The withered arm, a short story written by Thomas Hardy, this story is written in a different way to some of Charles Dickens short story such as 'trial for murder'.
The Withered Arm The withered arm, a short story written by Thomas Hardy, this story is written in a different way to some of Charles Dickens short story such as 'trial for murder', 'The Signalman' and 'Confession found in a prison' by the story being long and going over a long period of time it is written in chapters, nine to be precise. This story is character driven, with character development as it shows how Rhoda becomes more jealous throughout the story, it is a retrospective like 'Trial for murder', there is a pastoral, a whole county society, Hardy writes detailed descriptions of settings where as Dickens settings are not describes in as much detail. The characters feel that the things that have happened are supernatural i.e. that if there's a supernatural cause there is a supernatural explanation but really there's a rational explanation for the things that have happened. The supernatural is judged by society. A quote said by D.H. Lawrence criticizes Hardy's characters saying: "Hardys characters do not do they endure" He said this quote to criticise Thomas Hardy because D.H. Lawrence does not write like Hardy. In this story it starts in a dairy on farmer Lodges land, with the milkers talking about him and his new wife, this is a story within a story, "He do bring home his bride tomorrow, I hear, they've come as far as Anglebury to-day". They judge farmer
"The Withered Arm" is a novel about relationships, society and superstition.
Introduction "The Withered Arm" is a novel about relationships, society and superstition. The relationship revolves round a rich farmer, a woman who he makes pregnant, and his wife as well as the relationship between the two women themselves. Rhoda Brook is the woman who becomes pregnant and mother of Farmer Lodge's son; because of the situation in society, he couldn't even consider marrying her. As an unmarried mother, Rhoda is virtually an outcast. A few years after the birth of his son, Farmer Lodge gets married to a very young woman, "almost a girl". He only married her for her looks and class. Rhoda is jealous of the new bride because she cannot get over Lodge. In a vision one night, she sees Gertrude and attacks her in the dream, Next day, Gertrude has scar on her arm and is unaware how she got it. After months of fear, Gertrude asks Rhoda to help her because Lodge does not love her any more. Rhoda tells Gertrude of Conjurer Trendle, but Gertrude says she does not believe in superstition but a few months later she gets desperate and decides to visit Conjurer Trendle, against her husband's wishes. Hardy's Presentation of the two women. Hardy's primary presentation of Rhoda in the first chapter is apparent when Rhoda is described as a "thin worn milkmaid". We are also told that Farmer Lodge hasn't spoken to Rhoda for years. He is now getting married and milk
Examine how Shakespeare explores the role of women in Hamlet. What might the response of a modern audience be to this aspect of the play?
'Hamlet sees Gertrude give way to Claudius and Ophelia give way to Polonius...' Leverenz Examine how Shakespeare explores the role of women in Hamlet. What might the response of a modern audience be to this aspect of the play? It is interesting to see in Hamlet how women and their characters are not clearly defined. There is uncertainty about the women and their past lives. Instead they are defined mostly by their relationships with men; Margaret Atwood suggests that Ophelia is 'constructed by others rather than herself'. According to the Great Chain of Being which was very significant in Elizabethan times men have a higher status than women who would be subservient to them. Women were not thought of as individuals in their own right, and we can see this clearly in how the women are conveyed. We see ideas relating to the Great Chain of Being in how she is treated by her father Polonius, and is reflected in the way Ophelia is obedient to him. Polonius is particularly domineering over Ophelia. In the scene after Laertes has left he uses many imperatives such as 'you must not' 'Do not' and 'Think' and there is little emotion in his speech. Ian Johnston claims that 'Love, for Polonius, like everything else, can be understood in the lowest denominator of human activity as a power struggle' with his vocabulary referring to money and contracts, saying 'set your entreatments at a
Kavita Sharma 10BMIS 'The Withered Arm' - "Who do you think is to be blamed for the tragedies?"
