Comparison of "Tony Kytes, the arch deceiver" by Thomas Hardy and "Tickets please" by D H Lawrence.
'Tony Kytes, the arch deceiver ' and 'Tickets please', are two short stories, which are set around the male/ female relationship of their time. Neither of the stories is written from a woman's point of view, 'Tony Kytes, the arch deceiver ' is clearly written from a mans point of view, while 'Tickets please' is written from a neutral point of view. They are both set in the past, and in both the male/female relationship differs from what we would expect today. 'Tony Kytes, the arch deceiver ' is set in a 19th century countryside village, in southern England. The narrator is local to the community, and the story begins by introducing Tony Kytes, the male character. Women in general are also introduced very early on, after which the narrator settles on one of the three female characters. The story is set around Tony Kytes, and his relationship with three different women. The setting is not very important into his story, and so not much is done to describe it. Most of the description is given through dialogue.
'Tickets please' is set in wartime England, specifically in the industrial midlands: so areas in the vicinity of Nottinghamshire. The story is set around a tram service, renown for being run entirely by 'girls'. The story begins with a very detailed description of the setting, and eventually introduces the general group of female characters, before settling down on the main female character. Lawrence gives a very adventurous, wild, and energetic feel of the tram service: "the ride becomes a steeplechase", while Hardy, in 'Tony Kytes, the arch deceiver ' sets a very relaxed calm pace of life: "They talked on very pleasantly, and looked at the trees..." in which Tony Kytes faces the dilemma of who to 'put the question to'. The genres of both stories are quite different too, 'Tony Kytes, the arch deceiver ' is more of a comedy then the typical romance, and 'Tickets please', is much more serious and dramatic, but both of these stories raise serous issues as to the relationship between men and women, in their time.
The setting of 'Tony Kytes, the arch deceiver 'could be adapted to any time or setting, if you only look at its comical side: which is a basic story of one man and his dilemmas. But if you look in more depth, you will see that, the circumstance and situation, especially the social system of the time and it's jurisdiction over relationships, have a heavy influence over what happens in the story, e.g. the stance of women in the story, and their limited choices. As a contrast, the setting of 'Tickets please' is very important, as the issues and circumstances that were a consequence of wartime, are the reason for the story coming to life.
The setting of 'Tony Kytes, the arch deceiver ' is important, but only to a small degree. I have come to this conclusion after analysing the story and have quite a few reasons for this. The story begins by introducing the male character rather then a description of the setting: " I shall never forget Tony's face," The opening line also tells the reader that the narrator had a personal connection with Tony Kytes, as he uses only his first name, rather then "Mr Kytes", (Tony is also generally an abbreviation for Anthony), or any other formal name. As well as the fact that he 'shall never forget Tony's face'. We are also told that the narrator is a carrier. I was not quite sure what a carrier was but in the second paragraph where it says: "the foot of the very hill we shall be going over in 10 minutes", I worked out that he was on a cart, or wagon of some sort, and also that he was telling his story, rather then writing it. This also explained the lack of description used, as the narrator and his audience were passing through the setting while he was telling the story, so their was no need to explain the setting, as his audience could see it. Hardy also does not take much time in explaining the time, culture or class of the people, this is probably due to the fact that the narrator, is supposed to be part of the community which Tony Kytes comes from. For the audience who are listening to the story being told, they can imagine the story being told in their heads, considering they are just passing the setting, but for the reader, although there is not much description, there is enough to make some assumptions using the clues that have been given throughout the story in the form of key words and phrases. We can tell that the story is set in the Victorian era, by clues such as the fact that Tony has:' a seam here and there left by small pox', so it was in an era where small pox was still common; and that he is going to the market 'to do business for his father', by this he means going to sell produce from his farm, or any other produce, rather then the modern market where this cannot be done so simply. This also tells us that it is a rural part of England, as in the cities they didn't have market s as such. We can also tell from the clothes that the characters were wearing, "can you not see I have my bonnet and jacket on?" For women in the Victorian times, a bonnet, a sort of hat, was worn as a sign of modesty, or respect, and