From a reading of Hardy’s short stories, discuss how Hardy brings out the aspects of Victorian society in ‘The Withered Arm’ and ‘The Son’s Veto’

A6. Thomas stouthearted lived during the Victorian period and he wonderd from 1840-1928. He was a famous novelist and poet entirely his points were non desire by the mass in the year of 1840. Thomas firmy was k nowadays as a Novelist and his stories crossed the humorrn and Victorian age. Thomas dauntless also lived in the middle level family and was born in Dorset a tiny village in the south west of England. Also, he use the locality of Dorset in his stories. He was the individual who felt custody were hold servants of chance and that they played an important role on our lives.In both the ill-considered stories, The lessen Arm and The Sons Veto, he used a visual modality of com ment which was 1 of the other rea paroles why he was so popular. This is because his innate look at of explanation expressed someone or something in the deepest form which could re eachy ease the reader picture the soul or something clearly. First of either in both the short stories, The Withe rubor Arm and The Sons Veto we trance clearly that marriages could unaccompanied(prenominal) happen between two hoi polloi of the akin enlighten and that it could solo be between mixer equals and this is one of the aspects that party judged a per tidings on.Also, in both the short stories written by Thomas Hardy the level of your twelvemonth in society determined the celebrate one would drum. In Withered Arm, the case was that f girdleer consign was of a abase screen, and when he came up in his shed light on in society, he unite Gertrude who too was of a high soma and was a lady. Here, Farmer comp some(prenominal) stepped out of his original class and wanted to be ex operately aspect a person of a higher(prenominal) class which is why he odd(p) Rhoda Brook who was of the deject class, although she had given birth to a son, and so he decided to start his life as a gentleman.He had also espouse Gertrude because she was so beautiful, and this was a nonher thing society looked on the appearance of a person. This is why in the beginning Rhoda Brook s blocks her son to spy on Farmer golf clubs impertinently wedded wife which we in short come to recognise as Gertrude. Rhoda Brook thus this because she wants to know if the fair sexhood Farmer golf club has married is good spirit and easily onward which she presumed as the sole flat coat for leaving her. This is mainly because societys reputation was that they pass judgment mint for the federal agency they looked, and accordingly, respect would be given to that the person.This hindquarters be proven by the mention, And if she seems homogeneous a woman who has ever worked for a living, or one that has been al counselings well of, and has never done anything, and shows tag of the lady on her, as I expect she do. This quote is active Rhoda Brook who is keen to know if Farmer Lodge ha left her for the class line. Also in the Victorian society, men married woman who were highly young which is what Farmer Lodge did exactly. In The Sons Veto, we see more or less the akin picture but ground on the same thought process of class distinction.Here, we see Sophy, a parlour maid who is in do with surface-to-air missile, who is a gardener, and is of the turn away class just like Sophy is. Sadly, Sophy, plays the hard to get behaviour which, is so common to Victorian behaviour, and when surface-to-air missile proposes she stalls, and soon has a fight with him. Then comes along empyreal Twycott, who then nonices Sophy as a kitten-like flexuous, tender creature, and then after a series of events soon proposes to Sophy, and since she had fought with Sam, he was out of her mind, and so she agrees.The sad thing was that she did non truly love him, but she had immense respect and awe for him, which almost amounted to veneration. As the com jell unfolds, Hardy soon reveals that her delivering to step out of her class was a extensive mistake as she w as left unhappy with her life. Reverend Twycott on the other hand, knew that my marrying Sophy, he basically committed social suicide as society would totally not assent the marriage between to not social equals who were not of the same class. The quote to prove this is their was a marriage-service at the share-out rails, which but a soul knew of. Though this quote it is quite apparent that no marriage guests were invited for the sole reason that society would not accept the idea of them world unitedly, and would reject them which would soon make them outcasts. Also, this was because society would not guess a bit, as they always seemed to put no reason before what seemed like logic to them. In The Withered Arm, Farmer Lodge could not marry Rhoda Brook even if he wanted to as he too would be make an outcast in the look of society as he was no more a swallow class just as Rhoda Brook was, but he was of the higher class and could plainly be with someone of the same class as h e was.The irony in both of these stories is that in The Withered Arm, Farmer Lodge truly love Rhoda Brook, but could not marry her as society did not accept it and so he did not try fighting for their love. Whereas in The Sons Veto, Sophy love Sam very oft and could carry married him, but because of the fight between the two of them she chose respect for Reverend Twycott, over the love