‘Red herrings’ are the final technique that Hardy uses in both stories. For example in The Withered Arm we assume that Rhoda and Gertrude will hate each other. However, after they have met, Rhoda talks about “the sweet and kindly Gertrude Lodge”. From this it is obvious that they like each other and this is not what we would have expected. Another example of a ‘red herring’ is in The Distracted Preacher when Stockdale “saw an elderly woman” in Mrs. Newberry’s house we assume that this is Mrs. Newberry. But we soon discover that “Mrs. Newberry is not the old lady”. Hardy uses ‘red herrings’ in order to surprise the reader and make us think.
Using these three techniques throughout the two stories Hardy is able to control the tension. However, as well as his three major techniques in each story he uses different methods to control the tension. By looking at the graph you will see that I have split the time line of the stories into three parts. I have labelled these three parts in accordance to where I believe Hardy was attempting to gain, sustain and satisfy the reader’s interest. Therefore, I will go through each of these three parts, for both stories, and explain how Hardy controls the tension in them.
Hardy gains the reader’s interest in The Withered Arm by introducing a supernatural side because the idea of magic and powers beyond our control interests the reader. However, he introduces it in a clever way because as Rhoda is surprise, the reader is unsure how she managed to “exercise a malignant power over” Gertrude.
Rhoda Brook is a very interesting character so this helps gain the reader’s interest. She is interesting because she has something mystery about her. We know that she was married to Farmer Lodge and that he “took no notice” of their son. Also she has “been slily called a witch” and seems to have some supernatural power inside herself. As she is an interesting character we want to read on.
By using an interesting characters and adding a supernatural side to the story as well as using his three major techniques Hardy creates a peak in tension. This peak occurs when Rhoda grabs Gertrude Lodge’s arm in a dream. After this peak Hardy feels that he has gained the reader’s interest.
The reader’s interest is gained in The Distracted Preacher in a number of ways: Like in The Withered Arm Hardy uses a character with some mystery about her. We discover that Lizzy Newberry “may take any” of the “smugglers’ liquor” whenever she wants. However, we are not told why she is allowed to do this and we read on hoping to find the answers to the mystery.
Hardy introduces moral dilemmas for Stockdale in order to help to gain the reader’s interest. When Stockdale drinks the liquor he thinks to himself whether he is “quite justified in doing this thing”. This interests the reader because they are likely to have had moral dilemmas themselves and therefore they can relate to Stockdale’s problem.
However, I feel that the most important technique that Hardy uses to gain the reader’s interest is the desire that Stockdale feels towards Lizzy Newberry. We first see this when Stockdale says to Lizzy that “he did not want the chicken, unless she brought it up herself”. This is the most important technique because by reading about Stockdale’s desire we are experiencing it ourselves and most people find romance interesting. By using these techniques Hardy creates a peak in tension when Lizzy agrees that Stockdale can be her “sweetheart”.
Now that Hardy has gained the reader’s interest it is very important for him to make sure that he sustains it. In The Withered Arm he does this by using the idea of befriending the enemy. As at first Rhoda despises Gertrude and as they have the same husband we can say that they are supposedly enemies. Therefore, it is very interesting for the reader to find out how their unlikely friendship develops.
Also the landscape in The Withered Arm plays an important part in the story. Hardy uses the landscape as almost an evil character. We see this when Rhoda is taking Gertrude to Trendle and we are told how the “thick clouds made the atmosphere dark, though it was as yet only early afternoon; and the wind howled dismally over the slopes of the heath” We can see how the country can be very intimidating. This is interesting for the reader because we want to find out whether they will reach Trendle and thereby defeating the countryside.
Hardy still keeps using the supernatural angle when attempting to sustain the reader’s interest. He makes the reader understand that as Gertrude’s injury was made in a supernatural way so the cure must also be supernatural. Therefore, it is fitting that Gertrude has to “touch with the limb the neck of a man who’s been hanged”.
It is important that in the first half of The Withered Arm the story follows Rhoda’s movements and thoughts whereas, in the second half Rhoda moves away and we change to following Gertrude’s thoughts and movements. This is interesting for the reader because we learn a lot about both of them. It is also interesting because we get to see the contrast between country life and urban life. We see this contrast when in the latter stages of the story Gertrude leaves the country and travels to the nearest town.
Using these techniques Hardy creates two peaks in tension. The first peak is when Gertrude visits Trendle and sees her enemy in the tumbler. The second peak is when Gertrude returns to Trendle and he tells her that she has to “touch with the limb the neck of a man who’s been hanged”.
In The Distracted Preacher in order to sustain the reader’s interest Hardy further develops idea of Stockdale battling with his conscience. Hardy uses the fact that he is a preacher to great effect. When Stockdale finds out that Lizzy is “a smuggler” two of his innermost desires come into conflict; his love of Lizzy against his love and respect of Gods and his laws. It interests the reader to see what will ultimately triumph when a religious man struggles between love and faith. We see Stockdale arguing with himself when he says how “he did not wish to repeat his own share of the adventure” but “he would never forgive himself” if “an accident should befall” Lizzy. In this part of the story his love of Lizzy triumphs because he goes smuggling with her.
