece when all she does is brush it out at night.
"Seemed a reckless waste of successful fabrication."
The only thing of beauty is the woman's hair so she takes time over it because she is an invalid and she has no accomplishment. Hardy describes this time as pain as this a skill of artistic nature but this is all she can do, unlike many women of that time who could embroid, flower arrangement etc.
"Unstinted pains"
When at the charity many people would look at her as she had such beautiful hair, and were intrigued by her appearance and would take a second look.
"Almost all turned their heads to take a full and near look at the interesting woman"
Due to her son being from a public school.
"Well known public school"
Many people didn't understand why they didn't know her, from her sons clothing many people assumed they were a wealthy family and should be in the social circle. People talked to each other to find out information about her.
"Inquiries made by some persons"
When people did look at her, she wasn't embarrassed by the fact that people were interested in her, she would reply to their looks by looking back.
"She met the eyes of several of her observers by lifting her own"
She is a curiosity and a bit mysterious in one respect because nobody knows her or about her.
Their relationship between her and her son is distant, and her son corrects her grammar like a parent would a child.
" Has, dear mother- not have"
Her son is rude to her.
"Surly you should know that by this time"
She complies early with what he's said, but doesn't tell him off for being rude to his mother.
"Did not resent his making it"
Hardy makes the reader want to know about her past and how she has come to this predicament.
"Bore upon her history"
Hardy explains how her past life changed when she left her supposed boyfriend 'Sam' and how her life changed dramatically when she spoke to the vicar.
Sam had asked her to marry him, she had concealed it in the vicar that she did not love Sam but she could marry him for the security.
"But it will be a home for me"
The vicar realises how attractive she is and falls for her, when it came to disposing of a servant he was unable to loose her as she had become indispensable to him.
"Sophy did not go, but the others did"
When the vicar feel ill and when Sophy had accident whilst waiting on him, the vicar felt sympathy for her and took her under his wing.
"I cannot let you go"
The vicar proposed to Sophy, but she wasn't in love with him like Sam but she married the vicar for security.
"Sophy did not exactly love him"
Sophy honoured the vicar's position in society and felt it would be good for her to marry up the ladder, but for the vicar he had married below his status by marrying his servant
"Social suicide by this step"
The new couple moves so there would be no gossip about their past and Sophy would be accepted into the social circle.
"It was all on her account"
Due to Sophy saying the wrong things people still look down on her. Despite all of the vicar's efforts to educate her.
"Her husband had taken much trouble with her education".
The sons veto- Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy describes a mysterious woman who nobody seems to know; yet she is a curiosity to those at the charity event. Hardy creates an interest in this character by making her seem intriguing and the reader wants to find out more about her.
Hardy describes the woman's beautiful hair in detail.
"Braided and twisted and coiled like the rushes of a basket"
He goes on describing the woman's hair and how many hours she spends creating this masterpiece when all she does is brush it out at night.
"Seemed a reckless waste of successful fabrication."
The only thing of beauty is the woman's hair so she takes time over it because she is an invalid and she has no accomplishment. Hardy describes this time as pain as this a skill of artistic nature but this is all she can do, unlike many women of that time who could embroid, flower arrangement etc.
"Unstinted pains"
When at the charity many people would look at her as she had such beautiful hair, and were intrigued by her appearance and would take a second look.
"Almost all turned their heads to take a full and near look at the interesting woman"
Due to her son being from a public school.
"Well known public school"
Many people didn't understand why they didn't know her, from her sons clothing many people assumed they were a wealthy family and should be in the social circle. People talked to each other to find out information about her.
"inquiries made by some persons"
When people did look at her, she wasn't embarrassed by the fact that people were interested in her, she would reply to their looks by looking back.
"she met the eyes of several of her observers by lifting her own"
She is a curiosity and a bit mysterious in one respect because nobody knows her or about her.
Their relationship between her and her son is distant, and her son corrects her grammar like a parent would a child.
" Has, dear mother- not have"
Her son is rude to her.
"Surly you should know that by this time"
She complies early with what he's said, but doesn't tell him off for being rude to his mother.
"Did not resent his making it"
Hardy makes the reader want to know about her past and how she has come to this predicament.
"Bore upon her history"
Hardy explains how her past life changed when she left her supposed boyfriend 'Sam' and how her life changed dramatically when she spoke to the vicar.
Sam had asked her to marry him, she had concealed it in the vicar that she did not love Sam but she could marry him for the security.
