Compare And Contrast The Two Shorts Stories,The Withered Arm And Turned Essay, Research Paper
This essay is aimed at
discussing the differences between the two short stories, called The Withered
Arm and Turned. These stories have similar plots and both deliver and contrast
these in their very own clever ways. They are both based on the idea of
triangular relationships, involving two women and a man. In the story Turned
there is a couple named Mr and Mrs Marroner, and their employed young and
beautiful Swedish maid who goes by the name of Gerta. In the Withered Arm the
relationship is between a lady called Rhoda Brook and a farmer called Farmer
Lodge and his wife who is called Gertrude. This essay will discuss the
similarities and differences between the two stories and their characters, I
will also discuss the language used, and the way the same image is effectively
conveyed in the two stories. ??????????? The author of the first story Turned
is Charlotte Perkins Gilman who was from a poor background and was born in
Connecticut, USA, in 1860. The first story she wrote was called ?The Yellow
Wallpaper? which she wrote in 1892. She then went on to write her best-known
book, which was called ?Women and Economics.? ??????????? The author of ?The Withered Arm? was
called Thomas Hardy who lived from 1840 to 1928. During his life he wrote
fifteen novels including one, which went unpublished. He loved poetry and wrote
thousands of poems in his lifetime. He also published four volumes of short
stories, which is where the story ?The Withered Arm? is from. He was born into
a rich family in Wessex, which is why he loves the area so much and why he
based many of his stories there, and many of his characters on some people from
his life. In fact Rhoda Brook in this story was based on one of his many
partners! ??????????? The basic plot/storyline to Turned
is that a married couple (Mr and Mrs Marroner) decide to take on a young
Swedish homehelp called Gerta. The couple became very attached to Gerta and she
becomes a dear and trusted friend. However she and Mr Marroner have an affair
behind Mrs Marroner?s back and Gerta becomes pregnant. While Mr Marroner is
away on ?business? he sends a letter to Gerta and to his wife but he
accidentally gets the envelopes mixed up and Mrs Marroner finds out. However
she believes that Gerta was taken advantage of and she and Gerta both leave the
house and Mr Marroner. ??????????? The basic plot/storyline to the
Withered arm was that a lady called Rhoda Brook was partners with Farmer Lodge
and they had a child together which Farmer Lodge just left Rhoda to bring up on
her own. Later Farmer Lodge was wed to Mrs Lodge. Rhoda Brook was jealous
because Farmer Lodges? new wife was young and attractive more so than her and
was also angry because Farmer Lodge was not interested in the son that they had
had together. Rhoda had a dream that Gertrude Lodge (Mrs Lodge) came to her
house and that she had thrown her to the ground by her arm and had permanently
left finger marks in her arm. Later she became good friends with Gertrude and
found out that what Rhoda dreamt was actually true. When Gertrude found out who
cursed her by a wizard she was shocked and her friendship with Rhoda Brook
began to seriously deteriorate and the story continues with Gertrude lodges?
quest to heal her arm. ??????????? In both of these stories it has been
a younger woman who has changed the situation. In Turned the young Swede Gerta
changed the situation in the way that she was the one that had an affair with
Mr Marroner and she got pregnant. This caused Mr Marroner?s relationship with
his wife to deteriorate and eventually to Gerta and Mrs Marroner leaving
together and starting a new life with the baby somewhere else. In this story
the young person in the storyline has come in and changed the situation by the
way that the two women who in those days had done the unthinkable and left the
man (Mr Marroner) on his own without any of his previous two partners or his
son. It says that Gerta was like a ?tall rosy cheeked, baby? with ?gold hair
and blue eyes.? This shows that Gerta was a young and attractive Swedish girl
which Mr Marroner took advantage of her just to get what he wanted. ??????????? Again in the Withered Arm it was the
younger person (Gertrude Lodge) who changed the relationship situation and
added the twist in the storyline. It started as Rhoda Brook being in love with
Farmer Lodge who we presume was in love with Rhoda Brook too until one day when
Rhoda found out that she was to have Farmer Lodges child when Farmer Lodge
decided to desert her. When Farmer Lodge moved into the town with his new wife
Gertrude Lodge, Rhoda was jealous as Gertrude had ?hair of a lightish tint and
her face as commonly as a live dolls.? When Rhoda dreamt that she had cursed
Gertrude she thought nothing of it, until the pair became really good friends
and found out that this event did actually take place when Gertrude revealed
her arm to Rhoda. The story continues with Gertrude?s quest to heal her arm.
