The relationship between Rhoda and Gertrude in The Withered Arm Essay

Discuss the relationship between Rhoda and Gertrude in The Withered Arm. The Withered Arm is a pre-20th century book by Thomas Hardy; the plot of the story is in and around the writers' imaginary village of Holmstoke and town of Casterbridge. One of the main themes of The Withered Arm was Jealousy it was portrayed through Rhoda Brook, 'a thin fading woman of thirty' 'that had once been handsome', who had an affair with Farmer Lodge and bore him a son. Farmer Lodge left Rhoda to bring up their son on her own and later married a new wife, who was 'years younger than him', called Gertrude. In this essay I am going to discuss the relationship between Rhoda and Gertrude in The Withered Arm. The relationship between Rhoda and Gertrude is a triangular one. It is between Rhoda, her ex-partner Farmer Lodge and his wife Gertrude. Rhoda heard about the coming of Farmer Lodge's new wife Gertrude through her fellow 'milkers' who were gossiping while at work. She then sent her son several times to go and 'give her a look'; she was mainly interested in the appearance of the new wife. She specifically asked her son to see "if she's dark or fair show marks of the lady' and to 'notice if her hand be white or are like a milkers hands like' hers. It was obvious that Rhoda wanted to compare herself with Gertrude but was disappointed when her son came back with news of the new wife being 'A lady complete', 'and her face as comely as a doll's' as she kept on asking her son questions like 'Her eyes not dark like mine?' and 'Is she tall?' 'as tall as I'. All the answers Rhoda got about Gertrude were so positive that when she heard that Gertrude was 'rather short' she said to her son 'with satisfaction', 'that's al... ...onduct. In fear of loosing Farmer Lodges love, Gertrude resorts to most despicable cure, which led to her death. In The Withered Arm Thomas Hardy used Rhoda's son to start a good relationship between Rhoda Brook and Gertrude. The quirk of fate in the situation is that Rhoda's son, the ill fated boy's life mutually brought Gertrude and Rhoda together in the beginning of the story and his death made them meet again, this time the last, not as friends but as enemies. The boy's carving of the chair instead of helping his mother cook and his poaching, which eventually led to his death were suggestions of his early and tragic death. It seems that as long as the two women were alive their link kept their relationship going whether good or bad, and it was only after Gertrude's death that the relationship between her and Rhoda brook finally came to an end.