THE SON’S VETO ( 1894)- Thomas Hardy

About the writer:

2 June 1840- 11 Jan 1928 English novelist and poet, influenced by romanticism Hardy focused more on a declining rural society. First collection published in 1898

Thomas Hardy was born in rural England where he spent his early life training as an architect. His family did not have much money and this made him acutely conscious of social inequalities in Victorian England. He moved to London when he was a young man and worked there for a time. He later returned to Dorset, becoming a fulltime writer. The decay of rural Britain, the status of women in society and social inequalities of his times and the Christian idea of God are some of the recurring themes we see in Thomas Hardy’s novels. Many of his stories are set in semi-fictional Wessex. 

Father (Thomas) was a stonemason and local mother Mother: Educated him till the age of 8 when he first went to school After formal education ended at the age of 16, social inferiority (Reason for social theme) However, Hardy's family lacked the means for a university education, and his formal education

ended at the age of sixteen when he became apprenticed to James Hicks, a local architect.[5] Hardy trained as an architect in Dorchester before moving to London in 1862; there he enrolled as a student at King's College, London. 

Hardy never felt at home in London. He was acutely conscious of class divisions and his social inferiority.

Married to Emma Lavinia Gifford in 1874 who died in 1912 In 1914, Hardy married his secretary Florence Emily Dugdale, who was 39 years his junior.

However, he remained preoccupied with his first wife's death and tried to overcome his remorse by writing poetry.

Hardy became ill with pleurisy in December 1927 and died at Max Gate just after 9 pm on 11 January 1928, having dictated his final poem to his wife on his deathbed; the cause of death was cited, on his death certificate, as "cardiac syncope", with "old age" given as a contributory factor.

Pleurisy (also known as pleuritis) is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining surrounding the lungs.RELEGION:

Hardy's family was Anglican, but not especially devout. He seemed to stop believing in God and more in the power of the universe. Even so, there is reference to supernational forces at work. Perhaps this is the reason for portraying religious hypocrisy.

The title:

The Son’s Veto not only refers to her son’s veto over her marriage but also the son’s veto or disapproval of her grammar.

Characters of the story:

Sophy (30-40 years),Married for more than 14 years,Has 1 child < Protagonist, Central character, Static Character, Weak>

Sam: Garderner, Greengrocer <Strong> Twycott: Vicar, 40 years old, childless, small family of 1 , mostly indoor, cares about his

reputation, when 60 years old was in charge of small parish and had one child < Weak> Randolph: 12-13 years < Antagonist , Strong> The contrast in the characters gives a balance to the story. It is only in the submission of some that existence of all lies.

Rev. Twycott Vicar at gaymead, widowed Was despressed after wive’s death Forty years old

‘ The vicar just left a widower was a man about forty years of age, of good family, and childless. He had led a secluded existence in this college living’

‘He was seen still less than heretofore, kept himself less in time with the rhythm and racket of the movements called progress in the world without.’

Tywcott appreciates Sophy’s care for him ‘ No, Sophy; lame or not lame, I cannot let you go You must never leave me again!’

The narrator makes it clear that Vicar Twycott and Randolph are the responsible parties for Sophy's misery: Twy-cott means two with hard hearts. –

Treats Sophy like a child ‘ Throughout these changes Sophy had been treated like the child she was in nature though not in years.’

‘ She was left with no control over anything that had been her husband’s beyond her modest personal income.’

The Reverend seems to have had a poor opinion of Sophy as a manager of money and on his death allowed her only a small allowance and the use of a small house.

Twycott continued to control Sophy’s life from his grave. Twycott is a typical Victorian man who decides for others what he thinks is best for them.

Foresight

CLASS CONCIOUSNESS: Reverend did not care about Sophy’s status

At the same time, he is still class conscious:

Noone is invited to the wedding ‘ which hardly a soul knew of.’ ‘Mr Twycott knew perfectly well that he had commited social suicide by this step, despite

Sophy’s character, and he had taken his measures accordingly.’ ‘ An exchange of livings had been arranged with an acquaintance who was incumbent of a

church in the south of London’ He tries to educate her -‘her husband had taken much trouble with her education; but she still

held confused ideas on the use of ‘was’ and ‘were’

But he had done it to protect her

‘ It was all on her account.’ ‘They were, however, away from every one who had known her former position; and also under

less observation from without than they would have had to put up with in any country parish.’

