Compare and contrast the ways in which both writers deal with these themes Essay

Hardy and pitcher both(prenominal) present the indorser with female characters who ar stray and ostracized by society. Compare and contrast the shipway in which both writers push-down list with these themes. Susan Hill and Thomas Hardy are clearly both interested in the role of wo men and their position in society. The female protagonists, in Im the King of the Castle and The lessen subdivision, are insecure as they lack a military man to provide them with social billet and respect. As a consequence of their affect pasts, they are rejected from society, and are both left vulnerable and heroic. capital of Montana Kingshaw represents a certain class of women in post-war England, the scope for Susan Hills novel, who found themselves abstracted the emotional and financial support of a man. The fanaticism in those days left these genteel, unskilled women in a dishonorable position. Society rejected those spurned by men and m either became objects of call down of a malicio us nature. Similar nonsensical teachings in Victorian ages, the setting for The Withered limb, also left abandoned women, a good deal(prenominal) as Rhoda Brook, viewed as social outcasts.Thomas Hardy is clearly sympathetic to such(prenominal) women, especially those reaching the stages of their lives where he suggests, through a careful procedural selection worn, they may be becoming desperate for a husband. He inflictms to consider them as isolated victims of the stereotypical image of women as a possession, classed by looks and fortune, and his novel exposes the hypocrisy in society. The isolation of the female protagonists is immediately obvious in their places of residence. Warings is some distance away from any other house and Brook lives in a lonely blot high above the water meads. Also, references to their past hint at their isolated feelings, Tis hard for she, and this is confirmed in how they act around others. Brooks way of coping is to silently work somewhat by from the rest.Conversely, Kingshaw tends to blather and desperately try to please others and make a new scribble in flavour. Hills language choices for Mrs. Kingshaws affected speeches smoothen her desperation to belong to a certain class. This is the opposite of Brook, who would or else experience without pity and stay in isolation. Neither woman ever admits that it is isolation and loneliness which make them act as they do, for example, their unusual attitudes towards their sons. Kingshaw practises superficial mothering gestures, she perpetually wanted to lean over him, whereas Brooks life is completely lacking in affection towards anyone, until she meets Gertrude Lodge. However, at least then it is genuine, unlike Kingshaws desperate attempts to do things by the book, without actually meaning any of it. She hardly wants to be satisfied that she has all she can get, while Brook is to a greater extent accepting of her fate. Brook is however similar to Kingshaw, in that she is extremely egoistic she asks her son to discover, if shes tall, tall as I, and was, not observing that he was cutting a notchin the chair.This could be compared to how Kingshaw neer realises the scathe Edmund Hooper puts her son through, as over again she is not observant enough. In malevolency of the womens preoccupation, both children are very accepting and obedient to their mothers. The to a greater extent(prenominal) archaic language of Hardys novel makes it easier for us to site with Rhodas concerns which seem, especially to the modern reader, to be over small things, such as how ladylike a woman is, and this again promotes the roles of women in both societies. In Im the King of the Castle it is frowned upon for a woman, with the status of housekeeper, to wear make-up and dress up. As in The Withered weapon system this is because a womans dress wiz reflected their position in society. We see how the Farmer Lodges pretty wifes wealth gives her the right to wear, a sil ver coloured gown. On the other hand, the affect a womans appearance on the male protagonists of each novel is contrasting in that Hoopers ruling of her looks seems relatively insignificant to how he had been impressed by the graceful earn of Mrs. capital of Montana Kingshaw.Whereas, Gertrude was disturbed about her stain because in The Withered fortify, men think so much of personal appearance. Both writers also convey to the reader how lack of status generates a fear indoors the women to change from their set principles. We notice this in Kingshaws displays of stereotypical motherly affection and more subtly in Brook, through her indignancy when her son suggests she goes to see her successor I, go to see her The two women are forced into these shipway of dealing with their isolation by their shared insecurity. Their two different shipway of coping both have their drawbacks Kingshaw is so busy trying a good impression and secure her future with Kingshaw that she cannot for m a befitting relationship with her son.Brook is so busy ignoring her past and avoiding her problems that she bottles up her bitterness, again destroying a relationship, with her friend, Gertrude Lodge. Eventually, their sad positions lead both women to make a last, desperate effort to conquer the things on their minds, but in both cases it results in anothers unhappiness. For Kingshaw, achieving a life with Mr. Hooper lead to her sons suicide. For Brook, trying to overpower the confronting spectre in her dream lead to disfigurement of her only friend. This also shows how, like Kingshaw, her isolation makes her romanticise things and let her visual modality get carried away. However, where Brook gets upset by guilt of what she brings upon others, I look forward to your arm is well again maam?, Kingshaw is portrayed as a much shallower character and never notices her effect on others. Instead, she romanticises things such as her relationship with Mr. Hooper He likes me.Effective g rouping of words, such as the description of Brook being held to Gertrude Lodge by a unforgiving fascination also show the obsessive behaviour of the female characters, due(p) to the amount of time they spend alone, thinking. Kingshaw is obsessed with determination to believe that her life is changing, everything is turning out for the best. In contrast the simple platitudes of her speech, Hardy writes in long, complex sentences, allowing us to see the depth of Brooks worried fixations. Through these obsessions, there is an underlying fear for both women that they will endure the person in their lives who means something to them, and could save them from complete ostracization. This adds a sense of dread to both novels, and pathetic fallacy reflects this darkness in the strange environments surrounding them the wind howled dismally over the heath. Hardy is able to impel us of Brooks isolation through her introspective thoughts and memories.However, the circumscribed capacity o f Mrs. Kingshaw to think and understand leaves even her speech artificial. So Hill uses flashback, interspersed with the episodic narrative to emphasise Kingshaws troubled past, showing us how her life has been shaped and influenced, convincing us of her isolation. Also, being a rather claustrophobic text, we given an increasing fear of unavoidable disaster in Im the King of the Castle, as all the execute takes place over a ten-month period. On the other hand, The Withered Arm is set over a much longer period of time and informs the reader of ill-feeling towards Rhoda from outside the immediate circle of protagonists.Through these very different structures, Hardy and Hill both create an increasing sense of depute for the two female protagonists. The absence of love in both characters lives undermines their self-confidence and relationships, resulting in isolation. Warings reinforces the theme of isolation as it is completely set apart from events in the normal world and, as in Th e Withered Arm, the accumulation of hostile imagery of the surrounding countryside further emphasises their loneliness and vulnerability. In both novels the main requirement of women was dynasties, so those rejected by men were despised and ostracized from society.This put both Brook and Kingshaw lacking status and in a very pitiable position. Nevertheless, due to the way the two writers deal with the themes of isolation and ostracization of the female protagonists, as a reader I never felt for Kingshaw quite the sympathy I did for Brook. As Hill presents Helena Kingshaw as so shallow a character, we feel so much anger at her dismissive attitude to her son that it is almost as though she deserves anything. By contrast, Hardy deliberately presents Rhoda Brook, her red eyes drooping, as a more pitiful character who seems much more the victim of her bad luck.