Compare and contrast at least two of the female characters in two or more of the female characters in two or more of the tales you have studied
Compare and contrast at least two of the female characters in two or more of the female characters in two or more of the tales you have studied. Gertrude Lodge, Rhoda Brook and Phyllis Grove are all very different women in different situations; however they all suffer an undeserved fate. Gertrude, from The Withered Arm, loses her looks, the love of her husband and her friendship with Rhoda, who in turn loses her only friend, her son and must suffer the shame of an illegitimate child. This was highly unacceptable at the time, especially as the father of the child was of a higher class and people of different classes were not expected to mix. Phyllis lived a reclusive life with her father up until she met Matthäus Tina, the love of her life, whom she later watched die after having to abandon him. All three protagonists are united in the hardship they must each endure. Their suffering was similar in the way that it was partly due to social principles of the time, as women had no independence and were expected to be totally subservient to their fathers and husbands, and this comes through in Hardy's short stories. Gertrude Lodge is "years younger" than her new husband, Farmer Lodge, and there are constant references to her beauty. She is described as a "lady complete" which suggests her high class in society and her respectable upbringing, now married to a suitable man.
Explore Hardy's portrayal of women in 3 of the short stories studied. Consider the effects of social, historical and cultural influences on the characters.
Explore Hardy's portrayal of women in 3 of the short stories studied. Consider the effects of social, historical and cultural influences on the characters. Thomas Hardy was a major novelist and poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 'The Wessex tales' are a set of short stories, which are based in the 1830's - 1840's although Hardy wrote them many years later. They are very much based around where he grew up and the society he lived in. Egdon Heath is a moor land where he grew up but has been re-named, along with all the other areas mentioned, which are based on real places. The three stories that I am writing about are: * 'The Withered Arm' * 'The Distracted Preacher' * 'The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion' My essay will be based around the women in these stories, who are all very different. Lizzy Newberry, Rhoda Brook, Gertrude Lodge and Phyllis Grove, are all young women whose lives are portrayed out in rural Wessex communities in the 1830's to 1840's. This was a society dominated by men and male values particularly with regard to their relationships with women. In terms of where the power lies within relationships and within this society the women are to some degree powerless. There is a fatal inevitability to the way their lives end. Whether in loss, love or death. In these stories we see that money is a dominating factor, especially with men.
Discuss the relationship between Rhoda and Gertrude in The Withered Arm.
Discuss the relationship between Rhoda and Gertrude in The Withered Arm. The Withered Arm is a pre-20th century book by Thomas Hardy; the plot of the story is in and around the writers' imaginary village of Holmstoke and town of Casterbridge. One of the main themes of The Withered Arm was Jealousy it was portrayed through Rhoda Brook, 'a thin fading woman of thirty' 'that had once been handsome', who had an affair with Farmer Lodge and bore him a son. Farmer Lodge left Rhoda to bring up their son on her own and later married a new wife, who was 'years younger than him', called Gertrude. In this essay I am going to discuss the relationship between Rhoda and Gertrude in The Withered Arm. The relationship between Rhoda and Gertrude is a triangular one. It is between Rhoda, her ex-partner Farmer Lodge and his wife Gertrude. Rhoda heard about the coming of Farmer Lodge's new wife Gertrude through her fellow 'milkers' who were gossiping while at work. She then sent her son several times to go and 'give her a look'; she was mainly interested in the appearance of the new wife. She specifically asked her son to see "if she's dark or fair...show marks of the lady' and to 'notice if her hand be white...or are like a milkers hands like' hers. It was obvious that Rhoda wanted to compare herself with Gertrude but was disappointed when her son came back with news of the new wife
How does Thomas Hardy create and maintain a sense of mystery and malignant, uncontrollable forces in "The withered arm".
