Who deserves our sympathy:Rhoda or Gertrude

Who deserves our sympathy: Rhoda or Gertrude? Throughout the "Withered Arm" the main characters: Rhoda Brook and Gertrude Lodge experience lots of tragedy, and due to this, the book makes the audience empathise with the two of them. The following paragraphs will examine the lengths and extremes of these tragic events, and therefore conclude who deserves our sympathy. Rhoda Brook is a poor milkmaid and an abandoned single mother and Gertrude Lodge, is the rich and beautiful wife of Farmer Lodge. The pain and suffering endured by both characters is evident at different circumstances in the book, hence the book depicts sympathy for both characters. In the opening chapter of the "Withered Arm", Thomas Hardy shows sympathy for Rhoda. He uses the chapter title to demonstrate this- "The lorn milkmaid". The word "lorn" has connotations of sadness or loneliness; therefore, even before we begin to read the book, the title gives us the impression that the milkmaid is miserable and alone. As the chapter progresses, we learn that Rhoda works on a farm, owned by Farmer Lodge. We soon realise that Rhoda is isolated from the rest of workers on the farm. She does not seem to join in with the general chatter of the other milk maids and is by herself most of the time. She is described as "A thin, fading women of thirty that milked somewhat apart from the rest." The use of the work "fading"

  • Word count: 1690
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Thomas Hardy has been praised for the strength of his narrative in The Wessex Tales. Discuss Hardy(TM)s narrative technique in at least three of the short stories in the collection. You should also consider the elements

Thomas Hardy has been praised for the strength of his narrative in "The Wessex Tales". Discuss Hardy's narrative technique in at least three of the short stories in the collection. You should also consider the elements which Hardy includes in his narratives which make them compelling and interesting. Thomas Hardy has, throughout his literary works within "The Wessex Tales" maintained a strong and unique narrative style, which has over nearly one hundred and fifty years enticed and compelled his audience to read on. Hardy successfully uses the pastoral voice within his narration; this is a highly conventional mode of writing, which idealizes a golden age of rustic innocence and virtuous frugality. We can see clear evidence for this in Hardy's work within the context that he wrote about a fictional place, similar to Dorset or Sussex, fifty years previous to his writing. Although the tales are fictional, the world and characters Hardy created were not far from what would have been within the time of his tales, therefore making the tales more believable and thereby letting his audience relate further to the tales. His success in creating a fictional world is, in my opinion, helped by the separation of the time period of his readers and that of his characters/tales. By setting his stories in the past an air of mystery is created, as none of his readers would have known what it

  • Word count: 2071
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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English coursework. Analysing 4 short stories

After reading four short stories from the 19th century, we explored how the writers present the female characters in each story, mentioning to what extent the character fit, or challenge, the stereotype of a 19th century woman. In the short story "Mr Lismore and the widow", we meet Wilkie Collins' female character, Mrs Callender, and I could immediately determine one of her main characteristics; her forward attitude. The story begins with Mrs Callender eagerly attending a men's meeting where she doesn't fit in, determined to see a man named Mr Lismore, "I want to see him, and that is all". The way in which she goes only to watch this man, "with such evident interest in Mr Lismore", proves she is very forward, challenging the typical stereotype of a 19th century woman, who was thought to be shy and timid. As the story progresses, we see many examples of this upfront behaviour, "are you married?", "or you may be in love?". When Mrs Callender confidently writes a letter to Mr Lismore and is the one trying to make contact with him, it shows she does not hold back and is clearly the one eager to speak to him, showing a lot of confidence and self-assuredness. Furthermore, later in the story Mrs Callender's actions show she is not only forward and full of confidence, but is sexually (opposite of subservient?), defying the stereotype once again. The way in which Mrs Callender

  • Word count: 2885
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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The dream sequence in Chapter 3 of "The Withered Arm".

