Gertrude becomes obsessed with her arm because she knows that the way she looks results in how much Farmer Lodge will love her too. She said to Rhoda “Men think so much of personal appearances” and she is right. Farmer Lodge starts to find her less and less attractive because of her withered arm. She is so desperate to get it back to normal because she wants to be loved and be a good wife. She wants respect from her husband, she fears he will look down on her and think of her as a lower classed citizen. At the time when this was diagnosed people were suspicious. Farmer Lodge thought it was a judgement from heaven. Gertrude also said, “My husband says it is as if some witch, or the devil himself, had taken hold of me.” Even Rhoda thought of witchcraft saying, “Can it be…that I exercise a malignant power over people against my own will?” Gertrude becomes obsessed because she knows her life will change if her arm doesn’t improve. Attitudes towards deformity were unpleasant. It was seen as a ‘bad sign’ to be deformed and meant a different attitude was put towards you.
Superstition was believed in by many when the novel was written. Gertrude tries all different medicines, first from the doctor because she is upper class, then from Conjuror Trendle. She is so desperate to get her arm back to normal because she knows it will change her life for the worse if it is to stay as it is. When she goes to Trendle it is kept secret from her husband as it is not something her class of people is encouraged to do. Farmer Lodge trusts the doctor implicitly and feels if he cannot find a cure then no one can. Gertrude herself states, “I don’t really believe in such men, but I should not mind just visiting him, from curiosity-though on no account must my husband know.” Witchcraft and superstitions were the only way society at that time could explain certain things because science was not advanced. People are superstitious of Rhoda and regularly call her a witch because she lives alone with her son however the novel says, “She knew that she had been slily called a witch since her fall; but never having understood why that particular stigma had been attached to her, it passed disregarded.” Rhoda even questions herself and if she is indeed a witch. When Gertrude finally becomes so desperate and re-visits Conjuror Trendle, he says to her, “You must touch with the limb the neck of a man who has been hanged.” In desperation she goes to do this without telling anybody. When she goes to touch the hanged body she sees it is Rhoda’s son, just as Rhoda and Farmer Lodge turn up. Rhoda then states, “This is the meaning of what Satan showed me in the vision.” And sees Gertrude no longer as the pretty woman and her friend but as the woman she saw in her dream.
Rhoda’s son is hanged to make an example out of him to other citizens of the same class. We know he was innocent, “If ever a young man deserves to be let off, this one does.” is what the hangman said to Gertrude. He was hanged because there had been so much damage to property and he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the 19th Century a hanging was entertainment and not seen as gruesome. Gertrude had gone from being a kind hearted lady getting shoes for classes below her to saying, “O lord, hang some guilty or innocent person soon!” Gertrude had by the end become quite a selfish person and showing her class status by not caring about the young boy being hanged. It may not be selfishness but sheer desperation to be loved again.
Today many of the issues written in this book are still around however the way the community reacts to them is very different. Many people are deformed and are in our society and we know no different. They have the same rights as any other person. People with deformities may at some time get treatment in a different way to that of someone who isn’t deformed however nothing like they would have in the 1800s. We have scientific studies to show us it is not a result of witchcraft or a judgement from heaven. Unfortunately today there are still class divisions however it is a lot easier to move between them. There are very few people who take superstition to any extreme lengths because we have little need to believe in it quite so much because of the advances in scientific knowledge. There are still many superstitions around such as not walking under ladders however people will not treat this as a life or death situation. I do not believe in the witchcraft of the time and of Conjuror Trendle’s theories, I believe it was a more psychological cure than one that actually helped in any way. Capital punishment has been abolished now and people are instead sent for lengthy prison terms. Within the law there is the saying ‘innocent until proven guilty’ where as in the 19th century there was not this saying and instead there didn’t need to be truth or any fairness in a trial, especially if it was for a very low classed citizen. Justice then was not at all fair and the upper classes did not care because they knew it would not affect them because they had the necessary funds to pay their way out of it. Although there are still class divisions, lower class people are not used as examples to the law and it is hoped to be treated equally to the upper classes.
