Thomas Hardy Stories
The three Thomas Hardy short stories I am writing about are:
• The History of The Hardcomes
• The Melancholy Hussar
• The Winters and The Palmleys
In the short stories written by Thomas Hardy the historical and social context is defined and similar in each story. The short stories are set in the 19th century at a time where society was primarily male dominated, capital punishment was sentenced for minor crimes and the only real means of transportation were horse and wagon. During the 1800’s there were high expectations for love. Marriages were predominantly monogamous and were expected to last a lifetime, divorces were almost forbidden.
The History of The Hardcomes is a story of impulsive love, fateful decisions and significant consequences. It shares a similar background to The Melancholy Hussar. The story is based around two couples of whom make a fateful decision to exchange partners at their own weddings. These decisions become fateful to the rest of the story and lead to deaths and sorrow.
The Melancholy Hussar is also a story of impulsive love and fateful decisions. It involves a young woman named Phyllis who falls into a forbidden love with a soldier from the German Legion. This love is forbidden because she is already devoted to her husband. She has to make the decision to go with either her true love or stay fateful to her husband.
The Winters and The Palmleys is a short story of rivalry, love, deceit and revenge. It’s a story involving two life long rivals Mrs Palmley and Mrs Winter and their families. Two of the descendants of both Mrs Palmley and Mrs Winter fall in love. However the woman, Harriet, is from the town and has a much higher intellect than the one of Mrs Winters son, Jack. He then tries to prove himself worthy of Harriet but this ends up with fateful consequences.
In Thomas Hardy stories love is a very important theme, for example in The Hardcomes love is seen as a thing that does not...