Pre twentieth century literature Thomas hardy How does Thomas Hardy create and maintain a sense of mystery and malignant, uncontrollable forces in "The withered arm" Thomas Hardy creates and maintains mystery and malignant, underlying forces by using symbolic descriptions of the setting, the atmosphere and the strange unguessable plot. Thomas Hardy sets the story in the fictional village of Holmstoke. Holm means home and stoke means fire. This gives two impressions, one of a nice cosy warm story, but it also gives the impression that fire is also connected with bad things like Hell and witchcraft. This makes you start to wonder what the story will be like. Thomas Hardy uses natural settings to contrast with unnatural events or behaviour. The heath is used a lot because of this. He also uses the heath because it helps create atmosphere and because it is outside he also uses the weather to reflect the characters mood. An example of this is when Rhoda and Gertrude cross the heath to see Conjuror Trendle and Rhoda does not want to and "would have done anything to escape this enquiry", the weather and the atmosphere reflect her dread of what will happen. "The thick clouds made the atmosphere dark" and it was only early after noon and "the wind howled dismally". Hardy also uses the weather to help him describe the changing of time like at the beginning of a paragraph. All the
Return of the Native - Notes.
RETURN OF THE NATIVE NOTES BY THOMAS HARDY BOOK ONE CHAPTERS 1-2 Summary Twilight descends on Egdon Heath. It is Saturday, the fifth of November. Egdon Heath, which figures in the Doomsday Book of 086, has changed little since then. Human presence is evident only by the existence of a road and the prehistoric burial mounds that dot the Heath. An old man wearing naval clothes walks along the road; he reaches a spring van beside which walks a reddleman. Though the reddleman is not the talkative kind, the old man is inquisitive and manages to extract enough information from the reddleman to learn that the van contains a young lady. But the reddleman will say no more, and they soon part company. The old man goes onward, and the young one, having turned his van and horses onto the turf, rests awhile. While he rests, the reddleman notices the figure of a woman on top of Rain barrow, the highest point in the heath. Very soon, this figure is replaced by others who light a bonfire. Notes The entire first chapter is devoted to Egdon Heath, even though there is a total absence of any human beings there; but Egdon Heath is very important to the novel. As the setting of the book, it dominates the plot and determines the fate of the characters. The Heath presents a harsh, lonely face on which time has made hardly an impression. Its
The attitudes and beliefs which influence the outcome of the story 'The Withered Arm' by Thomas Hardy
The attitudes and beliefs which influence the outcome of the story 'The Withered Arm' by Thomas Hardy The Withered Arm is a novel based in a 1800s agricultural society. At the beginning we are introduced to the talk of the poor milk maids and men who gossip about the richer members of their community, the main person being Farmer Lodge, a rich land owner who is bringing his young new wife back to Holmstoke. They also talk about one of the milk maids called Rhoda. She has an illegitimate son by Farmer Lodge; she is isolated from the main group as she is suspected as being a witch. From the story it is very apparent to how class divisions were set. Each person knew their place in society. The story is almost a microcosm of society at the time. Throughout the story, the very different attitudes towards men and women are made clear. Men desire to be respected, they want an heir. It is almost as if they have their wives as a trophy. This can be seen from when Gertrude first goes to Holmstoke, Farmer Lodge says to her "You must expect to be stared at just at first my pretty Gertrude". Men didn't marry for love, more for convenience and their own status; however women such as Gertrude want to be loved by their husbands. When Gertrude's arm is getting worse she says to Rhoda "I shouldn't so much mind it if I hadn't a notion that it makes my husband dislike me, no, love me less.
How many mlies to Babylon? - Why does Alec kill Jerry?
ENGLISH COURSEWORK HOW MANY MILES TO BABYLON? - SUE JOHNSTON WHY DOES ALEC KILL JERRY? Alec kills Jerry because of the deep love and friendship that gripped the two of them. However, to understand this deep and in the end heroic love we must examine this on the one hand simple but on the other hand complex and delirious comradeship which sees Alec kill his best and only friend. It was their separate classes that brought them together: one from the Anglo-Irish gentry; the other a peasant. If it were not for Alec's snobbishness and Jerry's pleasant and honest nature the two might never have met. As soon as Alec gives in, goes swimming and fights with him we can see that the two will be inseparable for life. The fact that Alec has never seen a naked boy before seems to point to us that he has never met any other children before. This is probably the case when growing up in the countryside in his social position as his parents, especially his mother, would never have let him play with or be friends with peasants. This is probably not because he is in anyway antisocial but he knows no children of his own age. An additional thing that brought the pair together and made them more inseparable was their passion for horses and horse riding: especially racing. Their dream of one day training horses, for Alec, and, for Jerry, riding them becomes even more realistic and clear when they
Compare "The Withered Arm" by Thomas Hardy and "The Schoolteachers Guest" by Isabelle Allende.
