Compare and contrast the way that Rhoda Brook and Mrs. Marroner deal with the ‘the other woman’ in their lives.

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            Compare and contrast the way that Rhoda Brook

                and Mrs. Marroner deal with the ‘the other

                             woman’ in their lives.

 

         In “Turned”, the main character is called Mrs. Marroner. She is an upper class women, who has a house, a remarkable education, a job which brings her in a lot of money judging by the way her house is described and that she is upper class, she has a husband and she also has a maid called Gerta. In “The Withered Arm”, the main character is called Rhoda Brook. She is a lower class milkmaid, who has no education, hardly any money and a son out of marriage, which makes her a fallen woman.

          Mrs. Marroner has a superbly furnished house, “ In her soft-carpeted, thick-curtained, richly furnished chamber.” Rhoda Brook has a cold cottage in the suburbs of the village, it is plain, cold, and airy with a thatched roof, “It was built of mud-walls... the thatch above....”, and this is a simile. This contrasts with the house of Mrs. Marroner. Rhoda Brook is a nutritionally deprived woman, “... where a thin fading woman of thirty milked some apart from the rest.” This quote also shows us that Rhoda Brook is a foreigner/outcast. She contrasts with Mrs. Marroner, who is a strong large woman; “ Her braided wealth of dead gold hair, her grave blue eyes, her mighty shoulders and long, firmly moulded limbs.”

         Mrs. Lodge, came into Rhoda’s life when she married Farmer Lodge. Gerta was the maid of Mrs. Marroner. When Mrs. Marroner found out that Gerta had had an affair with her husband, this entirely changed the life of Mrs. Marroner. At first when Gertrude arrives in the life of Rhoda Brook, she is emotionally insecure because before Rhoda meets Gertrude, she had a dream that in which she had hurt Gertrude. As a result of the dream, Rhoda felt very insecure on every occasion that she met Gertrude. Rhoda had reacted in an incredibly unpleasant manor when Gertrude had arrived. She got her son to go and find out what Gertrude looked like and what she wore etc. After each time that Rhoda’s son returned home from the brief viewing of Gertrude when she was leaving the church after the church mass, she immediately bombarded him with countless amounts of questions, “Well, did you see her?”, “Is she ladylike?”, “Is she young?”, etc. This was the first time that she got a description of Gertrude. The second time, she sends him to church again to discover how tall she is, how pretty she is. There is one point when Rhoda says to her son after his first sighting of Gertrude, “Is she tall?’ She says sharply.” This shows us that Rhoda is anxious and agitated, eager to find out what Gertrude’s appearance is like. This also shows us that Rhoda is competing with Gertrude.

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      When her son arrives home after the second meeting with Gertrude, Rhoda immediately begins to question her son about Gertrude, “Before he had even entered the room.” Rhoda speaks quickly, which shows us that she is impatient and eager to compare herself with Gertrude. When Rhoda’s son tells her that Gertrude is not very tall, Rhoda replies “Ah!’ with satisfaction,” This is an example of the rivalry that Rhoda has against Gertrude when she first arrives, and shows us that Rhoda is relieved to find a flaw in Gertrude’s appearance.

       Mrs. Marroner reacts in ...

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