On the other hand D.H. Lawrence portrays courtship differently. John Thomas, the tram inspector does not want commitment with any one woman. He just wants to enjoy himself. For example, ‘He hated intelligent interest………the only way to stop it is to avoid it….and so he left her’. This shows us John likes a one night stand. He does not want the women to get serious with him. He likes to work his way through as many women as he can and enjoy himself. He knows how to keep women happy and comforts them but he is afraid of commitment and courtship. The women in this story seem to want true commitment but that is not what John Thomas is offering. He is a player and knows all of the tricks. He knows the signs of commitment and backs of when he sees them.
As said above in the 1890’s women were very easy to get and relied on men. There is a great difference in expectations by the women in each story. The women in Tony Kytes know that the men are in control and they get what they want. This is usual for them as their fathers own them and will give them away if he wishes. In Tickets, Please it is a whole new situation. Expectations became very high. Women want to now be treated with respect and want an equal respectful relationship. Women had autonomy which was a great advantage for them but not for the men.
Thomas Hardy portrays courtship through Tony Kytes but D.H. Lawrence does not portray courtship through the male character but shows a male character that resents courtship. Instead it is shown through the women as they really want commitment in a relationship.
The women in Tony Kytes really love men. They treat men very well and would do anything for commitment and courtship. They are very truthful to the men and upfront about their feelings. They all want courtship and would compete between themselves to achieve commitment from the men. On the other hand they are not as good as it seems. The women are hard to please as they are always demanding for things such as commitment and favours so on. For example ‘Well aren’t you going to be civil enough to ask me to ride home with you’. This shows that they bossy and they can get what they want. They are also very proud as they think they are the prettiest women alive. Additionally they seem to have an attitude problem because they think that they are the most important things in Tony’s life. They are all also very manipulative and lead Tony in to one thing and another. Additionally their fathers influence can change their attitudes towards men and change the women’s feeling towards courtship.
Similarly the women in Tickets, Please are loving towards men but are more independent so will not go to extreme levels to get a man. If they are treated badly or get used they will deal with the matter in a violent way. For example ‘pulling tearing and beating him……he was their sport now’. This shows how the women’s power and independence have made them become in control of the situation. The tables have turned from John playing with the women to the women playing with John. In Tony Kytes where the women came grovelling back to Tony after being let down unlike in Tickets, Please where they took their revenge. Similarly in Tickets, Please the women are looking for commitment but they do not like to be used and got rid of quickly because they want a serious relationship. The women did not need men to survive anymore so they can make respectful decisions and stand on their own two feet. Fathers surprisingly did not have as much say in relationships anymore either and did not influence a woman. This is because of the independents women had in Tickets, Please.
Women’s attitudes are very different in each story. This is because of the change in women’s rights during the 20th century. Women gained independence and did not need a man unlike in Tony Kytes where a man was needed for a woman to survive. Attitudes to love changed a great deal. Courtship and love became much more of a serious thing as time went on.
In Tony Kytes it seems that Tony completely controls all of the women. He has all of them chasing him so he can do whatever he pleases and choose who ever he wants. For example ‘All three are in the garden……Now which would you marry’. This shows he is in control as he has options to which one to marry and he has all three women in his wagon and they do not know it. He even asks which one he should marry showing he does not know exactly what one he wants. At the end of Tony Kytes he finally chooses a woman to be with. His first choice turns out to be Hannah. Strangely and unexpectedly he gets rejected. This happened because Hannah’s father was there and did not want her to marry him. In those days it was up to the father to decide whether a man marries his daughter or not. It is his choice to who she loves. His influence changed her mind. Next he chooses unity to be his wife. She rejects him straight away as she is too proud to accept second best. Third and finally he chooses Milly who was supposed to be his future wife anyway. Although the other women rejected him deep down they each hoped he would come after them. They were too proud to say yes. Milly was desperate enough to make herself believe a reason to why Tony chose the other two women before her. She probably went with Tony because women needed a man to survive in those days and this was an opportunity for her. Obviously all the women wanted commitment and courtship and they all have a positive attitude towards love.
On the other hand In Tickets, Please John Thomas does not have all the control that Tony had. John Thomas was scared of commitment and love. He went out for a night with Annie not looking for anything serious and she seemed to like him a lot and started giving signs of a deeper relationship. This is what scared John and he ‘blew her off’. This made Annie angry so she gathered all her female friends who had been out with John at the tram station and decided to take action for what he has done. The women reacted extremely violently and beat the ‘living daylights’ out of John. This time the women are not chasing the men hoping to get them. The men are not needed so revenge can happen. There is no fear that the women will not survive on their own anymore. After the beating John received the women forced him into telling them which one of them he liked. He did not really like any of them but reluctantly said Annie. He then left the room. After the women realised that they did not gain anything out of him. They were left disappointed because when he wascome after them. They were too proud to say yes. Milly was desperate enough to make herself believe a reason to why Tony chose the other two women before her. She probably went with Tony because women needed a man to survive in those days and this was an opportunity for her. Obviously all the women wanted commitment and courtship and they all have a positive attitude towards love.
On the other hand In Tickets, Please John Thomas does not have all the control that Tony had. John Thomas was scared of commitment and love. He went out for a night with Annie not looking for anything serious and she seemed to like him a lot and started giving signs of a deeper relationship. This is what scared John and he ‘blew her off’. This made Annie angry so she gathered all her female friends who had been out with John at the tram station and decided to take action for what he has done. The women reacted extremely violentspecially because it was happening just to get a lie out of John’s mouth. I do not blame them though because it was extremely unfair that John used Annie and all the other members of female staff at the tram station. He should not be hurting any of their feelings so the women are not all to blame.
Courtship is a way of showing how much you love someone. It means to get in a serious relationship with plans to marry and commit on both sides. Both stories portray courtship in different ways. Courtship in Tony Kytes the Arch Deciever is shown through male courtship as he wanted to find a woman he really wanted to marry. In Tickets, Please John was not looking for courtship. The women gave him no choice towards courtship and forced him to choose who he wanted to marry. The answer was disappointing to the women and they achieved nothing. Both stories are based on courtship and express it in different ways through different characters.