Social, historical and cultural conditions of the time affect the outcome of the story in a large way. If it was set in present day terms there would be nothing wrong with an illegitimate child, there would be help for Rhoda, better medicine for Gertrude and not such obvious class divisions. With three of the main characters dead at the end it is hard to blame one person for their deaths as they all had a part to play in it, except maybe for Rhoda’s son. Farmer Lodge contributed in a large way to their deaths because of his attitude to the women he had. He made Rhoda’s class become lower than it ever had been; he did nothing to support Rhoda. He made a big deal out of the arm, causing a lot of distress for Gertrude and making her feel she was almost not worthy of his love. Through out the story you are made to feel sorry for Gertrude, she has been bewitched with a horrible disfigurement when she was just an innocent sweet pretty lady. However at the very end the pity turns to Rhoda when her son dies. It makes you reflect on how horribly she was treated by society, by Farmer Lodge and then she loses her only son and her only true friend. I feel Hardy was trying to show us that women are treated badly and that having children outside of marriage was not only the woman’s fault. It was also the responsibility of the father. I feel Hardy told the story to make the reader realise it is not who is not accepted by society, who is gossiped about and who people say is ‘bad’ that is necessarily bad and you shouldn’t always listen to what society say, it is better to wait till the end and find out who really is the victim then.
The social, historical and cultural context of the story
‘Barbara of the House of Grebe’ by Thomas Hardy
The novella “Barbara of the house of Grebe” is set in rural England between two small villages of Havenpool and Warborne, near to the city of Melchester. The story is about a wealthy girl, Barbara who falls in love with a very poor but handsome man called Edmond Willowes however a rich older man who is more ‘suitable’ for Barbara has set his eyes on her, he is called Lord Uplandtowers and doesn’t wish to marry for love but for convenience and wealth. The story is sad and a tale of lost love.
From the story the reader is able to get a clear view of the attitudes towards marriage and why people got married. Lord Uplandtowers made his feelings about why he wanted to marry Barbara obvious. He said, “An idea, rather than a passion,” there fore showing even though he was already a rich man he wanted to have a wealthy wife, who had money, a good status and would bear him an heir to his wealth. He is quite a shallow man who believes in money over love. He sees women as an investment. Lord Uplandtowers never mentions about Barbara as a person. Women were there to look good and find a suitable husband as Barbara was by her parents. When Barbara eloped the text says, “The fears of her parents were realised,” and “they continued to think of the disgrace she brought upon herself.”
Lord Uplandtowers was only nineteen when he first resolved ‘to win Barbara’. Although so young he is described as having a ‘matured and cynical doggedness’ about his looks, this reflects his personality as we find out. When the ball takes place it shows us where you were in society at the time mattered a great deal. If you were rich you went to these balls to meet a prospective partner. The house that Barbara lived in was very grand, it even had different wings and towers. Lord Uplandtowers wanted to make an impression on Barbara so he asked her to dance. When she no longer wished to dance she was too polite to say so she retired to her bed with the excuse of a headache.
The following morning when Barbara was missing her parents naturally assumed she was with Lord Uplandtowers however it was discovered she had eloped with Edmond Willowes. When this was found out everyone was horrified and disgusted because they were different social classes, he was a plebeian and it was believed social classes should not mix. At the time there was open class snobbery form the upper classes to the lower classes.
Once Barbara’s parents had become used to the idea of their daughter married to Edmond they decided it was best to send him off to become educated. It is also told that Sir John, Barbara’s father, “loved his daughter’s happiness far more, poor man, than he loved his name and lineage.” Edmond was sent away to be educated, “Till he became polished outwardly and inwardly to the degree required in the husband of such a lady as Barbara.” Edmond was sent to be educated to almost save himself embarrassment when being with Barbara, it says, “He should return to take his place without blushing by Barbara’s side.” In this respect it is an act of kindness. The man of the house was meant to be more superior to his wife and this is helping him do this. They also got him an education because it would make the whole situation less shameful. He would become an aristocrat, something that was thought to be more suited to Barbara. When Edmond is away Barbara missed him dreadfully. She rarely went out when he was away and also prayed that ‘she might never cease to love her husband’. After a while she became sick and never came out of doors again. The only item she had to remember her husband by was a small portrait he had sent her so she never forgot her features.