Dies of an illness- ‘ but he was twenty years his Sophy’s senior, and had latterly been seized with a serious illness.’

-Sophy

At all points, the narrator paints Sophy as being true to her name: Sophy means wisdom. Maybe it is ironic or maybe Thomas might be saying that she was wise in her own right and that

other circumstances such as social prejudices had made her choices unwise.

Hardy’s women characters suffer at the hands of fate and an unkind society.

Sophy is depressed, lonely and needs attention.This is evident from her hair style which means she wants attention or wants to distract herself so that she does not fall into depression.

Sophy is presented as an intricate, worthy character through the metaphor of her beautiful woven hair. – PHYSICAL:

Lame- ‘ chaired lady’, ‘she was informed that she must never again walk much or engage in any occupation which required her to stand long on her feet.’

‘she could not take walks’

Self- control and responsible 'That's only a momentary feeling. I have a son, you know, a dear boy. He's at school now.'

‘A woman of pure instincts, she knew there had been nothing really wrong in the journey, but supposed it conventionally to be very wrong indeed.’

‘ Her face was not easily discernible, but the aforesaid cunning tress-weavings, the white ear and poll, and the curve of a cheek which was neither flaccid nor swallow were signals that led to the expectation of a good beauty in front.’

‘ she was less young than they had fancied her to be.’ ‘Yet attractive her face unquestionably was, and not at all sickly.’

OTHERS: Married to Twycott‘ she who now and for many years had filled that first wife’s place was then

parlour-maid in the parson’s house.’

Bad grammar ‘ He have been so comfortable these last few hours that I am sure he cannot have missed us,’ she replied.

‘her husband had taken much trouble with her education; but she still held confused ideas on the use of ‘was’ and ‘were, which did not beget a respect for her among the few acquaintances she had’

Shy and dominated by other due to her immature decisions-

‘ Throughout these changes Sophy had been treated like the child she was in nature though not in years.’

‘ She was left with no control over anything that had been her husband’s beyond her modest personal income.’

‘Sophy fetched up the sentence that had been already shaped; but she could not get it out.’

- Randolph’s veto over the marriage. Randolph ‘ a boy of twelve or thirteen who stood beside her, and the shape of whose hat and jacket

implied that he belonged to a well-known public school.’

 Not symapthetic‘Somehow, her boy, with his aristocratic school-knowledge, his grammars, and his aversions, was losing those wide infantine sympathies’

He is a poor specimen of humanity. When he enters Church, she hopes that he would take a

more humane view of her and the less fortunate world but the more he studies the more humanity he seems to lose it.

‘His education had by this time sufficiently ousted his humanity to keep him quite firm’

Heartless, does not care about what mother wants   Her desire to marry Sam is met with consternation and

Randolph’s concern is not his mother’s happiness but his position in society which he feels will be undermined by that action., Self centered

Doesn’t let Sophy marry again- 'I am ashamed of you! It will ruin me! A miserable boor! a churl! a clown! It will degrade me in the eyes of all the gentlemen of England!'

‘He showed a more manly anger now, but would not agree.’

‘and finally taking her before a little cross and altar that he had erected in his bedroom for his private devotions, there bade her kneel, and swear that she would not wed Samuel Hobson without his consent. 'I owe this to my father!' he said’

‘though his mother might have led an idyllic life with her faithful fruiterer and greengrocer, and nobody have been anything the worse in the world.

‘He seems to belong so little to me personally, so entirely to his dead father. He is so much educated and I so little that I do not feel dignified enough to be his mother’

Disrespectful of his mother, Made her conscious about her previous class- ‘and became—in her son's eyes—a mother whose mistakes and origin it was his painful lot as a gentleman to blush for. ‘

Reprimanded her grammar‘ Has, dear mother- not have!’ exclaimed the public-school boy, with an impatient fastidiousness that was almost harsh. ‘Surely you know this by this time !’

Sophy’s isolation from the company of Sam who cared for her and her remoteness from Randolph who no longer had any love for his mother led her to her premature death.

Class conscious He is the son of a gentleman but his mother is of poor stock. She

lacks education and “culture” and is not worthy of being considered his equal. Her love for him is of no importance to him and he seeks the company of others of equal station in life.

