How does Thomas Hardy present a picture of society at the time his stories were written?

Thomas Hardy presents a picture of how society was by the language he uses and also what happens in the stories. The differences with today’s society and Thomas Hardy’s society are their everyday lives, social status, relationships, marriage, morals, superstitions and law and order.

In Tony Kytes, life was very different from how it is today. They used to travel along village lanes in a horse and cart, “wagon” and rode to market where Tony had been doing business for his father. Men in those days spent their days finding the right girl to marry. This is because it was difficult to get a divorce so they had to stay with that person for the rest of their life.

In the Son’s Veto, the town they described was a horrible place “… a narrow, dusty house in a long, straight street”. These days the towns are full of offices and shops and are not so crowded and polluted. This makes the reader feel that Sophy and Mr Twycott have had to leave such a beautiful place, “abandoning their pretty home, with trees and shrubs and glebe”.

In The Withered Arm, many rich men e.g. Farmer Lodge, were farmers. Nowadays farms are poor, due to the increase in tertiary businesses.

The Son’s Veto shows us a lot about the social status of men and women in the old days. Sophy started out as a parlour maid but the vicar fell in love with her. They later married but only held a small wedding ceremony. This was due to the fact that Sophy was of lower standing to him and although his wife had died, it was still his second marriage. This was indeed frowned upon and Mr Twycott knew this but loved Sophy too much to let her go. “Mr Twycott knew perfectly well that he had committed social suicide…” When the vicar had died and Sophy’s son was at school she had a hard time getting along with her son, Randolph. He found it annoying that his mum could not even talk properly. “ “Has, dear mother – not have” exclaimed the public schoolboy, with an impatient fastidiousness that was almost harsh.” He felt embarrassed and ashamed of his mother because she was not as well educated as he now was, “in her son’s eyes – a mother whose mistakes and origin it was his painful lot as a gentleman to blush for.”

In The Withered Arm, Farmer Lodge had a relationship with Rhoda Brook and she ended up having a baby. The farmer did not support her or stay with her because they were of a different social status and they had already had a baby out of wedlock. This was thought of as an awful thing to do, so Rhoda was seen apart from the rest as an outcast, “Their course lay apart from the others…” The reader instantly recognises how Rhoda is emotionally isolated, when the others chat to each other, but as the paragraphs continue she does not join ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

In The Withered Arm, Rhoda and Farmer Lodge have a hostile relationship. He wanted nothing to do with his son and ignored him when he saw him, “…having taken no outward notice of the baby whatever”. Hardy chooses never to give a name to the boy, as if to emphasise how un-important he is to his mother and father. Rhoda becomes slightly jealous of Farmer Lodge’s new wife and was persistent about finding out what she looked like, “is she ladylike”, “what colour is her hair and face”. She did this by making her son run errands and spy on Gertrude, “Go early and notice her walking in, and come home and tell me if she’s taller than I”. Rhoda imagined that she hurts Gertrude’s arm but it actually happened. When Farmer Lodge sees Gertrude’s arm he starts to visit Rhoda and his son. This is because he does not love Rhoda anymore due to her disfigurement, “the woman whom he had wooed for her grace and beauty…” This meant that as Gertrude had not given him a family, “she had brought him no child….” the reader feels as though Farmer Lodge’s only chance for a child to carry on his name is Rhoda’s son.

Farmer Lodge and Gertrude were in love at the beginning of the story. Farmer Lodge loved her for her beauty and grace, “her face too was fresh in colour, but it was of a totally different quality – soft and evanescent, like the light under a heap of rose-petals”. Due to Rhoda’s dream, Gertrude’s arm became disfigured, “…contorted and disfigured in the left limb”. Farmer Lodge starts to dislike Gertrude because she was not as beautiful with her distorted arm. This makes Farmer Lodge a shallow man whose only intention was to marry a pretty lady who could bear him beautiful children. This also did not happen, “she had brought him no child”.

In Tony Kytes, Tony only wants to marry the prettiest girl, which is wrong as that is not what you should base your marriage on. This shows us that he is a very shallow man and many ladies are after him because he is a bit of a ladies man, “He was quite the women’s favourite, and in return for their likings he loved ‘em in shoals”. Although Tony was already engaged to Milly he still asked Hannah, “I’ve asked Hannah to be mine”, and he also asked Unity, “Unity dear, be mine?” before he finally gets left with Milly. She easily obliges which makes her very shortsighted but loyal to Tony.

In The Withered Arm, Rhoda is an outcast. This is because people look at her differently as she had a baby out of wedlock, “Their course lay apart from that of the others.”

In the Son’s Veto, Mr Twycott and Sophy got married in a church but did not have a proper wedding, “The parson and a neighbouring curate had entered at one door, and Sophy at another, followed by two necessary parsons, whereupon in a short time there emerged a newly-made husband and wife”. Nowadays if you do not have a proper wedding with all the family, you get married in a registry office. Sophy and Mr Twycott had to have a small wedding due to the fact that it was Mr Twycott’s second marriage and that they were of a different working class. Sophy was Mr Twycott’s servant and this was frowned upon. This forced the married couple to move away as they would be disrespected.

In The Withered Arm there is a lot of superstition. When Gertrude’s arm became disfigured she visited a man called Conjuror Trendle who was believed to have had powers, “…they used to say he was a – he had powers other folk have not.” She was not superstitious and dismissed him when she found out that he might have powers, “O, how could my people be so superstitious as to recommend a man of that sort!” This meant that magic was not believed very much in those days. After she visited Conjuror Trendle she found herself practising black magic on her disfigured arm, “…nay, bunches of mystic herbs, charms and books of necromancy…” Near the beginning of the story, we know that it was too much of a coincidence for Rhoda’s dream to only be a dream, “what was that noise in your chimmer, mother, last night? just when the clock struck two”. This leads us to feel that Rhoda might be a witch or possess powers. Rhoda cannot explain it herself so the readers might pity her

In The Withered Arm people were hanged for doing fairly minor things in that society, “… men were executed for horse-stealing, arson and burglary”. Hanging was also seen as some kind of entertainment as some called it a “hang-fair”. Many people travelled for miles around to see “the spectacle”. Also they sold the rope that was used for the hanging, “Tis sold by the inch afterwards”.

In conclusion I feel that Hardy presented a clear and understandable picture of what society was like when he wrote the stories. From evidence I have gained from reading the stories, Hardy has shown us about society throughout each story under many topics e.g. marriage. I felt that the Withered Arm gave me the most insight into society. This is because I got emotionally involved, as I felt pity for Rhoda near the beginning of the story but as I became aware of Gertrude’s feelings I felt anger towards Rhoda. This helped me to understand what life was like in the time when Hardy wrote the stories.