Comparing the Ways in Which Susan Hill and Thomas Hardy Present the Woman in Black and the Withered Arm Both the Woman in Black and the Withered Arm are well known pieces of modern literature, and utilize both different and similar methods to present a narrative of the supernatural. In this assessment of the two books I will be considering the pace, tension, description, structure, style, literature devices and the creative writing within the two books. However throughout my evaluation of the two pieces I will take into account the fact that although The Withered Arm and The Woman in Black are both considered short stories rather than novels, their lengths vary immensely. This may help account for some of the differences but may also be a reflection of the author's preferred style of writing, and therefore can be used to give us a better insight into their reasons and motives behind every literal device. Thomas Hardy, the author of The Withered Arm is probably one of the most effective and to the point authors of his time. Every single person, every single place and every single object in the book has a point, whether it is an obvious point or a more vague and ambiguous point. Therefore person, place and object create a very effective example of the scenic code in The Withered Arm by Hardy. Hardy uses his flair for being succinct and concise to not only decrease the amount of words needed to tell the story, but to also increase the amount of hidden and inconspicuous messages in the written and spoken dialogue. This can explain the amount of detail in the book in relation to the length of the story. The concealed details give indic... ... middle of paper ... ...less marriage. Hill employs an original structure to her story where a framing narrative precedes the main bulk of the story. This Love plays a major part in the two books; it serves as a reason for some of the events and gives motives for some people's actions. In the withered arm, love could be considered the driving force behind Rhoda's initial hate for Gertrude. It is Gertrude's deep desire to be loved again that forces her to take such extreme measures. It is Jennet Humphyre's love for her son that makes her become a malevolently evil force. In conclusion I think that Hardy's narrative of the supernatural is superior to Hill's as although it is much shorter, using literary analysis, I have discovered that it contains far more in terms of detail, allusion, references, prophesies and obscurity and ambiguity.
demonstrates how the characters of the book are reckless and view love as something that can
“To Mr. Collins belongs the credit of having introduced into fiction those most mysterious of mysteries, the mysteries which are at our own doors.” So said Henry James in an unsigned review of another author’s work. But his view was certainly not shared by all those who cast their opinions into the fray. An unsigned review in the Saturday Review said of Collins’ work, “Estimated by the standard of great novels, the Woman in White is nowhere. Somewhere between these two points are friends and correspondents of Mr. Wilkie Collins. Novelist George Meredith wrote to Collins himself saying, “The tension of the W[oman] in W[hite] is not exactly pleasant, though cleverly produced. One wearies of it...” Charles Dickens was reserved in his opinion. He observed that, “There cannot be a doubt that it is a very great advance on all your former writing...” and also, “I seem to have noticed, here and there, that the great pains you take express themselves a trifle too much, and you know that I always contest your disposition to give an audience credit for nothing, which necessarily involves the forcing of points on their attention...” Considering all the material Wilkie Collins was either to be praised for inventing a new style, looked at in scorn for his lack of character development, or deemed the author of a work that “is an inferior metal altogether, though good and valuable of its kind,” as the Saturday Review critic stated.
but also jealousy and vengefulness. The different types of love portrayed in this novel were
Although both novels show the conceptions of manhood differently, the style of narration play an important role in constructing...
At times, the film seems to reenact a modern love story to appease a modern audience. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel showed his readers love and sin can be one of the same. Each author wrote what they thought would suit their own personal or public preference. Joffe’s purpose in taking the chosen route was to give the characters an extended theme based on their original plot line. Neither story is “better”; one may be more entertaining while another is more informative.
again I'm used to it by now, if you can get used to folk talking the
These stories draw up on his experiences enabling him to write ‘Wessex Tales’. Among many pieces of work is ‘The Withered Arm’. ‘The Withered Arm’ is a well-crafted short story written in the prose format. The quote above portrays what pre-twentieth century literature should embrace; good literature should be insightable, realistic and significant to all people from any era. In this essay I am going to describe the ways in which Thomas Hardy has made his short story, ‘The Withered Arm’ interesting to the modern reader.
Apart from the device of the two narrators, there is another device used by Emily Bronte which deserves consideration. The novel begins not at the beginning of the story; it begins
... each other and ultimately determine the fate of the characters in the story, especially the fate of the Heroine.
Jane Eyre vs Mary Wollstonecraft There is no doubt that Charlotte Bronte knew the works of Mary Wollstonecraft, and she knew them well. Although Wollstonecraft's ideas were written a hundred years beforehand, many women did not read her work because it was not easily attainable. Many women were not educated to read this piece of literature, and many men deemed it unimportant to their education. Bronte's works were cleverly disguised in women's entertainment, the novel. The main themes both women discuss are education, love, and marriage.
Agress, Lynne. The Feminine Irony: Women on Women in Early-Nineteenth-Century English Literature. London: Associated UP, 1978.
seems to be dull and boring. She works as a milk maid, then when she
“He is a gentleman, and I am a gentleman 's daughter. So far we are equal” (Austen 51). Jane Austen was an acute observer of the Georgian era society that she lived in, through her observations, she began to notice many flaws, especially in the treatment of women. With her love of writing and social awareness, Austen decided to combine both together to create some of the most famous works of literature. As seen in Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice and others, Austen uses realism, an upper class voice, and an ironic tone to deliver her underlying message of feminism to the gentry of the Georgian era.
It is the aim of this piece to consider how two elements are developed in the opening chapters of three classic novels written by 19th century English women: Emma, Wuthering Heights, and Jane Eyre, respectively. The elements to be considered are a) character; and b) character relationships. Consideration will be given to see how each opening chapter develops these two aspects, and the various approaches will be compared and contrasted as well.
Victor Hugo once said, “The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.” Whether in Shakespeare’s tragic play about lovers doomed by fate, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s sonnet describing love, “Sonnet 116”, or O. Henry’s age old The Gift of the Magi, love motivates the characters and authors to make decisions that have a weighty impact on their lives. Throughout these works of literature, authors use love’s power to drive the plot forward to create good events within the characters’ lives. Love is a force for good because it makes people willing to forgive each other, it brings the best out of people in bad situations, and it