it was very important for a woman to do so when she went out. For this reason, Hannah Jollier is appalled at Tony's stupidity when he does not realise that she is on her way home, because she is wearing 'her coat and bonnet': her outdoor clothing. The wagon that Tony drives, I first assumed was a motorised one such as the ones we have today, but later on in the story is says: 'And he reigned in his horse', so it was obviously a horse powered wagon, not a motorised one. This indicates that the story is from a time before the car was invented, and in full use- so once again it indicates the Victorian era. Another point that I noticed was the way that Tony acts towards the women. Although his straying heart can easily be related to a few situations today, there is a certain civility and politeness that has become rare in today's society. To offer someone you know a 'ride home' is no longer seen as something civil, but more generous, and extremely polite. With the stressful lifestyle of people today, it is no longer obligatory to be so polite as to offer someone you know a ride home. As a contrast to Tony and Hannah, Tony's father strongly disapproves of him 'driving about the country' with Hannah Jollier. As Tony is 'said' to be marrying Millie, Tony's father sees him alone with his ex-girlfriend, as 'making a scandal'. The social system of that time was very complicated, a lot more complicated then it is now, although being seen with your ex' girlfriend today can result in some disapproving looks in some cases; but on the hole it is seen as quite normal, and certainly not 'scandalous'. Another example of the complexities of the time is the whole scenario of Millie and Tony's engagement. Tony is still yet to ask Millie to 'put the question to Millie' he is even thinking of putting it to someone else, yet the whole town knows that they are "engaged to be married". At the beginning of the story, when we are first introduced to Millie, their engagement is not seen as much of a romance. Instead of falling in love with, he was 'fixed down' to Millie, and instead of the happy couple announcing their engagement, 'it was 'said' they were to be married'. It gives of the impression of a social system where the community decided what happens, and where you have little choice but to abide by what the community think of as 'proper'. This gives us an insight as to what sort of culture the story is set in, more specifically their tight nit social system.
The story is set in a farming village, in a working class society. We can see this from the regional dialect expressed in the story. The dialect is not the type that would of have been seen as 'posh', or the types spoken by higher and middle class people of that time. We can see on many occasions slang is used: "Tisn't", "ee", and "knowed". The dialect sounds as if it was from a southern region, such as Essex, or Dorset. This is very likely, as Hardy is known to set his stories in places that very much resemble Dorset. We know it is a farm, from a few key phrases that we have read, such as' the ploughmen at work in the fields', and 'you've been carrying corn', and 'father in a field'. These are all strongly related to farming and villages. From this we can also see that it is a working class society. Another reason to believe that it is a working class society is the amount of importance stressed on marriage. All three female characters are very eager to get married, we can see this most clearly when even after realising that Tony had betrayed each of them, the still wanted to marry him: "For she would not of have refused Tony if he had asked her quietly, and her father had no been there, and her faced not scratched by the bramble". Although it was seen as important for women of all classes to get married, it would have been a lot easier for a women of middle/higher class to refuse with all her heart and dignity, for it was no that important for her to get married- she would have money to lean back on. But for a women such as those in "Tony Kytes the arch deceiver", there was no real alternative then to get married- if they didn't they would face being despised or pitied by their community, and no chance to earn a living. We can see that it was taken for granted that all women wanted to get married, in the fact that Tony Kytes doesn't foresee the possibility of being rejected. Fate lies in his hands, who he chooses, shall dare not refuse. When Hannah Jollier does refuse: "What, you won't have me Hannah?" Tony is shocked. As this is a comedy, we can expect the social system to be slightly caricatured, but the fundamental social issues raised, are very real of that time.
"Tickets please" begins with a detailed description of the setting, which is one of the reasons for me believing that it is very important to the story line. The narrator is omniscient, as he seems to know all the details, without actually being there, also he has a virtually neutral opinion, although sometimes he tends to go into the thoughts of the character, e.g. John Thomas' thoughts;" a good, easy twelve mile chat", and in Annie's thoughts: "After all, he had a wonderfully warm, cosy way of holding a girl..." The first detail as to the location of ...
