Thomas Hardy was about was writing in the mid 19th century, he describes lofe in that time, in a village in south west England we know that at this time children did not listen to their fathers advise we know this because Tony’s father advises him to marry Milly so Tony put Milly at the bottom of the list.
In both stories, the two main characters were attractive to women, we know this because in the story Tony Kytes the arch deceiver it says, “with a seam here and there left by the smallpox but not enough to hurt his from this we know that he used to have smallpox and even though there is a bit left of it but not enough to hurt his looks in woman’s eye. In the other story, ‘seeing a beauty queen home’ we also know that Rudy was attractive by women because the quote says, “naturally the dames were allafter me”, this tells us that Rudy thinksthat he is attractive because women would not be after him if he did not look good. Another quote tells us that he is attractive, “I’d run my eye over them and the over my eye rested on would come running this quote tells us that he is attractive because the ladies would not come running to him if he wasn’t attractive.
Tony Kytes acts innocently towards women without actually knowing what he does, because his intentions are to give each one a lift but he ended up flirting with them, I now this because he wanted to give unity a lift and before he knew it Milly came so he panicked and told her to go under the tavern and let Milly come on and the same thing happened when Hannah came, and suddenly he found himself in a mess.
Rudy however knows exactly what he is doing and at the end he gets kicked out because he is too smart. We know this because at theend Maggie kicks him out because he is too smart, “you’re too bloody smart.”
Both characteristics aren’t arch deceivers. Although Rudy is the closest to becoming an arch deceiver. Toney does not become an arch deceiver because at the end he puts himself in a mess which is ironic because the story title refers to him as an arch deceiver. Rudy gets in to the “cotton town beauty queen’s” house which makes him more of an arch deceiver then Tony. Also earlier in the story, Rudy fools the grandma by pretending he is a family friend ‘Earny’ and that’s when Maggie (the beauty queen) finds out that he is “too bloody smart”.
Rudy & Tony both depend on an opinion. Tony Kytes gets his advise from his father that he should marry Milly, “which one would you marry father”, his father says, “which ever did not ask to ride with thee” then Tony answers, “that was Milly”, after that Tony does not want to marry Milly but he wants to marry Hannah but Milly ends up being his only choice.
Similarly Rudy only goes with Maggie because she was known as the ‘beauty queen, we know this because his friend tells him that “it’s Maggie,’ he said, ‘the cotton town beauty queen.”
Then later Rudy says “if Edie hadn’t told me what she was I don’t suppose I’d given her a second thought”. This quote clearly tells us that he is going out with her purely because she is the beauty queen.
Tony kytes is not self confident because as I quoted earlier, he asks his father which one to marry, then he chooses the opposite one to his fathers choice. On the other hand Rudy only takes Maggie because she is a beauty queen, which tells you how confident he is about his own choice.
Tony might have succeeded because he married the women he intended in the beginning, but then he wanted to marry Hannah, however because of what happened Hannah refused to marry him. Then he wanted unity sallet but sh did not want to be second choice. So he ended up getting married to milly who he was engaged to anyway.
Rudy did not succeed because he ended up being kicked out and wasting his money on her.
Tony Kytes fails to get Hannah as a wife because of what he had done, “be willing Hannah?” but Hannah shouted “I do refuse him!” then he asks Unity but she also refuses him, “take the leavings? not I!”, from this we know that she does not want to be second choice. Rudy also fails to get what he wants, simply because he is too smart, Maggie fears that she might be fooled by him too so she does not want him in the house.
I think Rudy uses more women because he said he used to run his eye over them, “I’d run my eye over them, and the one my eye rested on would come running”. This quote tells us that when ever he used to rest his eye on one she would come running, which means every time he goes he gets a women. Tony how ever only had one wife to get married to and that’s all.
I think that the story shows that Maggie is a more assertive and independent minded women because she knows that Rudy is too smart, and she was right because Rudy didn’t love her anyway, it was just because of her title. In ‘Tony Kytes The Arch Deceiver’ unity is the most independent minded women because she does not want to be second choice, because she knows that as long as they live Tony would have still preferred Hannah then her. Milly is probably the least independent women because she is still happy being Tony’s wife even though she is third choice.