The of Power and Desire in Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Examine the theme if Power and the desire in particular reference to the relationship of Tess and Alec. In Tess of The D'Urbervilles Hardy uses the theme of power to explore the different relationships within his society especially that of men and women . He illustrates how in a predominantly male dominated society , men hold economic and social power over women in different forms whether consciously or not. Hardy also considers how desire can play an important part in influencing power, considering a that a person's desire , such as Alec's , can drive them to exert or even force their power on others . The relationship of Alec and Tess best exemplifies the themes of power and desire. From the beginning of their meeting Hardy hint's at Alec's desire for Tess and how he uses his well off position to establish his power over her. Alec is described as having a ''swarthy complexion'' , to a Victorian reader his darker skin not only underlined a barbaric nature but also a demanding sexual appetite. Tess's '' luxuriance of aspect'' and '' fullness of growth'' cause Alec's eyes to ''rivet themselves on her''', Hardy choice of words distinctly signal that Alec's attraction is of a physical and sensual kind. Additionally the image of him feeding her a strawberry has sexual undertones, he insists doing so even when at first Tess refuses, immediately he establishes his power over
Love and Jealousy within'
The Withered Arm Coursework Love and Jealousy Love and Jealousy within' "The Withered Arm" becomes a very appetent and large factor in the novel. I believe the essay title "Love and Jealousy are powerful emotions means and shows how love can often form the evil and selfish jealousy, and how it easily it can change people and make them paranoid furthermore make then act out in a outlandish behaviour this is why I feel the essay refers love and jealousy to be some what of 'powerful emotions.' Brief Summary of the story Withered arm is a story of love and jealousy, the basic plot of The Withered Arm is that Rhoda a middle aged woman once had an affair with a rich farmer known as Farmer Lodge. After sometime after of the affair ending Farmer Lodge meets a young and beautiful woman called Gertrude and ends up marrying her. Rhoda and Farmer Lodge have a son which they have to keep secret to hide up their previous relationship. Rhoda finds out about Farmer lodge new love and uses his son to gain information about her, as soon as Rhoda finds out about the beauty of Gertrude, Rhoda becomes exceptionally jealous of Gertrude as she is young and beautiful and everything Rhoda isn't now, furthermore she knows any hope of Rhoda getting back together with Farmer Lodge had vanished when Gertrude appeared of the scene, this jealousy had come to such a breaking point that to the result
"Is life fair? Fate in two short stories by Thomas Hardy."
"Is life fair? Fate in two short stories by Thomas Hardy." My task is to choose three different characters from "The Withered Arm" and "The Melancholy Hussar", both written by Thomas Hardy. I then have to answer the question "Is life fair? Fate in two short stories by Thomas Hardy." To answer this question I will take each character, say how they have "ended up" and I will say whether the way they have behaved in the story merits this ending. The three characters I have chosen from each story are : - The Withered Arm * Farmer Lodge * Gertrude * Rhoda The Melancholy Hussar * Phyllis * Matthäus Tina * Humphrey Gould Characters from "The Withered Arm" In "The Withered Arm" fate seems to have treated Farmer Lodge well - "The driver was a yeoman" - which means that he is a man of property/substance and is doing well in life. Farmer Lodge dies of a "painless decline", even though throughout the story you are made to believe that he isn't a very nice man. He ignores his own son - "The farmer, though he seemed annoyed at the boy's persistent presence..." Farmer Lodge pretends he doesn't even know who the boy is - "One of the neighbourhood. I think he lives with his mother a mile or two off." Farmer Lodge also doesn't seem to care much for Rhoda either - even though she is the mother of his child. He lets Rhoda carry on being a milkmaid and caring for their son, without
"Discuss the character of Clym Yeobright in 'The Return of the Native'. Do you consider that his altruism is genuine or a vehicle for self-fulfilment?" Discuss.
