The poem can be looked at in two ways; initially the poem appears to demonstrate Hardy’s frustration that everything has changed “here is the ancient floor… here was the former door.” Furthermore the pace of the stanzas are reminiscent of a man pacing up and down a room in irritation that it is not as he remembered it. On the other hand, another way to look at it is that Hardy has accepted the changes and is simply observing the differences as one might if they returned to a place from their past. In the case of the first interpretation, Hardy is living in the past however if he is simply observing changes then he, in this poem at least, is living in the present and comparing it to the past. Moreover both interpretations do suggest that Hardy is obsessed with his younger days.
The third stanza of The Self-Unseeing gives an indication as to why Hardy may be obsessed with the past. The lines “everything glowed with a gleam; yet we were looking away,” suggest that Hardy is regretful that he did not make the most of his youth. He has implied that all of the greatest moments of his youth were not acknowledged by his younger self “yet we were looking away,” and because of this he has missed out on many “blessings.” The pace of the poem and the ABAB rhyme scheme seem to flow like the ticking of a clock. This may symbolise the way Hardy is transported back in time when he sets foot in this house. If this was Hardy’s intention then this strongly backs up the claim that hardy is obsessed with the past.
The One We Knew is another example of where Hardy is obsessing over the past. The poem dictates the old stories that Hardy’s grandmother used to tell him. The line “we seated around her knees,” illustrates an image of children intently listening to stories from before their time. In this sense Hardy’s fascination with his grandmothers past has led him to be further obsessed with his own memories of listening to these tales and with the past in general. On the other hand the final two stanzas seem to suggest that Hardy does not want to be obsessed with the past. He speaks of his grandmother in an almost pitying sense “she seemed one left behind,” and, having seen the effect that living in the past has had on her it is hard to imagine that Hardy would want this for himself. He draws our attention to the fact that those who swell too long on earlier days begin to lose the ability to tell past from present. The line “not as one who remembers, but rather as one who sees,” shows us how Hardy’s grandmother has developed an almost unhealthy obsession with the past. Hardy himself tells many stories of his past through his poetry; for this reason we can make a direct link between Hardy’s obsession and his grandmothers. It is possible that Hardy is trying to highlight his own fears that he may become like this – unable to distinguish between past and present “things present but as a tale.” It is clear that Hardy is very similar to his grandmother in this respect; therefore if we conclude that Marie Hardy (Hardy’s grandmother) is obsessed with the past, then it is likely that Hardy himself is, or will soon be, also.
In contradiction to these claims, we do also see many other Hardy poems that speak of the present and the future. While it appears that the majority of Hardy’s work is based on his past, a man who is completely obsessed by this would not possess the capacity to write about the future. For example the poem 1967 is based on how Hardy predicts the world will be after he is dead. The language used in this poem is both regretful and hopeful. It is regretful in the sense that he will not have the opportunity to a part of the future “with nothing left of me,” however it is hopeful in the way that Hardy perceives the future. The line “new minds, new modes, new fools, new wise; new woes to weep, new joys to prize,” highlights Hardy’s excitement at what the future holds. The list structure here demonstrates the endless possibilities of the future, as if it could go on and on; and the repetition of “new” shows us how different the future will be.
Hardy’s excitement about what the world still has to reveal highlights how, while he may take inspiration from it, he does not feel stuck in the past. Hardy’s view of the past is often regretful and disheartening, the mistakes that he made means that he cannot simply forget about his past; however his perception of the future is hopeful and uncharacteristically enthusiastic. Obsession appears far more obvious when one is excited about something and for this reason it may be argued that Hardy is also obsessed with the future, on the other hand hardy may simply be trying to avoid his own present by looking at the past and future in greater detail.
In conclusion I don not completely agree with the idea that Hardy is obsessed with the past. While I do feel that he dwells on it more than most other would I simply believe that this is down to the sheer amount of regrets that he possesses. For this reason it may be argued that he obsessed to some extent however it is his view of the future that draws me to the opinion that he is not. A man so excited about what is to come cannot possibly be obsessed with the past. On the other hand from what we see in One We Knew it is conceivable that while Hardy is not obsessed he may be fast becoming obsessed because of his inability to let old stories and events in his life die.
Patrick Ball