‘he was reducing their compass to a population of a few thousand wealthy and titled people, the mere veneer of a thousand million or so of others who did not interest him at all. ‘

'I am ashamed of you! It will ruin me! A miserable boor! a churl! a clown! It will degrade me in the eyes of all the gentlemen of England!'

‘ He hoped his stepfather would be a gentleman, he said.’

SAM:

‘He was a young gardener of her acquaintance.’

A gentlemen, realizes the role of men, ready to support Sophy‘ You see, dear Sophy, you don’t know that you’ll stay on; you may want a home, and I shall be ready to offer one some day, Loved Sophy, was ready to provide a home for her-though I may not be ready just yet.’

‘ You see, dear Sophy, you don’t know that you’ll stay on; you may want a home, and I shall be ready to offer one some day, though I may not be ready just yet.’

‘Turning with a start, his face lighted up.’ ‘I have often looked out for 'ee.' ‘In answer to her curious inquiry, he admitted that he

had come to this particular district because he had seen in the Aldbrickham paper, a year or two before, the announcement of the death in South London of the

aforetime vicar of Gaymead, which had revived an interest in her dwelling-place that he could not extinguish, leading him to hover about the locality till his present post had been secured.’

Thoughtful and cared for her 'If you could,' he said eagerly, 'you'd on'y have to sit in the back parlour and look through the glass partition when I was away sometimes—just to keep an eye on things. The lameness wouldn't hinder that . . . I'd keep you as genteel as ever I could, dear Sophy—if I might think of it!' he pleaded.’

Sam is patient , faithful and truly loves her- ‘It was dropped for months; renewed again; abandoned under his repugnance; again attempted; and thus the gentle creature reasoned and pleaded till four or five long years had passed. Then the faithful Sam revived his suit with some peremptoriness.’

Ambitious‘He had long since given up his gardening in the village near Aldbrickham, and was now manager at a market-gardener's on the south side of London, it being part of his duty to go up to Covent Garden with waggon-loads of produce two or three times a week. 

Strong as waited for her TRAGIC FLAW (Sophy)

Could not stand up for herself, Lack of assertiveness, immature, dependant on others, shy and diffident.

Her mistakes were:

Marrying Twycott despite her social background and him being elder than her.

Did not convince him to stay in the same place. Did not stop her son when he reprimanded her. Let her son veto her marriage.

TRAGEDY :

‘How well she remembered it, that first act in her little tragic-comedy, the death of her reverend husband’s first wife.’

‘ when a tragedy has happened close at hand, and has not happened to the philosophers themselves.’ FORESHADOWING

Incapacitated Reprimanded for bad grammar:

-What son said.-‘ That question of grammar bore upon her history, and she fell into reverie, of a somewhat sad kind to all appearance.’

Cannot adjust due to her background‘her husband had taken much trouble with her education; but she still held confused ideas on the use of ‘was’ and ‘were, which did not beget a respect for her among the few acquaintances she had’

‘but in what is called culture she was less intuitive.’ Her husband dies. Treated Sophy like a child ‘ Throughout these changes Sophy had been treated like the child

she was in nature though not in years.’ ‘ She was left with no control over anything that had been her husband’s beyond her modest

personal income.’ ‘ In his anxiety lest her inexperience should be overreached he had safeguarded with trustees

all he possibly could.’ ‘ Foreseeing his probable decease long years before her, her husband in his lifetime had

purchased for her use a semi-detached vila’

‘ Sophy's milieu being a suburb of minor tradesmen and under-clerks, and her almost only companions the two servants of her own house, it was not surprising that after her husband's death she soon lost the little artificial tastes she had acquired from him, and became—in her son's eyes—a mother whose mistakes and origin it was his painful lot as a gentleman to blush for.’

‘Her life became insupportably dreary; she could not take walks, and had no interest in going for drives, or, indeed, in travelling anywhere. Nearly two years passed without an event, and still she looked on that suburban road, thinking of the village in which she had been born, and whither she would have gone back—O how gladly!—even to work in the fields.’

‘It was soothing to watch and sympathize with them when depression and nervousness hindered sleep’

‘She had occasionally thought of him, and wondered if life in a cottage with him would not have been a happier lot than the life she had accepted.’

‘It had might have been assumed…’ 'No, I am not a lady,' she said sadly. 'I never shall be. But

he's a gentleman, and that—makes it—O how difficult for me!'