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"Tickets please" begins with a detailed description of the setting, which is one of the reasons for me believing that it is very important to the story line. The narrator is omniscient, as he seems to know all the details, without actually being there, also he has a virtually neutral opinion, although sometimes he tends to go into the thoughts of the character, e.g. John Thomas' thoughts;" a good, easy twelve mile chat", and in Annie's thoughts: "After all, he had a wonderfully warm, cosy way of holding a girl..." The first detail as to the location of the setting is disclosed very early on, in the first line;" There is in the midlands..."I as I am living in present day England, when I think of the midlands I think of the middle of England, in it's present form (as Lawrence is writing in the present tense); buzzing modern cities, motorways and an array of people, not the way the Lawrence's intended reader is to imagine. This is because although the story was set in the past, it was set in the immediate past for the reader of that time, so they still had a clear idea of the midlands that Lawrence intended them to think of. He then describes a journey of the tram, in an ongoing sentence, which follows the journey in chronological order: " over canals and railways, past churches perched high..." Just in this sentence, Lawrence gives the reader hints as to which sort of time periods the story is set. "Black industrial countryside" market places", and "collieries" tell us that it is set in a time when coal mining was still common, and that there were no shopping centres, instead there were "cold little market-places". But we are also told that there are cinemas, so the setting cannot be that far back in time. We are given an exact time, at the beginning of the second paragraph, when Lawrence tells us: "Since we are in war time".
The story is set in Nottingham, we can tell this from the fact that the areas is obviously a major coal mining area, as there are " workers houses", which must b houses for the colliery workers, and the "black industrial countryside": which is black because of the coal mining areas, and Nottingham was famous or it's coal mining". Another reason is that Nottingham was famous for its annual Statutes fair, which is the fair the Annie and Jhon Thomas go to: "The Statutes fair, however, came in..." Lawrence also gives a detailed description of the Tram Service. When at the beginning the tram journey is described, it is one long, sentence that leaves you breathless at the end of it, giving off a fast and furious feeling. This is added to by phrases such as: " tilting away in a rush", almost as if he is a describing a roller coaster. He uses words such as "reckless", "swoops". "Bouncing", and " leaps", to also add a very physical description of the tram service. The long sentences at the beginning of the story mimic the journey and the movement of the tram. We feel we are being taken through the journey ourselves. We pass through the regional landmarks such as the 'Co-op', the 'market place' and there are many more throughout the passage. By mentioning these, we feel a real sense of place. There are several of commas, colons and semi-colons to break up the passage and to fix it into place. When the 'patients halt at the loops'; it creates a sense of impatience. The use of 'wee.........hurray' increases the reader's participation. The tram drivers, 'rush' at the 'reckless swoops' and 'to ride on these cars is always an adventure' because the drivers have the 'spirit of the devil' in them. They have this attitude because they are losing out in the excitement and participation of the war so they want to feel some sort of satisfaction. At the start of the story it is all in the present tense. This creates a sense of timelessness as the 'workmen's houses', 'cinemas' and 'fat gas works' will always be there. It will always be a feature of life. There is no consistency, whereas the story of the characters is told in the past tense. It gives us a sense of their fleeting lives.
He personifies the tram service as an animal, firstly by the fast movement, and then by: "purr with curious satisfaction", "Sidle to a standstill", and "slithering". To "purr", indicates a cat, this is also tied up with the end of the story when the female characters attack John Thomas, like a cat catching it's pray, or as female fights tend to be known as 'cat-fights'. The second two examples personify the tram as a snake, this is probably to do with the appearance of the tram as it slides and turns through the nooks and crannies of the midland countryside. The tram service is also seen as very wild and adventurous, something very unlike the rest. We can see this in words such as: "abashed", which even indicates that the tram service is so different that it is embarrassed, the fact that the trams are rode by: "cripples and hunch backs" who have "the spirit of the devil in them"- indicating that it is so wild and dangerous it is wrong, devilishly wrong. This is again expressed in "somewhat dare devil", where the tram service is described as a "jaunty sprig of parsley out of black colliery garden". This also tells the reader that the tram service is a very joy filled, and "perky" system", which is not the general mood, as they are in a time of war.