"The Withered Arm" by Thomas Hardy and "The Schoolteachers Guest" by Isabelle Allende although written a century apart both are similar: they involve a son dying, close communities and both span long periods of time. In contrast, Hardy's 19th century short story is set in rural England whereas Allende sets her story in South America both of which strengthen the credibility of the stories. Although they start in different manner both set out to fascinate the reader, Hardy chooses to set the in great detail and brings it altogether at the end, Allende chooses to hit the reader with a shock and fills out the background using a series of flashbacks. During this piece of coursework I shall look closely at parts 1,3&9 of the Withered Arm and the whole of The Schoolteachers Guest and how they engage the readers interest and convince of their reality. To begin with Hardy describes the working atmosphere of an eighty-cow dairy in which we find one of the protagonists of the story. Immediately the reader is transported into the believable yet fictitious setting of Wessex, rural England. The language used backs up and adds to the verisimilitude of the story: "He do bring home his bride tomorrow." The syntax here shows a time gone by as does some of the archaic language used throughout: 'tisty-tosty,' 'supernumery' and 'barton.' As the story develops we see mentioned a woman separate
In the Withered Arm, by Thomas Hardy, who do you feel more sympathy for Rhoda or Gertrude.
In the Withered Arm, by Thomas Hardy, who do you feel more sympathy for Rhoda or Gertrude. The Withered arm is typical of Hardy's novellas, as it is a tragedy. It involves two main characters, Rhoda and Gertrude. Rhoda and Gertrude both have their own different problems that the must face. Rhoda and Gertrude become friends after they first meet. Rhoda had an illegitimate child to farmer lodge who marries Gertrude. Before Rhoda and Gertrude meet Rhoda does not know what Gertrude is like so is bitter about the idea of her marrying farmer lodge who hardy hints Rhoda is still in love with. Rhoda is described to be old before her age and works as a milkmaid. She receives no help in the upbringing of the boy she had with farmer lodge so she works hard to care for him. The other milkmaids talk about her and they start to talk about the subject of farmer lodges new wife. This part makes you feel some sympathy for Rhoda as she is being talked about when she is still there. Because of the times Rhoda was not at all respected for bringing up a child on her own but instead she was treated as a social outcast. No one seemed to blame farmer Lodge for what had happened. The other milkmaids will think nothing of talking about her business when she is there. This makes you feel sympathy for Rhoda because in this day and age the farther would be forced to help at least financially with the
A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy What is revealed about the character of Elfride Swancourt in chapters VI-X ?
A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy What is revealed about the character of Elfride Swancourt in chapters VI-X ? Throughout the novel Elfride is viewed through the eyes of those around her Hardy uses them to put across his ideas on the nature of women, by making the thoughts, dialogues and descriptions, a representation to his thoughts and ideas. It is hard to distinguish whether his thoughts on Elfride represent Elfride's character or the traits of all women in the novel and in the society of that era. At the beginning of chapter six we are at the residence of Lord Luxellian. Elfride, Stephen and Mr. Swancourt are checking the house. The first time we see Elfride's thoughts are when she sees Stephen kissing another woman on the lawn. The quotation "Her unpracticed thoughts were occupied..." is a prime example of Hardy's use of adjectives to describe Elfride's nature. The word "unpracticed" implies that her mind is unused and distracted, and also that her mind is not developed as of yet and this symbolises her immaturity. Elfride's thoughts move on "Elfride at once assumed that she could not be an inferior". In this quotation she makes a comparison of class between herself and Stephen. She regards herself as superior to Stephen, but only due to her father's wealth. After Elfride has had these thoughts she is puzzled then later, she becomes vexed through "her natural