Hardy interests the reader by showing us what extremes men can go for love. We see Stockdale as a jealous lover when he questions Lizzy on how “very anxious” she is about “Owlett’s safety”. Also it is with some irony that Stockdale the Dissenter preacher finds himself on top of the Episcopalian’s church tower with a group of smugglers, for the love of a woman. Throughout the story he finds himself going on a spiral downwards from being a good preacher to a smuggler. In the early stages of The Distracted Preacher he begins his spiral by drinking the “smugglers’ liquor” and in the latter stages of the story when Stockdale is asked by a smuggler whether he is “really one of us” he replies “it seems so”. It is interesting for the reader to see the somewhat tragic effect love has on a good person.
Two peaks in tension are created using these techniques. The first is when Lizzy is burning “the lugger off”. The second peak is when the tubs are found. However, having sustained the reader’s interest through the major part of the story, Hardy must satisfy the reader in order to produce a good short story.
In order to complete the stories so that the reader will be satisfied Hardy creates an ending that is exciting yet plausible. Hardy creates this excitement in The Withered Arm by creating a ‘twist’ at the end. We also see a big conflict when Rhoda attacks Gertrude and throws her “unresisting back against a wall”. In The Distracted Preacher excitement is created by a smaller ‘twist’ when Stockdale tells Lizzy that he “shall not see her again” and then leaves. We immediately believe he will not return and are surprised when he does. Also we get very excited when Stockdale gives Lizzy the final chance of marrying him as long as she promises to give up smuggling.
Hardy makes the ending plausible in The Withered Arm by making sure that he has accounted for Farmer Lodge’s ‘holidays’ by explaining how he had been attending “in court during the trial” of his son. Also Hardy explains that Farmer Lodge and Rhoda are with the body because “the relatives of an executed convict had the privilege of claiming the body for burial”. Hardy’s ending is plausible in The Distracted Preacher because only when Lizzy has given up smuggling does Stockdale marry her. I think that it would have been unrealistic for them to be married if Lizzy was still a smuggler.
In both stories Hardy succeeds in bringing the story around to the beginning. In The Withered Arm the story starts with Rhoda milking a cow and we are reminded of this when in the end Hardy tells us about how “her monotonous milking at the diary” continued. In The Distracted Preacher we see Stockdale returning to Nether-Moyton in “the original way” and going to Lizzy’s house. This reminds the reader of Stockdale going to her house at the start of the story. By bringing the story around to the beginning the readers feels that the story is more complete and has good structured.
To finally satisfy the reader in both stories Hardy tells us what happens to all the main characters. In The Withered Arm we are told that Rhoda “for some time could not be found” but in the end “her monotonous milking at the diary was resumed”. Also Farmer Lodge “went away to Port-Bredy” and lived “there in solitary lodgings till his death”. In The Distracted Preacher we learn that Stockdale took Lizzy “away from her old haunts to the home that he had made for himself in his native county.” Hardy does this so that all the reader’s questions are answered.
At the end of The Withered Arm when Gertrude is killed we feel sorry for her because she was innocent and she never had an intension of hurting Rhoda’s feelings when she married Farmer Lodge. Hardy portrays her as the victim because she never did anything wrong but because of her cursed arm her “married experience sank into prosiness, and worse”. So the ending of The Withered Arm is sad as well as being exciting. This means that it is an excellent ending because it gives the story more layers of emotions and gives it more depth.
Throughout The Distracted Preacher there is a battle between Stockdale’s belief in God and his love of Lizzy. In the end it is his belief in God that wins the battle even though Stockdale has to leave Lizzy. Here Hardy is trying to show us that the respect of God’s laws is more important than the love of a person. If Stockdale had married Lizzy when she was a smuggler he would constantly have a moral dilemma. But by following God’s laws he gets to married Lizzy without feeling that he has betrayed God. So Hardy is also telling us that God will give you what you want if you respect his laws. These idea means that the ending of The Distracted Preacher is better, because the reader feels that he has learnt something from the story.
Using these techniques Hardy succeeds in satisfying the readers by creating a final peak in tension at the end of both stories. The final peaks are when in The Withered Arm Gertrude touches the dead body and sees that it is Rhoda’s son and in The Distracted Preacher when Stockdale gives Lizzy her final chance to marry him as long as she gives up smuggling.
These two peaks in tension sum up the different ways that Hardy gains, sustains and satisfies the reader in the two stories. In The Withered Arm the story concerns the supernatural and befriending the enemy whereas The Distracted Preacher is regarding love and moral dilemma. The similarities are that in both stories Hardy controls the tension introducing questions into the reader’s mind, creating conflict and using ‘red herrings’. Also Hardy ends both stories with an exciting plausible ending, brings the story back round to the beginning and he makes sure that all the reader’s questions are answered.