The social system of the time is built around the setting, and the fact that it is WW1. During WW1 women were encouraged to work so that the men would be free to go to war, after the war most women were sent back to the domestic jobs, in which they supposedly 'belonged'. As "Tickets please" is set in war time, the fact that it was run "entirely by women", was not much of an issue, but if it was set in a time before or after the war, it would of have been a very significant issue, as to women doing a traditional, man's job. The women in "Tickets please" are very independent, and do not really take much notice of the social system of that time. In the era that the story is set in, women who cheated on their boyfriends, and took part in extra-marital sex, were seen as extremely inappropriate. This attitude is seen slightly, in the tone of voice used by the narrator, as he uses words such as: "hussies" and "girls" rather then women, to describe the female characters, which are less mature and refined words. Instead of being tender, and weak, as the females in "Tony Kytes" were, they are viewed as very masculine and unfeeling: "fearless" and "Thermopylae". Just as the Tram service is seen to be different from the rest of the surroundings, original and unique, born of the time, so are the characters of "Tickets Please", they do not care much for what others think, as if they do not have to apply to the social system of the time. Although this image is evident, so is the fact that they are not without some inhibitions. Annie wants more then a 'mere nocturnal presence' from John Thomas, showing she has limits, and a need for a 'proper' relationship. This is different to Tony Kytes", as then the social system was very important, and even dictated the direction of the relations ships, this was probably because in "Tony Kytes" it is set in a very tight- knit traditional community, unlike "Tickets please, where the things are forever changing: "For change of cinema, of girl, of pub", and they are in revolutionary time for women- they first discover financial, and in this case social independence.
In Tony Kytes, the arch deceiver ' and 'Tickets please', there is one prominent male chracter, who is involved with a series of women. Both the male characters treat the women very differently; Tony Kytes is looking for a suitable wife, while John Thomas is there only for the nocturnal presence. In both the male charcters the name is very important as it gives a reader a picture of what the character is about. In "Tickets please", John Thomas is the name of the male character, at the time in which the story was set in, 'John Thomas', was slang for penis. There are many places in the story where we can see that the he uses the women he meets for purley sexual benefits, an "intelligent interest", is the reason why John Thomas lost interest in Annie. Tony Kytes is the main character in 'Tony Kytes, the arch deceiver '. His surname being Kytes shows he is easily swayed like a kite and he falls for every woman, he sees: "I never knowed you was so pretty before". Tony Kytes is a "nunny watch", over deciding which of his three girlfriends to marry.
John Thomas is introduced to the audience, first as part of a group, as the Inspectors: "the inspectors are of the right age, ...". It is not clear why John Thomas is not fighting in the war, as it would have been necessary to be in the war due to conscription. The only conclusion I came to about this is that his job was too important as he was the 'chief' of the tram service. He was 'tall and agile' and 'good looking'. John Thomas was very manly compared to Tony Kytes. He had a 'small brown moustache'. His face was 'ruddy' and the word 'impudent' is used several times to describe his manner. This shows him as impertinent and rude. However he is gallant and notorious, as there is 'considerable scandal about John Thomas in a half a dozen villages'. His flirtatious behaviour is well known. He is a philanderer and enjoys moving from one woman to the next: "Walks out with the newcomer"John Thomas has a 'nocturnal presence' in the lives of women and the story focuses on his relationship with Annie. We are given the hint that he may be indulging in sexual relationships with the women, when the narrator mentions: "The girls quit the service frequently" There is no evidence in the text, but a strong suggestion he may have made these women pregnant. In Tony Kytes there would definitely be no sex before marriage. The main reason for this is because of the community disapproved of this and parents would also not accept sex before marriage. If Tony Kytes were to live in the time of John Thomas he may have had a sexual relationship before marriage. John Thomas is a 'cock of the walk' that adores attention from the women and is alight in the presence of women: "He seemed to be sunning himself in the presenceof so many damsels". He belongs with the ladies because when Laura Sharp said 'ladies only', John Thomas replies with 'That's me!' John Thomas had 'all the arts of love making' and he was 'especially good at holding a girl'. This shows his seductive charms and how experienced he is. Still John Thomas is shallow and lacks commitment. He was consciously working his way through the women working on the trams and left them distraught. He had no sense of commitment, which shows him to be the opposite of Tony Kytes. John Thomas 'hated intelligent interest' and he intended to remain a 'nocturnal