It is ironic that while Edmond is away learning how to act in the aristocracy he is badly disfigured. This event occurs when the theatre is visiting in Venice burns down. This is told to Barbara in a letter from his tutor. She is told how Edmond risked his own life like a hero to save many people, however upon the fifth time of entering some fiery beams fell on him and he was given up for lost but by miracle he had survived. Barbara was not given any details of how badly he was burnt and was unable to rush to his bedside as she would have wished because of her own ill-health. Barbara told Edmond in a letter to him that she “would welcome him in any shape as soon as he could come.” If Edmond had not been made to be someone he wasn’t by being educated he would not have been badly burnt. When he became an educated man he lost his good looks, and becomes more like Lord Uplandtowers.
When Lord Uplandtowers hears about Edmond’s accident he is clearly interested. He met Barbara while she was awaiting Edmonds return. He drove his own carriage three miles out of his own way while Barbara spilled all her thoughts out to him. While in the carriage he acted like the perfect gentleman, allowing Barbara to feel relaxed enough to talk to him as if he were a friend. This ended however when Barbara got out of the carriage. Lord Uplandtowers encroached upon her and said, “It need not have been thus if you had listened to me!” Lord Uplandtowers finds it suitable to use Edmonds accident to emphasise even more the mistake Barbara made by marrying Edmond and not himself. Barbara’s mother blurts out her and Sir John’s thought on the matter which was snobbish and shallow. She said, “Well I wished you’d married t’other – that do I!” By looking at these reactions we can see how shallow her parents were, how spiteful Lord Uplandtowers was and how tactless they were being towards Barbara.
When Edmond finally arrives he is wearing a mask. The atmosphere is tense and awkward. Finally Edmond asks to remove his mask and Barbara says she is fine with this. At first Barbara tries to look at him but eventually she sinks to the floor and covers her eyes. She goes to her bedroom to try and regain her feeling for him. Barbara no longer thinks of Edmond as a human but as she thinks about him she refers to him as a figure, she flees form the house when she thinks he is going to come and find her. In the morning she summons the courage to go and find Edmond however instead she finds a note from him. The note says, “I was aware that no human love could survive such a catastrophe.” Edmond says in the letter he will leave England for one year, then return to see Barbara’s true feeling. After reading this Barbara is unable to forgive herself. From this occurrence it shows how even a very pleasant polite lady such as Barbara is unable to over look such disfigurement on a man who she loves.
After the year when Edmond says he would return he doesn’t. It tells us that human hearts are prone to change and how Barbara wanted to be with someone. Barbara becomes closer to Lord Uplandtowers who was still friends with the family however the reader is told she doesn’t love him. She married Lord Uplandtowers however on her wedding day she looked ‘pale and the reverse of blooming.’ The reader is able to clearly see this is not a marriage of love but of convenience. Lord Uplandtowers knew Barbara didn’t love him at all. He said to her, “Only let me win you.” Constantly Lord Uplandtowers tired to get Barbara’s loves however he knew it was always with Edmond.
During their marriage Barbara received a letter; it said how Edmond had commissioned a statue to be made of him for Barbara. Thinking of how Lord Uplandtowers may react she says she will put it where it will not annoy him. Lord Uplandtowers says that it will not annoy him, however it does. While Barbara is looking at it he asks her if she is going to worship it all day, showing he is jealous of it. He calls it a monstrous thing and contradicts his earlier statement when he asks her to move it. The statue quickly becomes part of their marriage. It shows how Barbara still has strong feeling for her dead first husband. She gets carpenters to make a cabinet for it to stand in, in secret. Here she kisses it and tell the statue that she loves it, talking to it as if it is Edmond. Lord Uplandtowers sees her doing this and instead of talking to her about it he seeks revenge and her love in a way he thinks will work. He finds out how Edmond looked when he was disfigured and changes the sculpture to look like this. When Barbara sees this she has an epileptic fit and becomes bed-bound. Uplandtowers is still unsatisfied as he does not have Barbara’s love so he makes her look at the sculpture every night with candles burning either side of it. This shows an almost sadistic side to Lord Uplandtowers. It is also quite sad that he feels he can win someone’s love by doing this. It shows how he almost doesn’t know how to love and how he cannot understand that Barbara was heartbroken when Edmond died. Uplandtowers does see Barbara as a thing to give birth to an heir to his son. However Barbara had eleven miscarriages and only manages to have a girl who lives to maturity. Lord Uplandtowers wanted a son and gave none of his wealth to her.
