Society in the Eyes of Thomas Hardy

1482 Words3 Pages

How does Thomas Hardy present a picture of society at the time his

stories were written?

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Thomas Hardy presents a picture of how society was by the language he

uses and also what happens in the stories. The differences with

today's society and Thomas Hardy's society are their everyday lives,

social status, relationships, marriage, morals, superstitions and law

and order.

In Tony Kytes, life was very different from how it is today. They used

to travel along village lanes in a horse and cart, "wagon" and rode to

market where Tony had been doing business for his father. Men in those

days spent their days finding the right girl to marry. This is because

it was difficult to get a divorce so they had to stay with that person

for the rest of their life.

In the Son's Veto, the town they described was a horrible place "… a

narrow, dusty house in a long, straight street". These days the towns

are full of offices and shops and are not so crowded and polluted.

This makes the reader feel that Sophy and Mr Twycott have had to leave

such a beautiful place, "abandoning their pretty home, with trees and

shrubs and glebe".

In The Withered Arm, many rich men e.g. Farmer Lodge, were farmers.

Nowadays farms are poor, due to the increase in tertiary businesses.

The Son's Veto shows us a lot about the social status of men and women

in the old days. Sophy started out as a parlour maid but the vicar

fell in love with her. They later married but only held a small

wedding ceremony. This was due to the fact that Sophy was of lower

standing to him and although his wife had died, it was still his

second marriage. This was indeed frowned upon and Mr Twycott ...

... middle of paper ...

...ng, arson and

burglary". Hanging was also seen as some kind of entertainment as some

called it a "hang-fair". Many people travelled for miles around to see

"the spectacle". Also they sold the rope that was used for the

hanging, "Tis sold by the inch afterwards".

In conclusion I feel that Hardy presented a clear and understandable

picture of what society was like when he wrote the stories. From

evidence I have gained from reading the stories, Hardy has shown us

about society throughout each story under many topics e.g. marriage. I

felt that the Withered Arm gave me the most insight into society. This

is because I got emotionally involved, as I felt pity for Rhoda near

the beginning of the story but as I became aware of Gertrude's

feelings I felt anger towards Rhoda. This helped me to understand what

life was like in the time when Hardy wrote the stories.

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