presence'. There was an imperious refusal to share Annie's affections. John Thomas didn't want to become an individual to Annie. He never has to face any consequences until Annie. Still he shows Annie that he has moved on to his next women by his actions: "Letting her see by the movement of his head that he had gone away to somebody else for the time being". The mother of one of the ex-workers - Ceasy Meakin disapproved of John Thomas as she made her leave the tram service:"Her mother made her leave. "There is a similarity in Tony Kytes as Mr Jolliver-Hannah's father disapproves of Tony Kytes. When John Thomas and Annie are at the Statutes fair he sits on the horse 'Black Bess'. This could describe him as a shady character. The key way in which Tony Kytes is different to John Thomas is the way in which he treats the women. Tony Kytes genuinely likes all three of the women: 'would have kissed them all round', and he is considering marrying all three of them, but John Thomas just uses them for his own pleasure. Tony Kytes wasn't a philanderer but he was still the 'women's favourite'. He is more boyish looking and doesn't have the manly features like the moustache which John Thomas has: "There was no more sign of a whisker or beard on Tony Kyte's face than on the palm of my hand"
The reader is first introduced to Tony Kytes by the carrier, who starts by giving a physical descriptionof Tony: "Twas a little round, firm, tight face', and by telling us that although he had small pox, he was still favoured by the women, he was a 'ladies man': "but not enough to hurt his looks in womans eye" and "He was quite the womens favourite, and in return he loved them in shoals". Straight away you can tell ha the narrator is lenient towards Tony, and also later on, as Tony still gets a wife in the end, even after everything he did. We can tell that Tony Kytes is polite and respectful as he addresses the women using endearments such as 'darling' 'coming wife' and 'dear Hannah'. He speaks more 'tender and tender' He doesn't want to consciously hurt them whereas John Thomas is consciously hurting them as he has a brash and a more abrupt manner. He lacks pleasantness and chivalry to women. Tony Kytes would have been brought up to be respectful to women - we know he doesn't like to humiliate the women, Tony Kytes lies to spare the feelings of the woman. For example he says to Hannah he is whispering because he has a 'kind of hoarseness' when the real reason for his whispering is for the reason that he has Milly and Unity hiding in the back of the wagon and he doesn't want them to hear the endearments he is using towards Hannah:"How low you talk, Tony". But as the story is concluding his manner is lacking and he slips into a humiliating behaviour by proposing to them individually as well as covering Unity over with the tarpaulin:"Let me cover you over with the tarpaulin". Another thing both of the men have very much in difference is that John Thomas is only interested in short-term relationships whereas Tony Kytes wants commitment and marriage. Overall both men enjoy their success with women, although the outcome at the end of the story is very different for both men. Tony Kytes eventually gets married, maybe not to his first choice, but his choice none the less: "but as her father had recommended her, he couldn't feel inclined that way". Whereas, John Thomas does not get what he wanted at the beginning, short term, sexual relationships with an array of different women: "Then he flirts and walks out with the newcomer". Instead, all of his ex-parteners, plot against him, and make him choose a permanent partner: "Fair and square, all above board, and say which". The one he chooses rejects him: "I don't want him he can choose again", and it shows an end to his tricks and games. The end of "Tickets please", is very violent, Jhon Thomas is attacked by all of his ex -partners, all the pain he caused them, is relayed into him. This is big blow to Jhon Thomas' manly pride, and so the story finishes with utter direspect and shame to wards Jhon Thomas. As a contrast, Tony Kytes gets married, and settles down the traditional way, so "Tony Kytes the Arch deceiver", ends with although a comical, yet respectfull view of Tony.
The women in "Tickets please are not introduced straight away. The writer builds up the setting first, and when he does, he introduces them as a social group: "entirely conducted by girls". The female characters are reffered to as "girls" and "hussies", I think this portrays a negative attitude towards the way the female characters behave, from both the narrator and his audience, as after the war women were expected to go back home, and never were they expected to be so sexually independent. They are described as very masculine, stong, fearless, and utterly unfeminine. The writer uses words such as "pounce", "roaring", and "push", to give a very physical image of the women. "Pounce " is very important as it implies that the women are like cats, getting ready to pounce, which is what they do at the end of the story, they pounce on John Thomas. Throughout the story Lawrence uses metaphors to compare the women to men: "as sailors dash and recklessness", "Thermopylae" and "...have an old non- commissioned officer". This is because their behaviour was unacceptable for women, women were supposed to be weak and tender creatures, as they are in "Tony Kytes", not stubborn and fearless as they are in "Tickets please".
