It seem ed to me that Farmer Lodge used his attributes to his advantage and used them to lure women. He is of a reasonably high social statues, he owned land and employed workers, he was wealthy due to his business, and he was obviously an intelligent man otherwise running a business would prove to be a struggle.
Farmer Lodge is wealthy man due to his business, which gives him a higher standing in society. His status, at that time, would have made him a lot more attractive to woman of lower class. Lodge actually had a relationship with a milkmaid, by the name of Rhoda Brooks. They had a child, to the disgust of Farmer Lodge, who fearing social embarrassment abandoned Rhoda and the child. He refused to recognize the child as his own and denied to himself the existence of Rhoda Brook.
Mr. Lodge also married someone called Gertrude, who was his social equal. This young lady over time loses her beauty as her arm withers. Again Farmer Lodge lost interest.
In ‘Country Lover’s’ Paulus Eysendyck is the main male character. He fell in love with a coloured girl, but due to society and the nature of their relationship, at the time, it remained a secret. If people were to find out that they were having a relationship then Eysendyck would have had to face severe consequences. His family would have cast him out. The story is set in South Africa so the apartheid kept the relationship a secret mainly because society frowned upon the black people, as the whites ruled the country. The blacks were oppressed and powerless. They were separated by law.
Paulus fell in love with a black girl, Thebidi, and as he is white he kept the relationship secret. Paulus attended a vetenary college after schooling. At his college he took other girls out, white girls. He took them to the swimming pool, to the cinema and drove them around in his car. Paulus felt free and relaxed around white girls and took them out in public. He still refused to tell anyone about Thebidi. When he returned from college he again slept with Thebidi and eventually got her pregnant. He was ashamed of the child and killed it, apparently. He was brought to court after its death, charged with murder. He was found not guilty due to ‘lack of evidence’. Trailed in a white court, as a white ‘murderer’, accused by a black women, the chances of Paulus getting found guilty were minimal.
In both ‘Country Lovers’ and ‘The Withered Arm’ the males use the females.
Paulus Eysendyck’s hostile behaviour was shown by the unforgivable fact that he was even connected to the death of his child. Now, even though he wasn’t proven guilty all evidence points to him, apart from the actual cause of death. The cause of death couldn’t be related to the accusation of murder.
Farmer Lodge didn’t express his hostility in such an aggressive manner. To Gertrude he would shout at her aggressively, and made him self very intimidating. He would discard them as if they were nothing. He’d shout abuse at them, “damned if you wont poison yourself with these apothecary messes and witch mixtures sometime or other”. As you can see he liked to be in charge.
Don’t get the impression that these men are evil and cold-blooded. Paulus and Mr. Lodge both also showed affection to their women as well as anger. Paulus, remember, actually had a child with Thebidi, accident or not, he shows love and affection towards Thebidi. “He brought home for Thebidi a painted box he had made in his wood work class”. He brought her hand crafted presents, now that would have taken time and effort. This shows sincerity and innocent love, not tainted by the apartheid attitude.
Farmer Lodge, on the other hand, showed his affection by visiting his son in prison before his execution. Now that might sound loving anyway, but the fact that he had ignored and refused to recognize him as his son for 20 odd year before hand, added to the fact he did care, “… he had attended in court during the trail. This was the ‘holiday’ he had been indulging on of late”.
In conclusion, these 2 stories show that times haven’t changed. These stories weren’t only set in different time periods but in different countries. Paulus Eysendyck and Farmer Lodge were both people who used women for their own pleasure. Even though Framer Lodge tried to make up for his sins, it doesn’t excuse him from the pain he caused.
