The Withered Arm - This story belongs to the collection of Hardy's "The Wessex Tales"

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                             THE WITHERED ARM

This story belongs to the collection of Hardy’s “The Wessex Tales”

The withered arm was inspired by a local story about witchcraft.  The story is about a lower class woman called Rhoda who has an affair with an upper class man called Farmer Lodge, they have a son. Lodge shows no interest in his child.  Twelve years later Farmer Lodge gets married to an upper class woman called Gertrude.  Rhoda was jealous of Gertrude.  One day Rhoda had a dream that she hurt Gertrude’s arm.  The following day Gertrude shows Rhoda her arm.  Rhoda was shocked to see it.  Gertrude later asked Rhoda if she had some medicine for her arm because it was getting worse. Gertrude asks Rhoda to go with to see a medicine man who is into witchcraft but Gertrude does not mind because she wants her arm back to normal.  But the man cannot help her but he says that if she touched the neck of a hanged man’s wife, the withered arm would be cured. Gertrude finds the hangman and he was hanging Rhoda’s son.  In shock Gertrude collapses and dies three days later.  Then Farmer Lodge dies two years later. Some money is left to Rhoda by Farmer Lodge if Rhoda can be found to claim it.

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The community of Holmstoke were superstitious they did not believe in witchcraft they believed that a withered arm could be cured by touching a dead man or woman.  They also treated all unmarried mothers as outcasts and they believed that people should get married before having a child.  In those days too those who committed crimes like arson were hanged.  People believed it was pointless to educate women and some people never educated their sons because they did not have enough money.

Hardy portrays Rhoda Brook and Gertrude as contrasting characters .Rhoda is often portrayed in a negative ...

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