Theresa Tomlinson varied the standard structure of her story so that it was more gripping so the reader became instantly involved. Thomas Hardy did not rearrange the structure but instead kept the exposition very brief to give a similar effect and to build up suspense. At the very beginning of the climax, after the exposition in 'The Oakum Room' all the women are fighting with each other 'Mary pulled Janet's hair down; and she screamed and hit back.' Normally the women were all very close to each other as they had all been through the same experiences as it explained in the exposition. They are all behaving out of character as they are suddenly in deep competition with each other. We cannot tell if the women in 'Tony Kytes the Arch Deceiver' are acting out of character as they are only described in appearance but, they all appear to be willing to do whatever necessary to secure a husband, including losing some dignity by hiding under a tarpaulin in two cases.
The principal difference between the two stories is that the women in 'The Oakum Room' unite and ignore the rules of society whereas the women in 'Tony Kytes the Arch Deceiver' follow them right to the end. Theresa Tomlinson's women learned that fighting and competition was not the answer and so bound together at the climax, refusing the "generous" offer of a new life, as it was the opposite of what society, especially men assumed and wanted them to do. By doing this, each woman rediscovered some pride and so does not feel regret. The climax focuses on Polly as she had the hardest choice, yet even she managed to rebel against the system. In 'Tony Kytes the Arch Deceiver' none of the women attempts to rebel and so the situation is left for the rules of society to sort. For example Hannah would have gladly said yes to Tony Kytes's proposal, however, her father stepped in at the last moment and ordered her not to. According to society Hannah could not disobey her father and so had to decline the offer. Tony then asked Unity but she had to regrettably decline also out of pride, dignity and self-respect. This of course left Tony to ask Milly who had been his original choice and had no reason to refuse, as it was obvious he would eventually marry one of them.
Upon close examination it is clear that both stories aim to show the wrongness of society. They both describe how people act irrationally when in competition for something society expects them to want or need. Theresa Tomlinson wrote 'The Oakum Room' to make the point that if people can learn to stand together in the face of a threat they can overcome it and gain themselves some self respect if only they can stop competing with each other.
The setting in 'The Oakum Room' is an important part of the story's theme. It shows the reader that no matter what abysmal situation the women were put in, they could still unite in the end. Although, in 'Tony Kytes the Arch Deceiver' the countryside setting does not seem a crucial part of the events. The same scenario could just as well have taken place in any town or city of the period. The period itself was crucial to the story, however, as it would be hard to imagine such naivety of women today. Even so, the themes of the two stories still have relevance today as although, there is less pressure, there is still the underlying opinion from society that women will marry. Individuals can still feel pressured when they are in competition for something and this still makes people behave oddly and affect their actions on important decisions.
We can conclude the stories are most definitely more similar than different. Both are about how women are treated in society, although the principal difference is that the women in 'The Oakum Room' rebel briefly and do not follow the rules laid out for them. This difference can be put down to the obvious contrast between the authors. The following factors would have definitely inhibited the authors' views and therefore could account for the variation in the way each story was written.
'The Oakum Room' was written by a female author in the late 20th century when women are more confident after the fight for the rights which society did not give them. However, the story was set in the 19th Century so that Theresa Tomlinson could make the point that women have always been treated the same but can always be strong no matter when or where they are. She gives the women in her story attitudes, which stem from her own personal attitudes in the 20th Century.
In contrast 'Tony Kytes the Arch Deceiver' was written by a man in the 19th Century when each sex had a set role. As men ultimately had the upper hand Thomas Hardy had no obvious cause for complaint, so does this mean he was a feminist writer? Thomas Hardy could have written 'Tony Kytes the Arch Deceiver' to show that society makes everyone, including men, act stupidly. He could see how society turns one person against the other and so took advantage of this and turned it into a comical story. Perhaps his reason for decribing the women superficially as stereotypes of manipulative yet weak and gullible wiles was so that the majority of his readers and critics (mostly male at the time) would not react badly to his work.