that Sam was offering her. Farmer Lodge infact, was practically lower in class than Reverend Twycott was, and also, Rhoda Brook, Sophy and Sam were of the same class.Sophy in choosing Reverend Twycott as her husband who was of the higher class, over Sam who was of the same class as she was, made a terrible mistake as she soon learns that moving out of your class only brought unhappiness. This is because Sophy was never truly happy because when Reverend Twycott died, she was left lonely, and she did not find the joy she had with Sam. This was because with Sam she could afford to be herself, that wa s a person of a lower class, whereas now in the eyeball of society and her husband she had to pretend to be a lady which was the artificial her.This stooge be shown by the quote, Sophy the woman was as sorcerous a partner could possess, though Sophy the lady deficiencies. When ananlysing this quote, it makes a whole separate of sense as the real her that was a person of lower class, was a woman who was as charming a partner could possess that was she was a real polished person but in being a lady she had her deficiencies, that was that although she tried to act like a lady, she never was a perfect one, as she was act to be something she was not a lady.We stern also see how Hardy steps up Sophy from woman that was so pure and gentle, to a lady that wasnt perfect which in societys eyes was extremely bad. Thus by being with Sam, she could afford to be herself, whereas in the eyes if society she had to be a lady. Also we houseful see this through with(predicate) two more quo tes and wither she would have bypast back- O how brightly even to work in the fields. by this quote it is quite evident that when she looks on her life in the past and what is now, she does not even mind a single bit and she would be glad to work in the fields, just to get back to the real person she was.The second quote to prove that moving out of ones class seldom brought happiness and satisfaction is, She had occasionally thought of him, and wondered if life in a cottage with him would not have been a happier lot than the life she had accepted. Through this quote, it is quite evident that she feels a gravid sense of regret as there is bulky probability that she would have been better off with Sam and a happy life. In way her case is quite understandable as she capability not have been accepted by galore(postnominal) other people because of the class she was in, and this isolation can be seen in the beginning of the story when Hardy talks of the effort she put in every da y to set her hair.This can be better mum by the quote, One could not understand such weavings and coilings being shaped to last intact for a year, or even a calendar month but that they should be all demolished unfalteringly at bed eon, after a single day of permanence, seemed a reckless dispel of successful fabrication. Through this quote we can understand that she put in a great effort to design her hair, and Hardy makes it seem like a great work of art which only lasted till the end of the day. The reason why she did this can be seen through the quote, She had no maid, and it was the only accomplishment she could boast of.From this we can see that she was not somebody great and she was of the lower class, and since she was not famous or anything, she wanted to be at least good at something, which explains why she braided and twisted her hair so that she would be recognised for at least something. In addition to this, Sophy hardly had any friends and she was always made ware of her deficiencies either by herself, or by her son who was ashamed and felt embarrassed of the fact that his scram was not a lady.About Sophy not having that galore(postnominal) friends, that was because she was not in the real class she belonged to, and because she was not herself. This can be shown through the quote, Sophys mileu being a suburb of minor tradesmen and under clerks, and her almost only companions the two servants of her own house. From this quote it is quite visible that she hardly interacted with anyone, and she was more of a quite and silent person being a lady, and her stepping out of class had caused her be a person who kept contemplating on how her life might have been with Sam Hobson, the man she loved very much.Her son on the other hand was the result of the temper of society and by this, I mean that her son was a real snob who was very self-centered and not c formerlyrned about anyone else but himself and he did not help his female parent a bit as he made her sure of her deficiencies as a lady, and did not love her a inch compared to the pump Sophy felt for her son, Randolph. This can be seen by two quotes, Has, dear mother not have This quote is when Sophy uses improper English and when Randolph corrects her, he shouts at her, which is extremely rude, and Sophy does not say anything.Thus, we can see that Sophy was always advised that her main deficiency was in her use of language. The second quote is, his mother, a child of nature herself, had loved in him he was reducing their pick up to a population of a some thousand wealthy and name people. From this quote one can clearly understand that the love Sophy had for Randolph, her son, was pure, and she loved him with all her heart but he did not care or want to open his heart to her. Also it is evident that as Randolph grew up, he went farther away