"But it will be a home for me"
The vicar realises how attractive she is and falls for her, when it came to disposing of a servant he was unable to loose her as she had become indispensable to him.
"Sophy did not go, but the others did"
When the vicar feel ill and when Sophy had accident whilst waiting on him, the vicar felt sympathy for her and took her under his wing.
"I cannot let you go"
The vicar proposed to Sophy, but she wasn't in love with him like Sam but she married the vicar for security.
"Sophy did not exactly love him"
Sophy honoured the vicar's position in society and felt it would be good for her to marry up the ladder, but for the vicar he had married below his status by marrying his servant
"Social suicide by this step"
The new couple moves so there would be no gossip about their past and Sophy would be accepted into the social circle.
"it was all on her account"
Due to Sophy saying the wrong things people still look down on her. Despite all of the vicar's efforts to educate her.
"her husband had taken much trouble with her education".
After the death of the vicar, Sophy didn't have any control over her late husbands money or her sons education.
"she was left with no control over anything that her husband's beyond her modest income."
The vicar left all his belongings under the safe hands of his trustees and provided his wife with a semi-detached villa and modest income proving that he did not trust her.
Not only did her husband not trust her nor did her son. Embarrassed by her status and only wanting to associate with titled people; people with money he did not want his friends to know bout his mother past life.
"he was reducing their compass to a population of a few thousand wealthy and titled people."
Slowly Sophy was slipping in to deep depression longing for her village where she grow up ; where she fitted in.
"thinking of the village in which she had been born"
Feeling so lonely, Sophy often thought about her first love Sam Hobson, who at one time wanted to marry her. Wondering if her life would have been better and happier.
"she occasionally thought of him, and wondered if life in a cottage with him would have not been a happier lot than the one she accepted."
Sophy saw Sam one day and cried out to him. He replied with a very polite manner as now in his eyes she was a lady.
"Well, Mrs Twycott"
They caught up on missed times and talked about there village in which they grew up.
"They spoke of their native village"
Sophy talking to Sam brings back so many happy memories and wants to return to her village, knowing that her son wouldn't allow her to as it would be a disgrace to there family.
"Yes, Sam I long for home- our home!"
Soon the two fall in love once again and Sam proposes marriage to Sophy. Wanting her to move to their village and open a shop together. Sophy loves this idea but knows that her son would not allow her to even consider the idea of his mother marrying a man lower than his status.
"it would degrade me in the eyes of all the gentlemen in England."
Her son shows a very selfish side and his mothers happiness isn't enough for him to risk is reputation with the upper class of the society. Sophy knowing this gives into her son and becomes the child of the family. Not trusted to make a decision as she is not clever enough and not high enough in the society. Her son knows she's not to be trusted a makes her swear in front of the cross and on god that she would never marry Sam Hobson.
"Swear that she would not wed Sam Hobson without his consent"
Sophy becomes very depressed, pining for her love Sam but would not brake her she made to her son as she respects a mans choice, as he was a educated man and would not go behind his back. Sophy dies alone and depresses but her wish that she be buried in her home village is granted. Her son who now is a vicar takes his mother to her village to be buried where Sam is dressed in black next to his shop.
"the man, whose eyes were wet, held his hat in his hand the as the vehicle moved by; while from the mourning coach and young smooth-shaven priest in a high waist coat looked black as a cloud at the shop-keeper standing there."
The audience feels sorry for Sophy as she has followed the rules and respected the view of the educated man throughout her life. She has not followed her heart and just wanted to please everyone, ended up so by dying lonely and depressed
Conclusion
Throughout Thomas Hardy there is much more conversation, the story takes place of period of one day whereas The unexpected has little conversation and is spread over a longer period of time. Son Veto is much more detailed and has chapters. The story takes place over a very long period of tome (14 years). The Unexpected is full tension and is an emotional love story, the title of this story is 'the unexpected' and the behaviour of Dorothea is unexpected from her in that period of time and in her society. Son's Veto describes the characters in detail, lets the reader get to know the character better and are able to relate to the emotions they are experiencing. Tony Kytes on other hand is very humorous and the reader becomes involved and is eager to know the ending.
My opinion of the stories is that they are all very different but similar in the communication of Women of that period. The humour in Tony Kytes makes it an enjoyable read as there are lots twists in the story and the reader is eager to finish it and find out the end product. Whereas Sons veto is a much longer read which is serious on emotion and status in a working society. The unexpected is related to Sons veto as it deals with a woman's emotion but is concentrated on a smaller range of characters. It becomes quite personal as the reader can feel that they can relate to the character.