The women in: "Tony Kytes, the arch deceiver", are introduced individually, and all three are equally important. Unlike in "Tickets please", the narrator is obviously chauvinist, and has the traditional view towards women: "a nice, light, small, tender little thing..." as he describes Millie Richards, not as a woman, but as a thing. The women are seen in a very narrow minded light, although they are treated a lot more respectfully: "darling", and "my coming wife", women are not seen as equal individuals, or individuals at all. Although Tony tries not to hurt their feelings, he is narrow minded enough to think he can choose any of the three women, that the decision is his to make. When the female charcters are introduced, their personalities are not written about, their physical appearance is described: "a handsome girl", this shows what was seen as important in women. Any other details about the womens characteristics are given through dialogue. In general the women are more obligatory, less forceful, more polite, and a lot more feminine.
I am now going to compare the women in both stories, to do this fully; I am going to compare Annie with Millie, as they share some important similarities and differences. Annie is well built and manly. She is 'perfectly at ease,' independent and makes a good job of working on the trams. She was assertive, forward, liberated, strong and powerful as she 'defied convention.' She is someone 'peremptory', 'suspicious' and 'ready to hit first'. She will 'pounce on youths' and 'push off the men.' The tramcar step is her 'Thermopylae'. Annie is a tartar as she unexpectedly turns onto John Thomas. She was a leader and at Annie's signal 'they all flew at him.' She is a 'hussy' and an organiser. Milly however is very feminine, passive and obliging. When she was asked to crawl under the sacking she replies: "I don't mind to oblige you, Tony" Crawling under the sack for a woman that, or any other era, is a very appalling thing to do but because Milly has a polite manner she obeys him. She calls him 'Mr Tony' and is eager to please as well as being fragile and delicate. The social and historical forces shape the lives of these women that are why the women in "Tickets Please" took on non-traditional jobs such as working on the trams and Millie would have worked on the farms. There is a strong bond of co-operation between the women in "Tickets Please". They all work together and as a team to get their revenge on John Thomas. In contrast the women in "Tony Kytes" are all competing against each other to win Tony Kytes: " I should have made 'ee a finer wife". This is because of the importance of marriage in the 19th century. These women had to be virgins if they wanted a chance to get married but women like Annie and Nora had personal and sexual freedom because of the 'darkness and lawlessness of war-time'. Annie wanted to move the relationship further with John Thomas and wanted to 'consider him a person' whereas in "Tony Kytes" the women did not worry about the 'intelligent interest'. Marriage was the issue rather than the choice of partner. It was more of a social custom. In "Tony Kytes" Hannah is 'most dashing' and 'handsome'. Her tone is more forceful and aggressive as she calls Tony Kytes 'stupid'. But her father plays a vital role in her life as he decides for her: "My daughter is not willing" Here, parents play an important part in their lives. Tony Kyte's father makes it very clear that if a respectable woman mounted on the horse and wagon without invitation she was not worth marrying. Tony Kytes however disregards the opinions of his father. In "Tickets Please" the women earn a living. They are forceful as they can control a whole tramcar packed full of 'colliers' who are notorious for their rowdy behaviour and bad language. Although the women had to work extremely hard on the farms they didn't earn a living from it. They were expected to work on the farms for their fathers and husbands. Still the girls in the time of "Tony Kytes" are weak and feeble as Hannah can't even control the reins of the horse and she totally lacks control of the horse and wagon. In "Tickets Please" the narrator frowns on the women's short skirts and 'shapeless old peaked caps'. The women in Tony Kytes had to dress more modestly. The dress, which they would have been expected to wear, would include long dresses and hats. Both women Annie and Milly have very different reactions to being turned down. Annie is 'staggered' and then weepy with 'fury, indignation, desolation and misery'. Finally she felt 'despair' towards him before feeling vicious, angry vindictive and maybe even regretful as she tells the girls to 'shut up'. Annie was allowed to show her emotions. She didn't need to rely on men for her safety and