She found out Rhoda Brook had cursed her and allowed their relationship to
deteriorate. It eventually turned out that her only chance of healing came from
Rhoda Brook?s son. ??????????? It is clear that at first it is the
woman outside of the relationship, which changed the situation and forced their
way into the relationship. Gerta in Turned forced out Mrs Marroner and had Mr
Marroner?s baby but in the end Gerta left Mr Marroner on his own, and she and
Mrs Marroner moved away. In the Withered Arm it was the young Gertrude Lodge
who changed the situation of the relationship by her going through the trouble
to get her arm heeled and finding out that Rhoda had cursed her. Then the
friendship between her and Rhoda deteriorated. This situation change also makes
the twist at the end where her arms? heeling depends on Rhoda?s sons hanging.
(The boy who she previously admired and helped out!) ??????????? It should also be brought to
attention that in both of these stories it was the woman outside of the
relationship who produced the baby when the woman inside of the relationship
was the one trying to conceive. Gertrude Lodge ?had brought him no child? when
Rhoda Brook had already given birth to his son. Mrs Marroner said, ?How they do
come where they are not wanted ? and they don?t come where they are
wanted.?? Implying that Gerta had given
birth to a baby, who really was not wanted, and how she and Mr Marroner were
desperately trying to conceive but were unable to due to the fact of her being
infertile. ??????????? In both of these stories we have
tales of deceit and lies between the three members of the individual triangular
relationships. In Turned the biggest lie comes from Mr Marroner deceiving his
wife by cheating on her and getting the young and impressionable Swedish home
help Gerta pregnant. ?He appreciated the full innocence, the ignorance, the
grateful affection, the habitual docility, of which he took advantage.? When he
made the suicidal mistake of mixing the letters and sending Gerta?s letter to
his wife, and his wife?s letter to Gerta. In his letter he had made more empty
promises by lying to Gerta that he will look after and take care of her, but he
was subtley trying to get Gerta to leave Mrs Marroner and bring up their child
on her own, so that there would be absolutely no chance of his wife finding
out. He just promised to send her money for the baby?s upkeep but he really was
deceiving her. ?That letter, that wretched, cold, carefully guarded, unsigned
letter, that bill ? far safer than a cheque ? these did not speak of
affection.? ??????????? The same sort of thing happened in
the Withered Arm. This story also contained many deceiving lies. Farmer Lodge
didn?t say anything to his new wife about his past relationship with Rhoda
Brook and he also ?forgot? to mention to his wife that she has had his child
and is his wife?s step son. When Gertrude and Rhoda became good friends Rhoda
didn?t tell her about the dream even when Gertrude expressed her concerns for
her ?withered arm?. Gertrude didn?t tell her husband when she went off to visit
Trendle about her arm. When she found out that Rhoda had cursed her she still
said nothing to her husband, even when she went off to try and heal her arm.