Kavita Sharma 0BMIS 'The Withered Arm' - "Who do you think is to be blamed for the tragedies?" In this essay I am going to try my best to answer the question "Who do you think is to blame for the tragedy of 'The Withered Arm'?" I will attempt to include as much information and reasons to whom I think is to be blamed and why. I will try to justify these reasons with various quotes and descriptions by referring to the text. Thomas Hardy was born in 1840 and died in 1825. He was a great novelist who wrote many famous novels such as 'Mayor of Casterbridge' and 'Far From The Madding Crowd.' These novels are now known for being classic literature. Most of the novels he wrote were depressing and ironic. 'The Withered Arm' is one of many Thomas Hardy short novels, it is set in the late 1800's in a village called Holmstoke that has a small rural community of mostly milkmaids. There are three main characters in this novel they consist of: Farmer Lodge; a wealthy and respected man, who is well known for his good reputation. Also there is Rhoda Brook; a not so wealthy woman and less fortunate than Farmer Lodge with a reputation of being a witch. Lastly there is also Gertrude Lodge; she is Farmer Lodge's new wife. "..They say she's rosy-cheeked, titsy-totsy little body enough." This indicates that she is a pretty woman with a perfect body. In opposition Rhoda isn't very
Rhoda Brook has many difficulties to face - How does she cope with them given the way people would feel about her situation at the time?
Katrina Morris-10N Rhoda Brook has many difficulties to face. How does she cope with them given the way people would feel about her situation at the time? Rhoda Brook was a milkmaid who was in her early thirties. She worked on Farmer Lodge's farm milking the cows, Farmer Lodge adored her when she was younger, this lead to them having an affair; Rhoda became pregnant. Farmer Lodge decided to end their relationship, Rhoda had to continue her life looking after and bringing up his child, but she remained working on the farm being ignored by almost everyone. During this time Rhoda faced many difficulties including other milkmaids talking about her. I think she coped very well because she walked away from the situation and worked alone, She was considered different from the other milkmaids and perhaps that was the reason why the villagers believed she was a witch. She ignored their suspension and was ruled by common sense. Rhoda had to see Farmer Lodge frequently as he was her employer, but she had to endure the pain of jealousy, and gossip when the new wife, Gertrude came home. Rhoda sent her son to see if Gertrude was prettier than Rhoda was. She was very jealous because when her son reported back to her he said of Gertrude "But she's very pretty-very Infact she's lovely." Thoughts of Gertrude filled Rhodes mind to such an extent that she, "could raise a metal image of the
The Withered Arm - This story belongs to the collection of Hardy's "The Wessex Tales"
THE WITHERED ARM This story belongs to the collection of Hardy's "The Wessex Tales" The withered arm was inspired by a local story about witchcraft. The story is about a lower class woman called Rhoda who has an affair with an upper class man called Farmer Lodge, they have a son. Lodge shows no interest in his child. Twelve years later Farmer Lodge gets married to an upper class woman called Gertrude. Rhoda was jealous of Gertrude. One day Rhoda had a dream that she hurt Gertrude's arm. The following day Gertrude shows Rhoda her arm. Rhoda was shocked to see it. Gertrude later asked Rhoda if she had some medicine for her arm because it was getting worse. Gertrude asks Rhoda to go with to see a medicine man who is into witchcraft but Gertrude does not mind because she wants her arm back to normal. But the man cannot help her but he says that if she touched the neck of a hanged man's wife, the withered arm would be cured. Gertrude finds the hangman and he was hanging Rhoda's son. In shock Gertrude collapses and dies three days later. Then Farmer Lodge dies two years later. Some money is left to Rhoda by Farmer Lodge if Rhoda can be found to claim it. The community of Holmstoke were superstitious they did not believe in witchcraft they believed that a withered arm could be cured by touching a dead man or woman. They also treated all unmarried mothers as outcasts and
Misogyny in Hamlet
Misogyny in Hamlet In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, the main character, Hamlet, accuses women of being unfaithful, uncaring, and incestuous creatures. These feelings are reflected towards his mother, Gertrude. Hamlet becomes a misogynist mainly because he witnesses the manner in which his mother behaves throughout the course of the play. Queen Gertrude's relationship with Hamlet's murderous uncle Claudius, leads Hamlet to abhor women and female sexuality, and long for a misleading, wholly righteous mother figure (Heilbrun 1957). Her ability to be easily manipulated help influence Hamlet's prejudiced beliefs about women. Hamlet's attitude and feelings towards his mother, Gertrude, illustrates central importance to the play with regards to the motif of misogyny. Hamlet most definitely believes that his father was indeed a better husband and king towards his mother Gertrude. In Hamlet's first soliloquy of the play, aside from suffering over his father's death, he is shown praising his father's life, "...So excellent a king, that was to this / Hyperion to a satyr" (I.ii.139-140). By comparing his father and Claudius to the sun god Hyperion and the half human half goat called the satyr, Hamlet is clearly implying how inferior he feels Claudius is as king in comparison to his father. By calling Claudius a satyr he is also insisting his lustfulness. As Hamlet proceeds to
How does Hardy create a sense of tension and terror in "The Withered Arm"?