The dream sequence is chapter 3 is caused by the relationship between Rhoda and Gertrude and Mr. Lodge. The relationship is complex, even though Rhoda has never met Gertrude. They love the same the man. However, Rhoda’s experience with Mr. Lodge is deeper since she had already with him. Rhoda could know him better then Mrs. Lodge. Mr. Lodge’s courtship of Gertrude could have been very short. Gertrude may barely know Mr. Lodge. However, Rhoda may know him better. Rhoda had a child out of wedlock with him. Maybe Rhoda has also dreamed about having a happy life with Mr. Lodge. The appearance of Gertrude put an end to this dream. Now it has been replaced with a nightmare. The nightmare is a life alone, with no one to support The dream sequence her, and no hope of a husband. In the dream, Gertrude is sitting on Rhoda’s chest. This is a metaphor about their different social classes. Gertrude is part of the well off rich class, while Rhoda is a poor milkmaid who has had a child out of wedlock and has no support from the father. The upper class is always on top of the lower class, pressuring them, torturing them and not pitying them. Rhoda pictures Gertrude in the dream with a wrinkled face. This could mean that she is picturing Gertrude as an old woman in the future. This would mean that in Rhoda’s lifetime, it will always be the case that she has nothing and

  • Word count: 818
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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What does The Sons Veto tell us about attitudes towards social class in the Nineteenth century?

Sakina OxleyStudent No. 100273931 English Assignment 3 Short Stories Sakina Oxley 00273931 ________________ What does The Son’s Veto tell us about attitudes towards social class in the Nineteenth century? Hardy uses the theme of social class in many of his novels and short stories and often details a character’s movement; either up or down the social ladder and the problems which may ensue. ‘The Son’s Veto’ was written in 1891 and tells the story of Sophy, a parlour maid who marries her respectable employer, the Reverend Twycott, and is faced with a life very different from her previous existence in the rural Wessex village of Gaymead. The story gives us a keen indication of the differences between members of the richer and poorer classes of nineteenth century society and also their attitudes towards each other. Hardy addresses attitudes towards social class through the marriage of Sophy to Reverend Twycott, through Randolph’s character and treatment of his mother and through Sophy’s relationship with her former sweetheart, Sam. The reader is first introduced to Sophy via a detailed description of her hair. Hardy makes a lengthy comment about the intricacy of the style and through this is describing the elaborate fashions among society ladies of the time. He then reveals that despite the complicated nature of the style, she has to do her hair herself as

  • Word count: 1147
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How does Hardy present Rhoda and Gertrude in The Withered Arm?

How does Hardy present Rhoda and Gertrude in "The Withered Arm"? Hardy presents Gertrude Lodge as the Farmers young wife who is very attractive 'Tisty-Tosty', she has clear blue eyes, soft fresh skin, light hair, white teeth, a red mouth but short. This shows that she is young. When Gertrude sat down in the church her silk dress 'whistled so loud when it rubbed against the pews' and as this happened her face blushed, 'the lady coloured up more than ever for very shame at the noise'. This proved that she wasn't used to being posh and sophisticated with the farmer otherwise she wouldn't have blushed, it would have been normal and not embarrassed by the noise. On the night of Gertrude's wound, Rhoda and Gertrude had the same dream that they were both in a strange place but the image of Gertrude that Rhoda had gathered from her son the specific information she wanted from spying on Gertrude. She used her memory and created an image in her head of Gertrude. 'Rhoda Brook could raise a mental image of the unconscious Mrs Lodge that was as realistic as a photograph.' As the incubus of Gertrude lay down on top of Rhoda, 'it was suffocating her with pressure' and it shined the wedding ring in her face. When Rhoda grabbed its arm 'in a last desperate effort, swung out her right hand, seized the confronting spectre by its obtrusive left arm, and whirled it backward to the floor.' The

  • Word count: 1033
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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English Literature Coursework - Thomas Hardy - Setting

The three stories I will be comparing in my coursework are "The Withered Arm", "The Winters & the Palmleys" and "The thieves who couldn't help sneezing". Hardy's has expertise of a writer and poet of Victorian literature. Victorian literature is the literature produced during 1837-1901 and corresponds to the Victorian era. It forms a link and transition between the writers of the romantic period and the very different literature of the 20th century. Thomas Hardy was an English novelist, short story writer, and poet of the naturalist movement. The bulk of his work, set mainly in the semi-imaginary county of Wessex, delineates characters struggling against their passions and circumstances. Hardy's poetry, first published in his fifties, has come to be as well regarded as his novels, especially after the 1960s Movement! Life in rural Dorset and the surrounding counties that make up Thomas Hardy's "Wessex of the novels and poems" moved more slowly than in metropolis of London or the industrial north, so that a novel may seem to be set much earlier than it actually is. Hardy's handling of physical setting is unparallel in English fiction, although in the verse of the Lake Poets and Robert Burns one has a similar sense of a specific topography and landscape. But, when Hardy is at his best, as in The Return of the Native, the natural backdrop becomes another person in the picture,