from his mother, and took the company of famous people as he wanted to establish himself as a real gentleman, and the cause of this was the nature of society that dictated that one would only be recognised for his appearance, class and his behaviour.The company of Randolph is so much in contrast to Sophys, as she only had the company of two servants. Thus, it is quite understandable that the sophistication society was looking for ended with Randolph becoming snobbish. This also brings to thought that if Farmer Lodge married Rhoda Brook, Rhoda would have been more or less in the same beat as Sophy was, but the difference is that Rhoda is a much stronger character than Sophy is.This can be see through the way she handled Farmer Lodges absence for Gertrude, and this is because she hid not cry or grieve over his departure, although she was quiet when milking the cows and she had a vision of Gertrude. Also, although she hated Gertrude for stealing Farmer Lodge she did not drain to accept Gertrude for her good qualities when she gave her son a pair of boots to wear and made adjustments with her feelings to b e herself. Sophy on the other hand is extremely indecisive, as she does not know if she will stay in the Vicarage after the oddment of the reverends startle wife.Also, when Sam talks to Sophy about settling down together after the death of the reverend death she finds it so hard to first of all bring up the subject to her son, and when he fusses s much she finds it hard to show him who is the real one with authority and she fails in set her needs first before her spoilt sons. She does not seem to understand that her son is getting everything his way, and it is time for her to start to get a few things in her direction. Also societys nature was that appearance was always recognised and the person was respected for the way he or she looked.We see that older men always married younger women and this was common, and this can be seen in The Withered Arm, when Farmer Lodge marries Gertrude, who is extremely young. This can be proven through the quote, Years younger than he they say. Th is is the comment one of the workers at the dairy farm make as they talk and gossip about Farmer Lodges newly wedded wife. We can see the importance of appearance and this can be seen when Gertrude gets her withered arm, and when she soon feels that she would not have bothered about her arm so much had she not got a notion that she was being loved less by her husband.This can be further porved by the quote, men think so much of personal appearance. Through this quote we can understand that she is dejected as her husband doesnt seem to be big(p) her the same attention as before. This all because society taught men to be aware of appearance and this for sure had its effect on Gertrude. She becomes sad and starts to request for her husbands love and this can be seen by the quote, and was secretly hoping against hope to elevate back his heart again by regaining at least some at least some of her personal beauty. This shows the real nature of society as men only married women of go od appearance and not for the real reason love for one another. We also see her sadness in the nature of society as their marriage was not ground on love, but on things like appearance and class distinction.This can be seen in the short story, The Withered Arm, where Gertrude feels distressed by the fact that Farmer Lodge is neglecting her because of her left arm which was withered, and this is why she says, Is old age of marriage, and only a few months of love. Here it is very evident that she is hard-pressed totally by the fact that she is being ignored, and loved less and the only conclusion to this is that, if society did not have men marry women base on their appearance, then the marriage would be real as the men would accept the women for who they were, and marry them even if they were not that good looking. Thus, it is quite obvious that marriage in Victorian times was not really based on love, and that love was totally not the condition or criteria but it was based on minor things like appearance and class distinction in society.This is clear as Farmer Lodges marriage to Gertrude was not based on love, but her appearance and her position in society and so when her arm became withered, he neglected, ignored and gave her less attention and love compared to the time when her beauty was complete. As in The Sons Veto, Sophys marriage to Reverend Twycott was also not based on the condition or criteria of love but because she was full(a) of awe and respect for him which amounted to almost veneration. Thus, both marriages in The Withered Arm and The Sons Veto were marriages of stratagem and not for love for one another.For the women they were supposed to be frail, gentle, beautiful, and most of all they were supposed to be very young. We also see the life course of the lower class, in The Withered Arm, where Rhoda Brook and the other milk men and women work at the dairy. We can see the simple life the lower class were subjected to and the rough work t he lower class were faced with, and this can be seen in the two quotes, It was an eighty cow dairy, and the troop of milkers, regular and supplementary, were all at work, The mo was six in the evening, and three fourths of the large, red rectangular animals having been finished off.From these quotes we can see the immense work these