Sympathy for Sophy Twycott and Phyllis Grove

Explore the ways in which Hardy has tried to make You sympathetic for

these two female Characters

Thomas Hardy has cleverly and subtly used many different ways in

writing to create an image of sympathy for the two female characters

Sophy Twycott and Phyllis Grove. He uses powerful emotive Language and

describes relationships and the reactions to help bring sympathy to

the character. He also brings into both stories the society of the

character. Hardy also tried to make you sympathise with the character

by bringing in physical description, setting and plot. My piece will

show you how he did this.

The setting was described carefully and purposely so you would

sympathise with Sophy Twycott. She lives all on her own in a

semi-detached house 'in the same long straight road…stretching her

eyes far up and down the vista of sooty trees, hazy air and drab house

facades along which echoed the noises common to a suburban main

through fare'. The way he's described it makes it sound like a typical

dirty industrial town, and makes it sound so plain and boring. Its

described like an endless place which she has no effect on, a place

where she doesn't fit in. Which is exactly what is happening he's just

said it in a different way. 'The fragment of lawn in front', I think

is saying how much control she's got left in the world. When it says

'she's looking through the railings at the ever flowing traffic ', to

me is saying that her home is like a prison she cant go any where, the

railings symbolising bars, and all she can do is look onto the present

world. Compared to the description of her old life its hell. The move

from country to the drabness of the town is done to idealise the

countryside. This makes you sympathetic towards Sophy as she makes one

mistake in her life and everything goes wrong, you know she's going to

have a very bad life. The Victorian readers' hearts would go out to

Sophy at this point and feel very sorry for her. It all leads back to

Hardy's idea of fate and destiny.

When the market is mentioned the vegetables are described very

vividly. 'Pyramids of snow white turnips', just shows the boredom of

Sophy, she' starring out the window at one o'clock in the morning

looking at fruit and vegetables people are preparing for the market.

She describes the turnip in such an immaculate way almost as though

she's got so much time on her hands she can, also they're described as

pyramids that because its an exciting thing for her to see.