  • Word count: 1175
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Explore how women are presented by Thomas Hardy in The Sons Veto, The Withered Arm and Tony Kytes, the Arch Deceiver.

Prose Study: Thomas Hardy Explore how women are presented by Thomas Hardy in 'The Son's Veto', 'The Withered Arm' and 'Tony Kytes, the Arch Deceiver'. Thomas Hardy found himself amidst the rigid class system popular in Victorian England. Within a society dominated by men, Hardy is able to see past the stereotypes of the time and empathise with the plight of not only different classes, but most commonly, the problems women faced. His stories carried a recurring theme; women from different backgrounds attempting to remove the straight jacket that the attitudes within their society have forced upon them. At this time in history, women were perceived as having a diminutive purpose with little independence. The restrains of society can clearly be seen through Sophy's character in 'Son's Veto'. This story tells the tale of a young parlour maids journey through life at this point in history. Hardy describes her as a 'young invalid lad sitting in a wheeled chair.' as a result of an accident in her youth. It was this accident that first sparked Mr Twycott's interest in the young Sophy. Sophy was a lady in every sense of the word - except the home she was born into: a complete women but not polished and refined as middle class ladies were expected to be at the time. 'Sophy the women was a charming a partner as a man could possess, though Sophy the lady had her deficiencies.'

  • Word count: 3311
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Consider how Thomas Hardy explores and presents his views on relationships between men and women in three of his short stories you have read.

Consider how Thomas Hardy explores and presents his views on relationships between men and women in three of his short stories you have read. Status is a high rank or standing, especially in a community or a workforce. Your status describes how well known you are in the community, compared to different people. This is why in the 1880's, status became a powerful and popular item for men to own. It was important for men in the 1880's to have a high status because it showed how well known you were and how important you were in the community compared to other men, for this reason status became a vital possession to own, and men could boost their status considerably by having exceedingly good wealth, and also the key feature which boosts men's statuses were their wives. Wives either made or beaked a man's status in the community in the 1880's. Men became fond of having their trophy wives to show of to other men to make them feel jealous, just so they can gain a higher status compared to other men. Overtime as the men's wives got older and seemed to loose their touch or gleam about them, their husbands disliked them and started to find them less attractive from when they first got married, as soon as the wife becomes less and less attractive the man's status would fall down as well. This made women become more and more obsessed on how they looked so they could please their husbands

  • Word count: 2668
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Compare Hardys presentation of women in An Imaginative Women and On the Western Circuit

Compare Hardy's presentation of women in two short stories Thomas Hardy's presentation of women is quite highlights the typical Victorian attitude towards women . In particular, 'An Imaginative Women' and 'On the Western Circuit' produce some interesting comparisons. The two leading characters are women, Ella Marchmill ('An Imaginative Woman') and Edith Harnham ('On the Western Circuit'). The first and probably the most obvious similarity between the two women is the way Hardy has presented their marriage. This was at a time when men still exerted their power over women, and a woman divorcing a man was unheard of. In both of these stories, Hardy has portrayed both of them as passionate, yet unhappy wives. William Marchmill, Ella's husband, is mention quite frequently in the story and plays an integral part, so we get a more accurate picture of him. However, Edith Harnham's husband only appears near the start, yet in that one glance, we get a good idea of the relationship between the two. "Oh? Horrid nuisance every year! I wish it could be put a stop to." "I like it." "H'm. There's no accounting for taste." Their relationship with each other has been portrayed powerfully in these three lines. Immediately, a lack of respect and common interest, perhaps even a sense of hostility between the two has become apparent. Compare this short, snappy encounter with some of the more

  • Word count: 2050
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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