"Discuss the character of Clym Yeobright in 'The Return of the Native'. Do you consider that his altruism is genuine or a vehicle for self-fulfilment?" Discuss. One of Hardy's classic statements about modern love, courtship and marriage, 'The Return of the Native' is set in the pastoral village of Egdon Heath. The fiery Eustacia Vye, wishing only for passionate love, believes that her escape from Egdon lies in her marriage to Clym Yeobright, the returning 'native', home from Paris and dissatisfied with his work there. Clym wishes to remain in Egdon, a desire that sets him in opposition to his wife and brings them both to despair. Clym is the patient, generous and some what naïve protagonist, who has a romantic, socialist outlook on life, he is nonetheless deeply determined and introspective. Throughout the novel he represents Hardy's opinion of the modern man, as well as Hardy himself, as the novel is partly autobiographical. His character gives the lives of the members of the Heath a sort of extension, when he is in Paris they are able to both live through, and aspire to him, making him an important part of the Heath regardless of his absence. Hardy presents him as a product of the heath, saying "hardly anybody could look upon it without thinking of him." In the novel characters are defined by their relation to the Heath, so seemingly, with Clym practically being the
The characterization and lives led by Gertrude Lodge and Rhoda Brook in Hardy's The Withered Arm
The Withered Arm The characterization and lives led by Gertrude Lodge and Rhoda Brook in Hardy's The Withered Arm gives a graphic picture of the lives working and middle class women lived in the 19th century rural England. Women lived in a patriarchal society and were below men hieratically. They were therefore deprived of career opportunities and responsibilities. The inequalities existing between the sexes are more than apparent politically and socially; in addition to this the class divisions in society are evident in every aspect of life, as shown in Hardy's narrative. England was predominately a Christian country and those who were Christian lived according to strict moral principles, one of which was the Christian principle of 'no sex before marriage', which was closely followed by women of all classes, but not necessarily men, whom were thought to have had a dominant role in the lives of women. Thus, a woman who was unmarried and also a mother would struggle to survive financially. Hardy's text explores the issue of class, gender, superstition and their affect on the lives of his characters. Hardy paints a negative view of women's lives in rural society and presents them as being quite literally powerless, for example the illicit affair with Farmer Lodge affects Rhoda Brook irrecoverably. The text implies that Farmer Lodge exploited a financially disadvantaged woman
Is Egdon Heath merely a backdrop to the novel or does it play a more important role in the Novel?
Is Egdon Heath merely a backdrop to the novel or does it play a more important role in the Novel? Throughout the novel, the rugged and unforgiving terrain of the heath plays a pivotal role, in shaping the characters, the culture of the heath and the flow of the play. The heath also has its hand in crucial events in the play. The heath folk imagine they have civilized the terrain around them, but in reality the heath remains wild, with a character of its own that want to force the dwellers into submission. The Heath is introduced before any other character; the whole first chapter is devoted to describing the qualities of the heath and its permanence "to know everything around and underneath had been from Prehistoric times as unaltered as the stars overhead" The heath has not been affected by man in anyway so has been able develop a character of its own with human qualities and the ability to exhibit human actions "it had a lonely face" . In the second Chapter, Diggory Venn and Captain Vye remain as anonymous characters and rise out of the Heath. Diggory Venn appears to be an incarnation of the Heath, but in covered in a red dye. As we read on we realise the mystery woman who was seen upon Rainbarrow in the second chapter, looking like " an organic part" of the great mound is in fact Eustacia Vye. She despises everything about the heath, but personifies it with her virtue
Show how the social, cultural and historical contexts of the early 19th century, as revealed in Hardy's short stories, contribute to the 'reality' and effectiveness of the characters and the events he creates.
Nicola Kellie: 4089 English Literature Horwich St. Josephs: 32159 February 2003 ' The Withered Arm' and other stories Show how the social, cultural and historical contexts of the early 19th century, as revealed in Hardy's short stories, contribute to the 'reality' and effectiveness of the characters and the events he creates. The social, cultural and historical contexts of the early 19th century contribute to the 'reality' and effectiveness of the characters and events that Thomas Hardy created in many of his stories. For example in 'The Withered Arm' the hangings would be classed as a social event. In the story Hardy makes it seem like they were a family day out. He explains how there would be huge crowds turning up to watch. People would also buy souvenirs. There was lots of superstition in the village and there were also different classes, for example; working class and upper class. The different classes often didn't get on very well. These are social points. Also, another social point is that the farmer's wife would go out and give charity; she would help the poor and the needy. Some historical points would be the tools that were used on the farm and all the cows were milked by hand. Hardy writes, 'When the milking was done they washed their pails and hung them on a many-forked stand made as usual of the peeled limb of an oak-tree, set upright in the earth, and
"The Withered Arm" and "The Superstitious Man's story" - Explain what makes them examples of a 'good short story'.