security. Millie's expression of annoyance goes as far as a 'little pout'- a slight look of bother. If she expresses how annoyed and angry she really is she could jeopardise her chance of marriage. Milly has an immense amount of respect for Tony, as even when he tells Hannah that he hasn't 'quite promised her' yet:" Settled it? I don't think I have!" And then bursting out 'My sweet Hannah!' Milly gives a 'little screaming squeak'. Annie is very careful as she 'has a boy of her own'. When she was pursuing John Thomas she still kept her 'own boy dangling in the distance.' To a great extent she is a hypocrite herself because she is disloyal to both John Thomas as well as her own 'boy'. As she was a 'plump, quick alive little creature' she was quite 'exited and happy'. Annie feels obliged to let John Thomas draw himself closer: "She could hardly for shame repulse him when he put his arm around her". She feels this because he has paid for all of her rides and she feels she cannot be complaisant. This attitude shows how the women used to melt in his presence. Even though Annie knew John Thomas she was foolish enough to 'pride' herself that he could not leave her. When he did leave, she was 'determined' to have her own back. When John Thomas arrived at the waiting room Muriel says 'Shut the door, boy'. She is treating him like a child. Usually it would be John Thomas giving the orders, as he is the 'chief'. The women overall in "Tony Kytes" are submissive, timid, naive and typical of the period as they 'almost swooned', then 'screeched' and sobbed. They are different to the women in "Tickets Please" because the girls in "Tickets Please" want brutal and aggressive revenge. They have a lot of vengeance in them. Hannah, Milly and Unity don't bother about revenge; it is out of the question for them. Annie and Milly share one thing in particular, they both end up getting chosen. Annie refuses partly because of her independence whereas Milly accepts even though it may seem pathetic, weak and stupid to the modern women - the circumstances forced Milly to no other decision. This shows that in both stories the setting is quite important in some of the issues, as the social system and circumstance, can make all the difference, as we can see in both these stories.
The biggest difference between the relationships in both these stories is the reason for them. In "Tickets Please", the relationships are supposed to be short term, they lack commitment from both sides, and are not about supporting the female partner financially, as the women in "Tickets please" work, and so are financially independent. The relationships that occur on the tram service are generally short term, sexual relationships. To give this impression, Lawrence uses metaphors to compare the girls to "reckless sailors". He uses navel ship images and descriptions: "Careering vessel of a tram car". They are in 'peril, rocking on the waves of a stormy land' and 'live abroad gives them a sailors dash'. Because they are compared to sailors it gives us the impression that they indulge in casual sex, like sailors having 'a woman at every port'. Sailors in general are 'reckless' like the girls in "Tickets Please" and they have the same attitude. The tramcar is the ship and the depot is the port. The women have a laidback attitude. Unlike the women in "Tony Kytes" who need to think about their future and not have the 'live for the day' attitude. It was the war that allowed the women like Annie to have these attitudes, as it was a revolutionary rime for womens social independence.
Annie knows the significance of a relationship with Jhon Thomas: "she could sum him up very well", and the fact that she had: "her own boy dangling in the distance", showed she knew of the lack of commitment in their relationship. Yet when Jhon Thomas leaves Annie when she becomes interested in more then his "nocturnal presence", she is "staggered" and "she wept with fury, indignation, desolation and misery". Jhon Thomas was also very interested in Annie, we can tell because: "Jhon Thomas really liked Annie more then usual" and when he was on the "qui vive" he chose Annie as he thought she would be "safe now", meaning she would be safe from the idea that he wanted to be anything more then a sexual partner. We can tell from this that Jhon Thomas was scared of commitment. We also know that Annie knew the significance of her relationship with John Thomas, and that she maybe thought t was wrong, as When Annie and John Thomas share their first kiss Annie has to keep justifying her behaviour. There is a repetition of 'after all' several times: "After all it was pleasant". John Thomas' kisses were 'soft and slow and searching'. Alliteration and the 's' sounds represent the movement and sound of the kissing.