lower class people were faced with, and the fact that it was an eighty cow dairy, certainly proves that they had a lot of work to do and that there was a lot of milking to be done. This point can be proved by the quote, The hour was six in the evening, and three fourths of the large, red rectangular animals having been finished off. Also, we can see that the class a person belonged to, could be notified by the mode of transport they used. This can be seen in The Withered Arm when Farmer Lodge uses the cart horse to bring his newly wedded wife, Gertrude, home.By development the cart- horse, as his method of transport, he shows clearly that he is of the high class society and by doing this, he not only is recognised for his position but he is also respected for having a wife who is extremely young and good looking. The fact that Farmer Lodge taking a ride in a cart horse was a big thing can be clearly understood by the description of the horse a handsome new gig, with a lemon swarthy body and red wheels. From this quote it is clearly understood how to understand the class a person was in.Another major aspect of society was their superstitions, and the set up they had on peoples character. Superstition is first introduced in The Withered Arm, through the vision Rhoda Brook has, and how society made certain people victim of their superstition can be seen in Rhoda Brook, as she was made a victim of societys beliefs. This can be proven by the quote, She knew that she had been slyly called a femme fatale since her fall. This quote is when Rhoda Brook begins to wonder if she did have powers after she had a dream of Gertrude wher e she hurts her and when she finds out that Gertrude really is, she begins to question.Here, we see societys unfairness in judging people wrongly, and making them doubt themselves about who they were. The impact of society on people can be seen when Gertrude finds out that her husband likes her less because of her withered arm, and because of that, she longs and craves for it, and tries many cures and she turns into a person who is superstitious as she is willing to believe any cure just to get her husbands attention and love back once more.Effect of society an its nature can be seen in The Sons Veto, where Sophys son Randolph, has turned into an entirely different person as he wants to be a pure gentleman, and so he takes the company of famous people, so as to make himself recognised in society and not fondness a little about the fact that his mother is all alone. His falsify in character can be seen in the quote, in her sons eyes a mother whose mistakes and origin it was his pai nful lot as a gentleman to blush for. From this quote, it is clear that Sophys son Randolph, felt that his mothers deficiency in use of language and being a lady was a flaw in society and he felt ashamed of having a mother who was not a part of society and he felt that this flaw of hers, corrupted him in society. Also the dress worn by people indicated their class in society and this can be seen in both short stories.In The Withered Arm, we see Farmer Lodges clothes as his great golden seals hung like a lords while Gertrude wore a white strong-armer and a silver coloured gownd. From these quotes, one can understand that the way they dressed, was with so much sophistication and this clearly showed their position in society. In The Sons Veto, we see how the clothes worn displayed ones position in society. This can be seen by the quote, the shape of whose hat and jacket implied that he belonged to a well known public school.From this quote it is understood that from the clothes Ra ndolph wore, he was declare as a boy who was of the high class and so it could be easily understood that he belonged to one of the most expensive and famous. darkness in society can be seen in the Withered Arm, when people are said to be hung for minor things like, horse stealing, arson, and burglary, and sometimes not for the genuine reason of committing a crime, but so that an example would be set for society so as to not to make the same mistake.This can be proven by the quote, they are obliged to make an example of him, there having been so much destruction of property that way lately. The unjust nature of society is again seen in The Withered Arm, when Gertrude finds it hard to go to jail so that she could touch the back of the neck of a person hanged because women were not allowed in unless they had the company of a man and this shows the dark nature of society. This can be seen by the quote, but what means she should wed for obtaining admission to the jail. Thus, all I c an finally say is that both stories were tragic in their own way, all because a few characters went a little higher in society. In The Withered Arm, Farmer Lodge went higher in society and left his original wife, Rhoda Brook whom he had a son with, and married Gertrude who died trying to get her arm recovered as Farmer Lodge married her because of her appearance and so he was left with neither Gertrude or Rhoda Brook.In The Sons Veto Sophy married Reverend Twycott because she had respect for him and not because she loved him, although she did really love Sam Hobson, and when the Reverend died, she was left alone and longed for Sams love but it did not happen because she was indecisive, and as she could not tell her son that she had to move on with her life whether or not he liked it.