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English Essay In my coursework I am going to Compare Susan and Michael s Relationship in the Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy with the relationship of Mr. , Mrs. Marroner in Turned by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The Mayor of Casterbridge is a novel that was written about 100 years ago by a man called Thomas Hardy. Thomas Hardy was born on the second of June 1840 in the small village of Higher Bockhampton, near the county town of Dorchester, the Casterbridge of his novels. He is famous for his novels and poetry. He loved reading and had sensitivity to music and an interest in building and stone masonry that led him at the age of sixteen into the profession of architecture.
While working in London he began to write poetry and for a while he sent it off to various magazines but he was so consistently rejected that he began to write for his own pleasure, storing what he thought was worthwhile and destroying the rest. His ill health forced him to abandon his work and return to Dorset were he started work at an assistant to John Hicks in whose office he had served his apprenticeship. At the same time he abandoned poetry and in 1867 he began to write his first novel. The title of his novel was The Poor Man and The Lady this was never released but the readers that read his manuscript encourage Hardy to write another novel. The following year his second novel Under the Greenwood tree was released. At the same time Hardy s personal life was changing whilst working on the renovations of the church of St.
Junior, hardy met the victors sister-in-law, Emma Lavinia Gifford. And fell in love with her. They got married in September 1874. Hardy now decided to abandon his career as architecture and started writing full time. During the next ten years Hardy published 12 novels in 1891 hardy decided to give up writing novels and he returned to poetry. During this time he was drifting away from his wife.
And in 1904 he first met Florence Dugdale who was his secretary and managing and organizing his household. Over the years Hardy Grew a strong attraction towards her despite being already married. In November 1912 Hardy s wife passed away. Two years later Hardy married Florence, during the following years Hardy made visits to London &# 038; Cambridge to see and be seen by friends. Six months after their marriage war was declared and Hardy was invited by the Government to put the case forward for the UK.
After the war Hardy continued to write poetry but due to age was getting weak in January of 1928 after a short illness hardy passed away. Charlotte Perkins Gilman like Thomas Hardy was a poet and a novelist but she came to become these in a different way. Charlotte Perkins Gilman did not live the typical life, which a woman in her time would lead. Gilman vigorously repudiated the economic, and social and limitations that were placed on women during the 1900 s. Born in Hartford Connecticut on July 3, 1860, she was the daughter of Frederic Beecher Perkins, and Mary A. Fitch.
She was also a relative of Harriet Beecher Stowe. At a very young age Gilman's father deserted her family, and she was never able gain a relationship with him despite her efforts. As a result of her father leaving, Gilman's mother did not allow physical expressions of love, in order to prevent later heartaches, showing why Gilman described her childhood as painful and lonely. Gilman held such jobs as a governess, art teacher, and a greeting card designer, during which time she began to see the injustices inflicted on women. She began to write poetry on these injustices, and in these poems she formed her ideas on womens suffrage.
In 1884, she reluctantly entered into a marriage with Charles Stetson, citing the difficulty of being a wife, and mother while at the same time a writer. Soon after marrying Gilman had her only child, Katherine. She became despondent, not able to devote adequate time to her writing, and her husband convinced her to see Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, who specialized in womens nervous disorders. His treatment for her was the rest cure, the same cure that she incorporated in The Yellow Wallpaper.
In 1888, she felt that her husband was suppressing her, and hurting her sanity so she moved away. In 1892, she was granted a divorce and began to gain notoriety as a feminist writer. In 1900, she married George Houghton Gilman and lived happily with him until he suddenly died. She committed suicide a year later when she contracted breast cancer, feeling that her productive life was over. As you can see Thomas Hardy and Charlotte Perkins Gilman are quite different writers, Thomas Hardy and Charlotte Perkins Gilman were both alive in the same time frame but have very different views on life. Charlotte Perkins Gilman believed in women independence she was a feminist and believed that women should be able to do everything men do.
