Marchmill considered his
wife’s likes and
fancies, those smallest
greatest particulars that
no common denominator
could be applied.
Page 1.
In “The Withered Arm” there is incompatibility between Farmer Lodge and Gertrude. She is more concerned with her arm than she is in Farmer Lodge. This proves that marriage in the 19th century was quite meaningless, it was just a way of the male partner getting a son to carry the family business on, or a way of making the male partner more successful. When marriages are meaningless like this, the partners can become lonesome. This is why Ella gets so attracted to Robert Trewe. She falls in love with him because he shares the same interests as her.
In “The Withered Arm” Farmer Lodge loves Gertrude, but she is more interested in curing her arm. Lose of love happens much more tragically in “An Imaginative Woman”, Ella loves Robert, but he does not know this. He commits suicide because he is so depressed, so Ella looses her only love. This is what Ella says to herself after she discovers he dies:
O, If I
had only once
met him – only
once! And put
my hand upon
his hot forehead –
kissed him – let
him know how
I loved him
that I would
have suffered shame
and scorn, would
have lived and
dies, for him!
Perhaps it would
have saved his
dear life!
Page 21.
Jealously plays an important role in “The Withered Arm”. The whole reason why Gertrude's arm becomes damaged is because Rhoda is Jealous of her being married to Farmer Lodge. Her jealousy makes her have a dream about attacking Rhoda, and somehow this dream comes true.
Although jealously does not come into the story of “An Imaginative Woman”, lying does. Ella continues to lie to her husband, to cover the fact she is in love with Robert Trewe. This is evidence for the statement I made earlier that marriage being meaningless in the 19th century. This is just one of the lies she tells her husband:
I found them
in the closet
here and put
them on in a
freak. What have
I else to do?
You are always
away!
This is a lie to try and explain why she dressed up in Mr. Trewe’s clothes. She dresses up in his clothes because she loves him so much, and is very passionate about him. The reason why she has no love for her husband because he does not share the same interests as her. Thomas Hardy describes the scene when Ella first lays eyes on Robert very passionately:
As she gazed
long at the
portrait she fell
into thought, till
her eyes filled
with tears, and
she touched the
cardboard with her
lips.
Page 13.
Although Ella seems happy here, her mood changes considerable after she discovers he committed suicide, and she begins to think she may dies of depression.
Thoams Hardy explains:
Her grief and
distraction shook her
to pieces, and
she lay in
this frenzy of
sorrow for more
than an hour.
Page 21.
Betrayal plays an important part in both stories. In “The Withered Arm”, Farmer Lodge has betrayed his son. He has chosen to ignore him because he was the result of an affair with Rhoda Brook. He also ignores him because he is illegitimate, and an outcast.
this is what he tells Gertrude when she asks him if they could give him a lift:
O no, these
country lads will
carry a hundredweight
once they get
It on their
backs; besides his
pack had more
size then weight
in it.
Page 5.
From what he says, it is clear that he wants nothing to do with him. Not only does Ella lie to her husband in “An Imaginative Woman”, but she betrays him as well. Not only it is clear she does not love her husband, but she is also in love with another man. This makes the betrayal even greater.
The problem with her love of Robert Trewe, is that it is unrequited. It’s not that he doesn’t love her, it’s just that he doesn’t know about her love for him. He has never met her. If he would have known of her, he may have returned that love, as we can see from his suicide note:
Perhaps had I
been blessed with
a mother, or
a sister, or
a female friend
of another sort
tenderly devoted to
me, I might
have thought it
worth while to
continue with my
present existence.
Page 21.
Rhoda has unrequited love for Farmer Lodge in “The Withered Arm”. Although he had once had an affair with her and broke up, she still loves him.
In “An Imaginative Woman” Ella yarns to meet Robert Trewe as she loves him very much. We know this because she is devastated when she finds out that Robert Trewe is not coming to see her, this is what she says:
He-he’s not coming?
He’s not and
asked me to
make his apologies.
When did you
p-p-part from him?
She asked, her
nether lip starting
off quivering so
much that it
was like a
tremolostop opened in
her speech. She
longed to run
away from this
dreadful bore and
cry her eyes
out.
Page 19.
In “The Withered Arm” Gertrude Yurns to cure her arm, which is almost driving her insane. Thomas Hardy explains:
The once blithe-
hearted and enlightened
Gertrude was changing
into an irritable,
superstitious woman, whose
whole time was
given to experimenting
upon her ailment
with every quack
remedy she came
across.
From this we can tell Gertrude is completely self-obsessed.
Infidelity is an important part of the story “An Imaginative Woman”. Ella being disrespectful to her husband, because she ignores him and she never shows any emotion towards him.
Although both stories contain obsession, in “The Withered Arm” there is self-obsession. Gertrude is obsessed with her arm. In “An Imaginative Woman” Ella is obsessed with another person, Robert Trewe.
“The Withered Arm” begins with the milkmaids gossiping about Farmer Lodge and his new wife, but “An Imaginative Woman” does not have much gossip in it. It also contains many rumors.
Although “An Imaginative Woman” does not contain gossip and rumors, it does contain idolism. Ella idolises Robert Trewe and respects his work very much. This shows he is more interested in him then her husband.
The supernatural features in “The Withered Arm”. Conjuror Trendle tells Gertrude to put her Withered arm on the neck of a hanged criminal, to cure it. The supernatural does not feature in “An Imaginative Woman”. This ties in with herbal lore and superstition, and as this story is set in the 19th century, people would have believed in them, including Gertrude.
“The Withered Arm” also contains envy. Rhoda is envious of Gertrude because she is married to Farmer Lodge, who she loves. She is more jealous than envious.
Many characters in both Story’s are illegitimate. One character who is illegitimate in “The Withered Arm” is Rhoda’s son. Not many people where educated in the 19th century, only wealthy people where educated.
There is a married couple in each story. In “The Withered Arm” Gertrude is married to Farmer Lodge and in “An Imaginative Woman” Ella is married to William.
As I said earlier, in “The Withered Arm” Farmer Lodge has abandoned his son. This is also known as neglect. In “An Imaginative Woman” Ella has neglected her husband, as she has been more interested in Robert Trewe.
Finally, both stories contain the theme of death. In “An Imaginative Woman” two people die, both quite tragically. Robert Trewe dies by suicide, this is what a newspaper says about his death:
Mr. Robert Trewe,
who has been
favorable known for
some years as
one of our rising
lyrists, committed suicide
at his lodgings
at the SolentSea
On Saturday by
shooting himself in
the right temple.
Page 20.
Ella dies as well, during childbirth. This is what Thomas Hardy says:
She could get
no further then
for exhaustion: and
she went off
in a sudden
collapse a few
hours later.
Page 25.
In “The Withered Arm” two people dies as well. Rhoda’s son dies by being hanged for a crime.
Gertrude dies as well, this is how Thomas Hardy explains it:
She was taken
out of jail
into the town,
but she never
reached home alive
her delicate vitality,
sapped perhaps by
the paralyzed arm,
collapsed under the
double shock that
followed the severe
strain, physical and
mental, to which
she had subjected
herself during the
previous twenty four
hours. Her blood
had been “tuned”
indeed – to far
her death took
place in the
town three days
after.
Page 32.
Again, these two deaths are very tragic, like in “An Imaginative Woman”.