Lawrence uses metaphors to describe the women as cats, or animals, this is built upon when they "pounce" on Jhon Thomas in the waiting room. The women are 'predators' whereas John Thomas is the 'prey'. Annie was a 'swift cat' and John Thomas was now 'their sport'. We visualise hunting images as John Thomas lay 'like an animal' as he 'was at the mercy of the captor'. The women were 'wild creatures' and John Thomas 'started to struggle like an animal might'. The girls had a 'supernatural' strength but as soon as he chose Annie she became a 'dazed creature'. The women get hysterical with their 'wild frenzy of fury'. They are very vicious and have lack of control. They are acting on their instincts because they had 'mute stupefied faces'. They couldn't believe the 'supernatural' strength they had. An animal would act on instincts - not humans. During this we can teel that marriage was not taken very seriously, as when they ask Jhon Thomas to choose "one", they know whomever John Thomas chose would have to refuse. They knew that nobody would marry him and still they made him 'choose' the only reason why John Thomas chose Annie was so he could get himself out of the situation. He knew that by choosing Annie he would gain a victory and from his vulnerable position he chooses Annie. He knows that she will never accept as he chooses her in 'malice', Annie immediately let go off him like he was a 'hot coal'. She felt 'a kind of agony in her' as 'something was broken in her'. The girls have lost control and are 'stupefied' by their 'unnatural behaviour'. Even after all the taunting, tormenting and goading John Thomas they make him chose:"Coddy, you've got to choose" John Thomas asserting his authority while being cornered like an animal gets him nowhere but by choosing Annie he turns the tables. Despite the sheer violence they thought would ensure a victory, they are very wrong. This leads Annie to feel very undermined. John Thomas' uniform is something he takes pride in. When his 'tunic was torn' and his 'jacket was stripped off'- so was his authority.
In "Tony Kytes the arch deceiver" the climax is built around how he is going to explain himself to all three women. The strict social system of that time meant that there could no be any other male/female relationship, other then if it was intended to marry. As Tony Kytes had had a relationship with Millie for a certain period of time, it became "said" they were to be married. The social system dictated the direction of the relationships, and what the community and parents thought was very important: " Don't' go ...making a scandal, I won't have such things done". The male character knows that he must get married, and in that time, getting married meant financially supporting your wife, and starting a proper family. Now that it has been "said", that Tony was getting married, he knew he had no choice to get married, but he wasn't sure as to which of his "darlings" to choose. Using a method of exclusion, Tony ended up putting the question to Millie, who was the last o n his list. Hannah and Unity did not want revenge on Tony - and the way in which they showed their fury is by not going to Tony's wedding. Milly was asked last by Tony and when she is finally asked she responds by saying: "You didn't really mean what you said to them". Tony declares 'not a word of it'. Once again he is deceiving Milly and his charms get the better of her as she accepts him. But we know the circumstances forced her to that decision. All three girls want to get married, because if you were not married, a woman had nowhere to go. She could not independently finance herself, so it was very important to find a husband as soon as you could.
As a comparison, the relationship between man and women in both stories are very different. This is because of the opportunities available at that time, the circumstances, and most importantly, the social system.
Both of these stories teach us a lot about the relationships of their time. Although "Tony Kytes", is a comedy, and there is no real moral to it, behind the humour we can learn a lot about the situation of young women at that time. In "Tickets Please", the story is left open ended, but we can still learn that during the war, women became more personally and sexually liberated. The women of "Tony Kytes" are desperate to get married, even though they know they know Tony has been unfaithful to them. We know this is because of their situation. In "Tickets Pease", there is no great emphasis on marriage, relationships are short term, and marriage is even made a mockery out of, by asking Jhon Thomas to: "choose one". Both these stories and their portrayal of relationships, differs from what would be seen today. Womn are much more liberated, and are seen as to have equal rights with men, for this reason they can be financially independent, and are no longer seen as 'just the homemakers'.
Although short-term relationships are common nowadays, women would not let someone like John Thomas seduce them that easily. Overall, Tickets please is much closer to today's relationships. But I prefer "Tony Kytes" as a story, because there is a certain innocence in the relationships, something no longer found in today's relationships, or those in "Tickets Please".