Referring in detail to 2 short stories that you have read, explain what makes them examples of a 'good short story' The two stories I have chosen to examine in detail, in order to show that these are good examples of short stories are "The Withered Arm" and "The Superstitious Man's Story." Thomas Hardy wrote both short stories around the year 1914. Thomas Hardy's 'The Withered Arm' and ' The Superstitious Man's Story' are both excellent examples of short stories because they both have interesting beginnings and don't spend a long time setting the scene. This helps you understand the story and enjoy the content of the books. "The Withered Arm" has a tightly structured plot, the three main characters are quickly established and the plot is based around magic, superstition to create a sense of fear with a tragic outcome. 'The Withered Arm' is set at a milking farm with milkmaids chatting about Farmer Lodge returning back with his new bride (Gertrude Lodge), "He do bring home his bride tomorrow, I hear." Gertrude Lodge visits a milkmaid called Rhoda Brooks in a dream where Rhoda ends up grabbing tight grip of Gertrude's arm in a tight grip and all of a sudden waking up. Gertrude later becomes good friends with Rhoda Brooks and showed Rhoda the problem with her arm, "she uncovered her left hand and arm: and their outline confronted Rhoda's gaze as the exact original of the
How Thomas Hardy portrays women in his stories, the withered arm, the distracted preacher and the melancholy hussar of the German legion.
How Thomas Hardy portrays women in his stories, the withered arm, the distracted preacher and the melancholy hussar of the German legion. The three stories all have very social, historical and cultural impacts on the women of the time. "The Withered Arm", is about a woman's, struggle to cure her withered arm and the jealousy felt by Rhoda who had been used by the farmer in the past and had born his child. Gertrude's fear of loosing her husband and her superstition make her carry out actions that result in her death. The next story, "The Distracted Preacher", is about an independent woman called Lizzy and the choice she has to make. She is involved in smuggling and the head of the gang but is offered a different life by Minister Stockdale, who asks her to marry him and leave. She decides to stay but gets caught and suffers for some years till he returns and offers again to marry him, this time she accepts but only because of circumstances. The third story, "The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion", is about a shy, naive middle class woman called Phyllis and her fight between her conscience, her fathers desire and her true love. She chooses her conscience and in the end loses everything. The Withered Arm has two main female roles: Rhoda Brooks and Gertrude Lodge. They both have very different backgrounds; Rhoda is the poor working class woman while Gertrude is the pretty
"You could get people wrong," Sandra realises in 'The Darkness Out There'. Assess how effectively Thomas Hardy and Penelope Lively explore this theme in their characterisation techniques.
Wider Reading Unit "You could get people wrong," Sandra realises in 'The Darkness Out There'. Assess how effectively Thomas Hardy and Penelope Lively explore this theme in their characterisation techniques. "The Withered Arm" and "The Darkness Out There" are two different stories with a common theme. Both include main characters that change even though they are from different centuries and backgrounds. "The Darkness Out There" is told through the eyes of Sandra, a girl going to help at the home of Mrs Rutter. Her views and ideas are immature and undeveloped, she only sees the surface of things and is quite naive. Towards the end of the story she realises these views are not realistic and her opinions change. One of the best ways to learn about a character is found in the way they live. Mrs Rutter's environment gives the overriding impression of a harmless old lady. Her house is homely, "filled with china ornaments" of safe, nice characters like "big flop-eared rabbits and beribboned kittens." There are numerous mentions of flowers, which she likes, for example - "She brought out a flowered tin...'Look at the little cornflowers. And the daisies.'" These features are typical of a stereotyped old lady, who is deemed safe and trusted. However, in amongst the safe, innocent atmosphere, Penelope Lively briefly mentions "there was a smell of cabbage," which hints there may be
