Things changes in the 20th century and although society was still totally dominated by men, women did have more choice. Male dominance was not merely social, but it was reflected through laws, through work, through culture, and in this through all walks of life. Feminism was linked very strongly with lesbianism and unnatural behaviour. This meant that although women had the choice to make them selves known if they did they were ridiculed. There was simply not a culture in British society which allowed women to speak out or defend themselves. An important advance in the position of women was that because women were given the choice, they could if they wished to, have proper and higher education, get well paid jobs, and be free from other people’s power. All in all this managed to give women of that time more dignity and pride.
The character from ‘The Withered Arm’ which was written in the 19th century reflect the real position of women in that century and similarly ‘Turned’ reflects the situation of women in the twentieth century.
‘The Withered Arm’ is about two very different women. Rhoda Brooks is a character that is poor and works on a dairy farm, and is different and isolated from the community of the village in which she lives. Isolation meant that many people disliked Rhoda and thought that she was horrific and evil. These attitudes made Rhoda a depressed and subdued woman. The reason for this was that had her son with a farmer out of wedlock. Farmer Lodge, the father of Rhoda’s child then marries a young female named Gertrude. Rhoda is instantly envious of Gertrude because she is a young, pretty, soft,
“Rosy-cheeked, titsy-totsy little body”
Rhoda is totally the opposite of Gertrude and she is a
“Thin, fading woman of thirty”
that seems to be tired of life. Rhoda’s jealousy leads her to have a dream in which she assaults Gertrude, just as Rhoda grabs Gertrude’s arm in the dream she awakens in a cold sweat, disturbed by the vision. The next morning Gertrude Lodge visited Rhoda’s house to give her son a new pair of boots and some other necessities, Rhoda was to see Gertrude at her door but the two women managed to get talking. They appear to be on friendly terms and in their conversation Gertrude shows Rhoda her arm which had some finger imprints on it, Rhoda is totally shocked and in her mind she starts to doubt herself, she begins to think that her dream has something to do with it.
Time passes and the Gertrude’s arm deteriorates steadily. People in town suggest to Gertrude that she sees Rhoda about a man called Conjurer Trendle. Individuals in society at the that time did not like to associate themselves with magic and the mysteries linked with but as Rhoda was outcast and they thought she was unusual they assumed that she would know.
“A sorceress would know the whereabouts of the exorcist”
Gertrude asks Rhoda about this man and Rhoda who has not had any one be as friendly to her like Gertrude has finds it hard to refuse, in the end both women end up going to see the Conjurer. Conjurer Trendle shows Gertrude a vision of the person responsible for making her arm wither, but he shows it to only Gertrude. Rhoda is very scared at this point as she believes that it was she who caused Gertrude’s disfigurement. Conjurer Trendle reveals to Gertrude the only cure for her arm. The vision that trundles showed Gertrude was Rhoda because on their return journey the two women did not talk,
Six years later and the situation is a lot worse for Gertrude, she has not had any children and the worry of her arm has made her turn to every remedy that anyone tells her. Her arm was getting worse so Gertrude decide that she would try Trendle’s cure which was to rub her arm against the neck of dead man when he was still warm.
Gertrude managed to do this in another town and when she rubbed her arm against the neck of the dead man she heard a scream and when Gertrude turned around to see who it was, there stood Rhoda Brooks with her eyes red from crying and behind was Farmer Lodge. Gertrude had not told her husband about conjurer Trendle or his cure because she knew he would not approve… there he stood now, not pleased at all. The young man that lay dead was none other than Rhoda’s son, Rhoda was deeply upset and once again grabbed Gertrude only what she did not realise was how weak the young girl was, Gertrude died, whether it was from shock or from Rhoda’s attack… who knows.
