A whole mysterious plot unravels leaving a nasty & shocking ending.
This story was set in Holmstoke, I believe that’s he based the society of Holmstoke on his current Society that he lived in.
This society was very superstitious and class-aware. It seems in this story that everyone was expected to stick to a particular stereo-type, usually depending on their class to be accepted at all in this community.
Rhoda
Hardy introduces Rhoda as an aging, unmarried woman with a twelve year old bastard son.
Living in the society of 1800’s rural England.
Rhoda was treated as an outcast, not only for her having a child out of wed-lock but for having an affair with an upper class man, Farmer Lodge.
To this narrow minded society this was seen almost as if she had broken the rules of society, the rule where love across class barriers was strictly forbidden.
Hardy tells of Rhoda’s character being quiet and lonely.
I think he portrays her in a negative light showing mostly her bad side rather then her kind side.
Hardy describes Rhoda as an aging lower class woman of 30 with a dark past.
He gives the image of Rhoda being tall and dark with lines on her face from her hard-working and stressful life.
She appears very bitter, jealous and obsessive when Gertrude arrives to Holmstoke. I think she is very insecure about Gertrudes arrival 'If she's dark or fair, and if she's tall—as tall as I. And if she seems like a woman who has ever worked for a living, or one that has been always well off, and has never done anything, and shows marks of the lady on her, as I expect she do. 'These quotes from the story show what she is like about Gertrude at first ' see if she is dark or fair, and if you can, notice if her hands be white; if not, see if they look as though she had ever done housework, or are milker's hands like mine.'
I think Hardy wants the audience to see Rhoda as a mysterious witch woman but at the same time I believe that she is a victim of society.
She is a total outcast of society, not being accepted in any way.
She lives alone with just her son to keep her company..she appears not to have any friends or family.
Rhoda conforms to most of the rules of society, but the odd few that she appears not to have stuck to have ruined her whole life.
Firstly she had an affair with a man that was clearly out of her class and stature. Though Secondly by keeping to herself and being so quiet she appears to the village as some sort of medicine woman or witch.
My personal view on Rhoda is that she is treated very unfairly by society. She made one mistake and her whole lifestyle has been altered because of it. Leaving her almost empty inside and cut off from the world around her.
The response towards Rhoda is affected by Hardy’s writing in that he gives mixed messages out to the audience, He shows her as a bitter old witch in the first part of the story (which is when the audience get their first impressions on her) then towards the other half of the story she is seen as more of the woman she was before this whole ordeal of being an outcast of society took place, just a lonely girl who was looking for love and just happened to find it in a rich man. But because of his wealth this was wrong.
Gertrude
Gertrude is portrayed as a very kind, sweet and generous fresh faced woman. She is described as fair and very beautiful 'Her hair is lightish, and her face as comely as a live doll's.'.
Gertrude is an upper class woman probably most likely from a rich family.
An arrival of a rich, beautiful and kind woman in Holmstoke is seen as a new and fascinating thing in this un-happening and boring country village.
Society treats her very well, they seem to accept her straight away.
Gertrude conforms in every way to society’s rules, she doesn’t seem to break any of them ever. This is seen as a very good thing and appears to make her husband look good.
I think Gertrude is a very kind and nice young girl who is like many other girls in that time trapped in a marriage, perhaps by her family.
I think of Gertrude as also a victim of society.
Lonely and young just as Rhoda once was…she is like a rich version of Rhoda with the wealth, Except she has the security of marriage and also being wealthy, which can make a very big difference!
I think that Rhoda and Gertrude are both very different from eachother but underneath the appearance they are more similar then they actually know. They are both victims of society.
Society plays a big part in most tragedys, an e.g “romeo and Juliet”
Social expectations in that particular time were very high.
In Holmstoke it was a very close-knit community which had expectations of higher class mixing with higher class and likewise for lowerclass. Higher class were aloud to do much more though…depending on their money. This is why Rhoda is an outcast and farmer lodge is not, however unfair it seems.
