The Withered Arm by Thomas Hardy

The Withered Arm by Thomas Hardy

What can we learn about Victorian society from the story 'The Withered

Arm' by Thomas Hardy? Do you think that the story is relevant for

today? Support your answer with relevant quotations from the story.

The short story, 'The Withered Arm' by Thomas Hardy gives one a vivid

insight of life of the rural working class during nineteenth century

England and their involvement with the upper classes throughout the

country. Both of the classes' hardship, superstitious beliefs and

their attitudes towards women are displayed along with their lifestyle

in the historical southern county of Wessex, allowing one to get

different perspectives of the class and their personal prejudices

against each other.

During the Victorian era, there was a great social divide between the

upper and lower classes, both financially and in the attitudes towards

each other, which is seen all over England from the countryside of

Wessex to the city of London. The only common relationship between the

upper and lower classes was strictly business. Other relationships

such as marriage and sexual affairs were clearly frowned upon,

especially by the upper classes who were afraid of being mortified and

degraded in the eyes of the gentlemen of England. If two people with a

great divergence in class were to be married, the partner from the

upper class was aware of the consequences which lied in the future and

was prepared to have committed social suicide by this step. This means

that a minority of people during the Victorian era did go against

moralistic marriage standards of that time.

It is evident that superstition held an important...

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...er and reflecting the

characters so descriptively since he may have encountered people who

influenced his characters, and the fact that he lived in Wessex where

many of the characters are from.

'The Withered Arm' portrays the lifestyle and society of the Victorian

era in great detail. Thomas Hardy's interpretation of the hardships

such as discrimination faced by the working class and set by the upper

classes allows one to get an insight of just some of the problems

faced during this period. Hardy's attention to detail and writing

skills allow the reader to vividly picture the green countryside, and

most importantly the moral values of that time and Hardy's

philosophical implications. Overall, the short story gives one the

opportunity to get a clear understanding of Victorian society during

the nineteenth century.