How does Hardy create a sense of tension and terror in "The Withered Arm"? Hardy in "The Withered Arm" creates a sense of tension in the withered arm by his use of mystery at the beginning of the short story, we don't know about the relationship between Rhoda and Farmer lodge, and their son. There is terror in the withered arm is focused around the fears that the characters have and the supernatural that they go through. Rhoda Brooks dream of the incubus was an important turning point in the Short Story, as it was the first point in the story where we see a character frightened for her life. The withering of Gertrud's arm wasn't a single point of life threatening fear for Gertrude, but a build up of terror, the fear that Gertrude feels for her arm builds as the arm worsens. The arm causes an obvious change in Gertrude. In Gertrude see two types of terror the arm as well as the affect that it has on her in changing her from good to evil. Hardy through Gertrude has shown two types terror, that of body and that of character. By doing so he poses the question, which is more terrifying the arm or the change in character? At the beginning of the story Hardy has Rhoda Brook in a stereotypical role as a milker, where at the time women were employed to milk a Farmer's cows. We are entered into Rhodas workplace and the description we see of her is, "tis hard for she,' signifying the
Compare the literary styles of Dickens and Hardy useing 'The Signalman' and 'The Withered Arm'
In order to compare the literary styles of Dickens and Hardy I will use 'The Signalman´ by Charles Dickens and 'The Withering Arm´ by Thomas Hardy. 'The Signalman´ features a lonely train signalman who works in signal box by a railway cutting. He has been visited by a "spectre" which appears just before a fatal accident takes place. The other main character, who is also the narrator, meets the signalman and is told of his sightings. They try to interpret the warnings of the ghostly figure. As the two develop a friendship, the narrator returns to the railway cutting to visit the signalman but finds that he has been killed in an accident that the ghost had warned about. 'The Withered Arm´ features a milkmaid named Rhoda Brook whose ex-husband, Mr Lodge, remarries a young lady called Gertrude. Even before meeting Gertrude, Rhoda is jealous of her and begins to hate her. Without seeing Gertrude, Rhoda dreams that Gertrude is sitting on top of her, trying to suffocate her. Rhoda reaches out and grabs her arm, pushing her to the floor. Rhoda wakes up but believes that her encounter with Gertrude was too vivid and real to be a dream. She meets Gertrude for the first time and she looks exactly the same in person as she did in the dream. They become good friends and Gertrude shows Rhoda the mark on her arm, it clearly resembles the hold that Rhoda had on Gertrude´s arm and so
The Withered Arm
"No One Knows How To Love, All Relationships Are Dysfunctional". In this essay, I will be talking about the story by Thomas Hardy "The Withered Arm". Throughout the essay the main statement I will be discussing is "no one knows how to love, all relationships are dysfunctional" I will be explaining all the relationships between the four main characters Rhoda Brooks, Gertrude Lodge, Farmer Lodge and The Boy. Firstly there's Rhoda Brooks who has many relationships in this story. I will be talking about her first relationship, which is with Farmer Lodge. Rhoda and Farmer Lodge used to have a past, Rhoda had an affair with Farmer Lodge and during that affair Rhoda got pregnant. Farmer Lodge left Rhoda to bring up their son alone. This was because the Rhoda that he had fallen in love with for her stunning looks had got old and was fading "a thin fading women of thirty" this shows us that she was getting older. Farmer Lodge wanted nothing to do with this boy because he was illegitimate so after Farmer Lodge died he would not have been able to inherit all of the riches Farmer Lodge had. This tells us that the type of love that Farmer Lodge had for Rhoda was sexual, physical and superfitual. The love that Rhoda had and until a certain extent still does have was admiration, obsessive and unrequited she loved him loads but he