Thomas Hardy was quite the opposite he believed that women should be dependent on men we know this because of the way women are viewed in his novels. I think that Thomas Hardy took advantage of his second wife she was almost forty years younger than him and was employed to do typical stereotyped jobs like being his secretary and managing his household The novel The mayor of Casterbridge is about the relationship between Susan and Michael Henchard, the short story Turned is about the relationship between Mr. , and Mrs. Marroner. The relationship between Susan and Michael is a relationship of convenience. Susan depends on Michael for financial support. We know this because in the times that this book was written women were seen as to be dependent on males.
Also later in the novel when Newson (Susan s Second Husband) is believed to be dead Susan goes looking for Michael for financial support for her and her daughter. In turned Mrs. Marroner and Mr. Marroner start of as having a loving relationship later in the story due to certain problems they separate but they still love each other. This can be seen when Mrs. Marroner impulsively kissed the letter Mrs.
Marroner obviously cares about Mr. Marroner a lot from her husband. Mrs. Marroner is quite the opposite of Susan; she is independent and a lot more educated.
In the beginning of The Mayor of Casterbridge Susan tries to be as close to Michael as possible this shows us that Susan cares for Michael and wants to be cared for in return. But Michael does not respond it s as if Susan is walking alone. This can be seen on page 2 the perfect silence they preserved. This shows us that they did not communicate with each other.
I think that this was more Michael s fault then Susan s, Susan tried to make a effort for she kept as close to his side as was possible without actual contact, this shows that Susan wanted to be close to Michael but he wouldn t let her. Unlike Susan and Michael, Mr. and Mrs. Marroner communicated as much as possible.
Even when he was away on business he regularly sent letters to Mrs. Marroner; he sent letters so often that Mrs. Marroner could recognize the stamp and typewriting. I think that this was one of the reasons why their relationship was more loving. Its at the end of chapter one when Michael sells his wife, this is very weird it is as if it is a auction of a animal. And the longer the people take to put in a bid for his wife the higher the price gets this is the complete opposite of what should happen.
It is revealed in this chapter that Michael has offered to auction his wife before. On both incidences he was under the influence of alcohol, I don t think that he truly feels this way he just don t know what he is doing. I know this because as soon as he realizes what he has done he makes a vow not to drink for 21 years so that something like this won t happen again. Like Michael in the Mayor of Casterbridge, Mr. Marroner does something which is very disgraceful he cheats on his wife with his housekeeper (Gerta) like Michael I don t think that he really cares for Gerta because when it comes to the decision to choose he chooses his wife.
Susan after being sold throws her wedding ring at Michael as to say it is over that was the last step. And then she goes with her new owner Newson and she deliberately links his arm as she goes, earlier in the novel as they were walking Susan wanted to link arms with Michael but he wasn t aware of that. Unlike Susan, Mrs. Marroner is independent and when Mr. Marroner cheats on her she packs her things and goes because she doesn t need support from her husband she is well educated and quite wealthy. When Michael realizes what has happened he goes to look for Susan, Mr.
Marroner does the same thing this shows that they both made a mistake and want to fix it. Mrs. Marroner still must care for Mr. Marroner because she doesn t tell everybody what he has done she just packs up and quietly goes.
Nobody at the fair know s Michaels identity so he leaves to keep it that way. Michael adventually gave up looking for Susan and carried on with his life whereas Mr Marroner employed detectives to find her, I think that this means that Mr Marroner cared for Mrs Marroner more than Michael cared for Susan. Now that Michael has stoped drinking he has started to make something of his life, he moves to a town called Casterbridge and finally works himself up the hierarchy. I think the town of Casterbridge was split into groups depending on your financial status like a hierarchy.
Now that he was not under the influence of alcohol he could think straight and when Susan came back he began to act like he cared for her. Even when Susan came back he began to control her like he would do before, the only reason why Susan came back was because she needed financial support. To do this she made Michael believe that Newson's daughter was his own. I think that Michael and Susan's relationship was a loving relationship but at the start of the story they werent in a good financial position so they couldn t really enjoy the time together. Mr, and Mrs Marroner had a very loving relationship they had everything they wanted but Mr Marroner couldn t resist Gerta and took advantage of her. Conclusion I think that Mr and Mrs Marroner had a better relationship because of their financial status.
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