Thomas Hardy

Authors Avatar
Thomas Hardy was a very famous Victorian novelist and poet. Most of his short stories spoke about how fate controls every aspect of our lives and that fate controls every aspect of our lives and that stepping out of your class in society can lead to unwanted effect. Both these books which he wrote portray this idea in similar ways.

The main characters in 'The Son's Veto' are Sophy, Samuel Hobson and Randolph and in 'The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion' Phyllis, Matthaüs Tina and Dr. Grove. These characters in bringing out the theme of natural affection and how it contrasts with snobbery as in most of Hardy's short stories the main female characters Sophy and Phyllis are wrecked by fate. Both step out of their class which is their biggest flaw and finally it makes their lives miserable.

Natural affection is mainly presented through Sophy's love for Samuel Hobson and Phyllis' love for Matthaüs Tina. However, there is a difference. Sophy and Sam initially start off in the same social class whereas Phyllis and Matthaüs belong to different nationalities hence different 'classes'. So there is a different introduction to the natural affection shared by the two couples. We are introduced to the love shared by Sophy and Sam in their first meeting itself where Sophy returns home from the vicar's house. The vicar's first wife had passed away and she goes home to deliver the news. She meets Sam and "presently his arm stole around her waist...'...you may want a home; and I shall be ready to offer one some day...". He even tries "to kiss her a farewell" but fails as Sophy is more serious of the situation at hand. Phyllis and Matthaüs have a much different introduction to the natural affection shared. It begins with Phyllis' pity for Tina as his face shows utmost gloom. Like Victorian society, Phyllis had the impression "that their [the York Hussar's] hearts were as gay as their accoutrements" so because Tina has betrayed her image of a merry Hussar she is compelled to feel sympathetic towards him, a sympathy which would soon become affection for him.

Sophy knew Sam quite well so they share the love that grows between a boy and girl as they get to know each other better. Sam's affection for Sophy is so much that he discards the news delivered by Sophy and instead tries to court her. He even goes to the point of trying to "kiss her a farewell...on such a night as this", showing that he loves Sophy a lot. Phyllis on the other hand falls in love with a complete stranger because he betrays her image of the York Hussars. After meeting him for the first time "All that day the foreigner's face haunted Phyllis". This event usually happens when someone is in love; they keep seeing their lover's face in front of them - it 'haunts' them. "Like Desdemona, she pitied him, and learnt his history", showing how she was eager to know all about him, proving that she too was falling in love.
Join now!


We see that Sophy's and Phyllis' love is not one-sided love - it is reciprocated love. Sam and Tina both love Sophy and Phyllis and share in the natural affection. Sam's love for Sophy is very obvious when his 'arm stole round her waist'. He is the first one to introduce us to the affection shared by him and Sophy. Even after Sophy married and became a widow, he still had an "interest in her dwelling-place that he could not extinguish, leading him to hover about the locality..." He was not going to give up on Sophy and ...

This is a preview of the whole essay