Barbara eventually becomes almost mad and confesses her love for Uplandtowers, she says she hates Edmond and says, “It fills me with shame,” when commenting on her recollection of him. Barbara then loses any of her personality which we see about her at the beginning when she is pleasant, polite and friendly. She becomes possessive of Uplandtowers, he can not even look at another female with out her becoming frantically jealous and eventually becoming a burden to him.
I feel this story would not have got very far if it were to take place now. I feel this because there are a lot less clearly set out class divisions now. It is not sinful to go out with a person seen to be lower than yourself. If it had progressed past this then there would not have been as much of a problem with having Edmond educated. There is not such an issue with appearance as within in society we see people with different features all the time however the issue has not gone entirely. The story could still take place however I do not think it would be very likely. There are many social and cultural differences between when it was set and now however some remain the same.
Comparing the Social, Cultural and Historical Attitudes in the stories
‘The Withered Arm’ and ‘Barbara of the House of Grebe’
By Thomas Hardy
Both ‘The Withered Arm’ and ‘Barbara of the House of Grebe’ are similar in many ways. They are both written around the same time and reflect attitudes socially and culturally of the people living then.
In both books we learn the reasons behind marriage in the 1800s. We learn why people got married; convenience and money. We learnt who people were meant to get married to, for example Barbara being a wealthy lady was expected to get married to someone like Uplandtowers who was also wealthy and educated and, Farmer Lodge a wealthy land owner would be expected to marry Gertrude and never to have been a partner with a poor milk maid.
In ‘The Withered Arm’ we know that in the past Farmer Lodge and Rhoda were together and had an illegitimate son. Farmer Lodge became very ashamed of this and never told his new wife Gertrude. In ‘Barbara of the House of Grebe’ Barbara elopes with Edmond, a poor man who she is not ashamed to be with. This idea of mixing between social classes was not encouraged. The family of Barbara are ashamed when she elopes; likewise Farmer Lodge is ashamed and tells no one.
Deformity, when the books were written was not looked upon with the same understanding as we have today. Gertrude and Edmond were both affected by disfigurement and consequently rejected by their partners. Both tried to cover up what had happened to them; Edmond by a mask and Gertrude by wearing long sleeves. Gertrude knows Farmer Lodge is put off by her arm, “If I hadn’t a notion that it makes my husband dislike me, no love me less. Men think so much of personal appearances.” We see how important it is to look good in a marriage; Gertrude wants to win over Farmer Lodge’s love but feels she cannot while her arm is disfigured. When Edmond arrives at Barbara’s house he says the same sort of thing as Gertrude, “My dearest wife, do you think you will mind when I take it off? You will not dislike me, will you?” Showing again how looks were as important in marriage as money and love. This is also backed up by Barbara’s own mother when she says, “The one little gift he had to justify your rash choice of him his wonderful good looks should be taken away like this.” Looks were important to a marriage in both stories.
Lord Uplandtowers wanted an heir as did Farmer Lodge. This was a very important thing to a wealthy man, a son to pass their own wealth down to. Both men had one thing in common, they did have a child. Farmer Lodge had Rhoda’s son and Uplandtowers had a girl with Barbara. Although one child was illegitimate this made no difference to their wealth they both received nothing of their fathers money and dint expect to. The wealth of Uplandtowers went to his nephew as did the title ‘Earl’. Farmer Lodge’s son was eventually hanged though Farmer Lodge did nothing to prevent this and lost Gertrude after the hanging. Both wealthy men lose their wives, the wealthy one they have fought hard to get. Uplandtowers makes Barbara have an epileptic fit when looking at deformed statue whereas Gertrude is hurt by Rhoda.
The attitudes towards how people look, marriage and wealth are nearly the same in these two stories. Both stories give a message to the reader; they are both sad and make you feel pity at the end. They make the reader think about the attitudes to various things and question them when they see that innocent people are wrongly accused and consequently die.