Sophy as a woman “Had her deficiencies” she was a girl/woman from a rural background, a village called Gaymead, whose education and lower class made her an unlikely lady. Mr Twycott, her husband had upon their marriage taken much trouble with her education, Sophy feeled obligated to marry Mr. Twycott in order for her to feel socially accepted. After several years of marriage they have a son, who is instantly connected to the gentleman’s class. As the story progresses, Mr. Twycott becomes ill and dies, leaving Sophy stranded in a social class that she is so majority separated from. Sophy is imprisoned in a “long straight street”, within the walls of a narrow brick house with no friends or family. He son believed her to be a disgrace to society. He commented unkindly on her minor mistakes in grammar “has, dear mother, not have”. He increases her isolation as he further decreased their compass “to a few thousand titled and wealthy lords and ladies”. Sophy is a woman who is torn between two social classes. She is placed in Position where she chooses to protect her social reputation over her true, natural feelings.
Hardy sets up a social detachment between Sophy and her son through the language they speak. Due to Sophy’s educational background, she can’t formulate sentences correctly. Randolph however grows up with a proper education and is blatantly annoyed by his mother’s incorrect grammar. Sophy cannot identify herself with her own son because of the higher knowledge that he gains, and the aristocratic attitude that results from this. He gains a sort of power over her, eventually leading to her death that could have easily been avoided had he not been so full of pride for himself and shallowness “Somehow her boy, with his aristocratic. School-knowledge, his grammars, and his aversion; was losing those wide infantine sympathies, extending as far as the sun and moon themselves, with which he, like other children, had been born, and which his mother, a child of nature herself, had loved in him”.
There is a contradiction between Randolph and Sam to what is a gentleman. A gentleman to Randolph is a rich, well-educated man who is above normal working class or holds a high well-paying job, or just to clarify a vicar or minister. This in his eyes, and to the type of men mentioned above makes him a gentleman, but is he? When compared to Sam Randolph is nothing more than an extremely spoilt, rich child. Sam is a real gentleman, is considerate, helpful and respectful towards Sophy, something that Randolph often forgets purposefully, Randolph is embarrassed of his mother “I am ashamed of you! It will ruin me!”
Sophy and Sam have a romantic meeting – when Sam asks Sophy to go out on a ride with him in the vehicle. At first Sophy refuses and then she soften slightly and agrees to travel with him as far as Convent Garden. She goes downstairs in the way that she could “easily adopt in an emergency” and slips the latch on the door. Sam holds Sophy bodily on his strong arm. During their ride they discussed their past and Sam talks about his own wishes to own fruiters and of how he knew of a place. He asks Sophy to accompany him, she refuses as by saying that Randolph would never allow it, this is the role-reversal between Sophy and Randolph as it seems almost as if he is the parent and she is the child. She is confronted by a love infest from her past, which reminds her of a life in her past social settings, I am of course talking about Gaymead, but feels by going back to her idyllic background, but to do this it would mean that she would have to abandon her son because of his connection to the gentleman’s class. After several more years, Sophy still feels as if she is stranded in a foreign society because of her son’s “veto” towards her proposition to marry someone from her idyllic past. Hardy uses pathetic fallacy to symbolise her hope, with her future with Sam; “the air was as fresh as country air at this hour, and the sun was rising to the north east-ward where there was a whitish light - the dawn,” he gives the reader sudden hope by making them think Sophy has hope for the future. When Sam proposes Sophy refuses, but she finally agrees to breach the subject with Randolph, this was unsuccessful and ended in Randolph locking himself into his room, “parleying's were attempted by Sophy through the keyhole, outside which she waited and listened, It was long before he would reply, and when he did it was to say sternly at her from within: “’I am ashamed of you! It will ruin me! A miserable boor! A churl! A clown! It will degrade me in the eyes of all the gentlemen of England!’ [Sophy Replied] ‘Say no more – perhaps I am wrong! I will struggle against it!’”
A few years had passed since Sam’s proposal and Sophy has now died. After spending her last few years submerged in her isolation and while all the time she is losing all hope of ever gaining any happiness with Sam. Sophy had breached the subject once again with Randolph who now showed “more manly anger”. He still refused Sophy’s request as his education had now “sufficiently ousted his humanity”. It is like Hardy is damning his expensive education. Randolph causes Sophy to remain isolated in London where she “seemed to be pining her heart away”. Hardy ends the novel somewhat ambiguously, but I’m guessing that the funeral is for Sophy, there is now a time shift to “some four years later” and this is where we see the middle-aged Sam, He is “standing at the door of the largest fruiterers shop in Aldbrickham”. He was not dressed in his usual business attire, he wore a neat suit of black and his eyes were wet with tears, the windows were shuttered, a sign of his respect for Sophy, and also he is watching for his last look at her before she goes to her burial Sam his holding his hat a s a sign of respect for Sophy. In the mourning coach with his mother, is Randolph, a now “smooth-shaven priest who looked as black as a cloud at the shopkeeper standing there”. The story ends as it start’s, no names are mentioned and from the description’s you are able to take a guess as of who they are.