?She dared not tell him.? Then her husband Farmer Lodge used the same ?going
away on business? excuse when he went with Rhoda to collect their dead son?s
body. So here again the two stories are very similar, this time in the way of
the use of deceit and lies. ??????????? In the two stories there have been
many decisions in which the outcome of the story has changed. In Turned Mr
Marroner?s original decision to have an affair is the basis of the plot where
his little accident of getting the letters mixed up happens and he loses out on
Gerta, his wife, and his new-born child! His decision to take advantage of the
young and impressionable Gerta was a decision for which he had to face some
serious consequences. Mrs Marroner?s decision to leave Mr Marroner with Gerta
was very brave, as it was unheard of in those days for a woman to leave her
husband. Plus she would also have to support herself and the baby financially,
which would be hard to earn money and bring up a baby. ?She rose and walked,
her head held high. This is a sin of man against woman,? she said. This shows
how Mrs Marroner still left with her pride intact. She later left her husband a
letter, which read: ?I have gone, I will care for Gerta, goodbye? ??????????? In the Withered Arm, Rhoda?s
decision never to see Gertrude again was taken away from her when Gertrude paid
them a visit to bring her son a new pair of shoes, as she saw him in the market
place and felt sorry for the boy with an old ruined pair of shoes on his feet
?In her basket, Mrs Lodge brought the pair of boots that she had promised to
the boy, and other useful articles.? This shows that Mrs Lodge liked to help
out the poor with her wealth. It was because of this that she became a friend
with Rhoda. When Gertrude decided to visit Conjurer Trendle it resulted in the
breakdown in her relationship with Rhoda Brook as she found out that it was
Rhoda who cursed her. The second time she goes to visit Trendle she finds out
that she must touch the neck of a freshly hanged person to turn her blood and
heel her arm. She later goes to the hanging and sees her husband with Rhoda
Brook there and it turns out that the person whose neck she had to touch was
Rhoda?s son! Rhoda also decided not to touch any of Farmer Lodges? money.
?Absolutely refusing, however to have anything to do with the provision that
was made for her.? I feel she did this for her pride, as he was never
interested in their son in life so why should he be interested in him in death? ??????????? Although in the two stories the
storylines are rather similar it?s weird that the settings are really
different. In Turned the story is set in the urban realms of the United States.
The background was wealthy as we can tell by the description of Mrs Marroner?s
bedroom. ?In her soft-carpeted, thick-curtained, richly furnished chamber.?
However in the Withered Arm the settings are rather different to that of
Turned. It is set in the rural 19th century England in a very poor
background, well at least where the main character Rhoda Brook is concerned. It
says that Gertrude Lodge was bringing Rhoda and her son gifts, which is how
Rhoda and Gertrude became friends. ??????????? This is interesting as you would
expect affairs and adultery to go on in an urban state in the States but in rural
19th century England? It was unheard of for that sort of thing to
happen! So it just goes to prove a point that adultery can happen in all places
and has done for many years and I suppose is just one of those things in
triangular relationships that will never be changed, and wont be for many years
to come. ??????????? These two stories come to a close in
very different ways; one ends just how it began where as the other story ended
as a completely unexpected twist in the story of what you would have expected
to happen. In Turned the story ends with Mrs Marroner Leaving her husband with
Gerta to start up a new life with her and his baby. It shows the bravery these
women had to leave their rich home and move somewhere completely new where
their fortune and well-being was hanging very much in the balance. Later Mr
Marroner went in search of his wife and when he found out where she lived, a
woman appeared at the door with a younger attractive woman holding a baby, and
the woman who used to be his wife said to him ?What have you to say to us?? ??????????? In the Withered Arm the story ended
with Rhoda Brook returning to her old job that she had at the start of the
story which was the milking of cows, Gertrude became too old and frail and died
and Farmer Lodge became a kind, caring and thoughtful man! Gertrude died three
days later in the town ?Her blood had been turned indeed, too far.? After this
Rhoda had lost her friend and her son so she decided to resume where she had
started where ?Her monotonous milking at the dairy was resumed.? Farmer Lodge
on the third corner of this triangular relationship gave up his farms and
became a member of the parish after he overcame his remorse and moodiness. ??He
eventually changed for the better, and appeared as a chastened and thoughtful
man? ??????????? To conclude this essay triangular
relationships happen and always will happen for years to come and it doesn?t
make any difference about what century it happens in or if it is from a rich or
poor background because affairs, unwanted babies and triangular relationships
will always happen. ??????????? ??????????? ? ? ???????????