The story ‘Turned’ is also about two very different women. Gerta Petersen is a poor young girl, and Mrs Marroner is a rich, married woman. ‘Turned’ focuses on the development of women’s independence. In the story Gerta is a maid for Mrs Marroner but they are on very friendly terms and Gerta is more like a daughter to Mr and Mrs Marroner than a servant. Mr Marroner is a busy man and is usually away on business, but he never forgets to write to his wife. Then two identical letters arrived, one was for Mrs Marroner and the other was for Gerta. Mrs Marroner found this a little odd as the writing on the envelope was clearly Mr Marroner’s. Mrs Marroner opened her letter to find that its contents did not make much sense at all.
When Gerta arrived home Mrs Marroner made Gerta open her letter and asked her to read it aloud. The letters had clearly been mixed up (turned). What had happened was that Gerta was pregnant with Mr Marroner’s child. Mrs Marroner who was deeply hurt ordered Gerta to leave at once. Gerta went to her room to pack and after some time once Mrs Marroner had, had the chance to think she went up to Gerta’s room to find her sleeping. Looking at her face Mrs Marroner realised that it was Gerta’s fault but her husband because he knew what he was doing unlike Gerta who was still innocent, uneducated, childish and untrained.
Thoughts like
““This is the sin of man against women,” she said “the offence is against womanhood. Against motherhood. Against – the child.”
Mrs Marroner and Gerta leave Mr Marroner and set up a house by themselves and when he finds them they simply treat him as a stranger.
There are four main female character from both of the stories; Gertrude Lodge and Rhoda Brook from ‘The Withered Arm’ and Gerta Petersen and Mrs Marroner from ‘Turned’.
One major similarity in these characters is that in both stories there is a weak character (Gertrude Lodge and Gerta Petersen) and then there are the strong characters (Rhoda Brook and Mrs Marroner). In ‘The Withered Arm’ initially it seems that Rhoda is the weaker character because she is older and subdued, compared to bright and young Gertrude, but it ends with Gertrude dead and Rhoda being strong. This could show that although people primarily think that men are stronger because of the way they look and act they are actually weaker.
In ‘Turned’ the same sort of theme is portrayed but instead of two women symbolising difference in society there are two women contradicting society, they show the man that they are capable of living on their own without the support of a man. Rhoda also does this in ‘The Withered Arm’ because for many she lives and as an outcast and alone but she still manages to come out strong.
Character wise Gerta and Gertrude are similar in that they are both young and innocent. But Gerta and Gertrude are also different because Gerta is poor and works for a living whereas Gertrude is an Upper class woman and does not work. In ‘Turned’ the older woman is upper class whereas in ‘The Withered Arm’ the younger woman is upper class.
Gertrude Lodge is typical of the upper class woman in the 19th century because obviously she did not marry for love, Farmer Lodge is her senior by many year , and also she is afraid that he may not love her anymore if she does not stay beautiful. Gertrude is also in a way scared of Farmer Lodge because she does not tell him when she travels to the other village to get her blood turned. Her beauty means a lot to her, and she is full of grace just like women were taught to be in the 19th century.
Rhoda Brook is sort of typical of the stereotyped woman but not that much because even though she is being supported by her father or her husband she still has a roof over her head and she has managed to get a job even though she has a son. One of the main aspects that make Rhoda different from other women of that time is that she was outcast and she lived on her own and survived. Other women in the 19th century would have probably been forced into prostitution or begging, but her strong will meant that she did well for her self.
Mrs Marroner is sort of the typical woman of her time because she has a strong mind that can think clearly and efficiently without the pressure of a man, which means that she makes well informed, cleaver choices but on the other hand it seems that she does not want to make use of all the choices available to her because she still prefers to stay at home instead of working.
Gerta Petersen is sort of the typical women of her time because although she is not dependant on any men, she still let a man take advantage of her. Like many other women however she did become strong minded and chose to bring up the child on her own with out the help of the father. She also took the advantages of getting a good education.
Both the stories that I have analysed are very female orientated and they bring forward ideas and themes to do with the power, intellect, and creativity, of women. Both stories outline the pressures faced by women and although these stories were written a long time a go, women in the world today still face important issues. Life may be a lot better for women today but sexism still exists and stories like these are inspiring to read and even learn from.