‘He seems to belong so little to me personally, so entirely to his dead father. He is so much educated and I so little that I do not feel dignified enough to be his mother’-  

Randolph doesn’t let Sophy marry again- 'I am ashamed of you! It will ruin me! A miserable boor! a churl! a clown! It will degrade me in the eyes of all the gentlemen of England!'

‘He showed a more manly anger now, but would not agree.’

‘and finally taking her before a little cross and altar that he had erected in his bedroom for his private devotions, there bade her kneel, and swear that she would not wed Samuel Hobson without his consent. 'I owe this to my father!' he said’

‘though his mother might have led an idyllic life with her faithful fruiterer and greengrocer, and nobody have been anything the worse in the world.’

Narration:

Third Omniscient person , However, the narrator puts himself as a interlocutor with the reader “the next time We get a glimpse”

Structure:

- Suspense created at start

-Introducing characters slowly- The details in the beginning are of Sophy therefore establishing her as the main character. -Punctuations in meeting of Sophy and Sam shows love.

Fretags Pyramid:

Exposition:

- A man viewing a lady from behind- Find out she has a son - Details are given the vicars second marriage after Sam proposed to Sophy - They move away from the town - Twycott dies leaving her with a small detached house

Rising action:

-Sophy spots Sam carrying his load of vegetables

-He asks to marry her

Climax:

-Sophy tries many times but Randolph’s veto is strong

Falling action:

-She sinks into depression and vows not to marry Sam without his consent

Catastrophe :

-We hope, despite the change in narrator tone, that he is wearing black in front of a "partly shuttered" window because it is his wedding day and Sophy has finally defied her son's veto and will marry Sam. -

-She dies without having lived to the fullest

Setting:

Place: a suburb of Lond, parks or private gardens North Wessex, Gaymead (Sophy’s house)

‘In a remote nook in North Wessex, forty miles from London, near the thriving country-town of Aldbrickham , there stood a pretty village with its church and parsonage’ ‘It was her native village, Gaymead’

Keeping everything ordinary , This is a classic novel which is close to nature and he wants to deliver the commonness of such themes.E.gs: - No name of the concert- One of the minor parks (no name) or private gardens

- Local association (No name)- Some charity (no name) - Immediate district (no name)- The charity, the band, the garden (No names)

Introduction: ‘ To the eyes of a man viewing it from behind, the nut-brown hair was a wonder and a mystery.’ – Mood of suspense ‘the long locks, braided and twisted and coiled like the rushes of a basket, composed a rare, if somewhat barbaric, example of ingenious art.’ – Interpretaion

Others:‘bending forward over the window-sill on the first floor, stretching her eyes far up and down the vista of sooty trees, hazy air, and drab house-facades, along which echoed the noises common to a suburban main thoroughfare.’ – MOOD + Introduction.

Tone:

Part 1:

Suspense

“ To the eyes of a man viewing it from behind, the nut-brown hair was a wonder and a mystery.”

Part 2:

DepressingRenewed hope , emancipation

“Yes, Sam. I long for home- our home! I should like to be there, and never leave it, and die there!”

Part 3:

Buoyancy and hopefulness

“The air and Sam’s presence had revived her: her cheeks wer quiet pink- almost beautiful.”

Melancholy, Gloomy

“ she seemed to be pining her heart away, ‘Why mayn’t I say to Sam I’ll marry him? Why msyn’t I?”

Mood:

Part 1:

Suspense, Anticipation , expectancy

‘ To the eyes of a man viewing it from behind, the nut-brown hair was a wonder and a mystery.’ – INTRO

“ As the strains proceeded many of the listeners observed the chaired lady, whose back hair, by reason of her prominent position, so challenged inspection.”

‘ warm June afternoon.’, ‘ green enclosure’ – soothing colours (visual +kinesthetic imagery creating soothing effect

Part 2:

Depressing:

-The death of her husband

-Her treatment by son

- ‘bending forward over the window-sill on the first floor, stretching her eyes far up and down the vista of sooty trees, hazy air, and drab house-facades, along which echoed the noises common to a suburban main thoroughfare.’

-‘ this silent and dusky hour.’

Sanguinity, hopeful

‘ the feeble sun shining full upon her ‘- Sun gives a feeling of happiness

“Yes, Sam. I long for home- our home! I should like to be there, and never leave it, and die there!”

Part 3:

Optimistic, Curious

‘The air was fresh as country air at this hour, and the stars shone, except to the north-eastward, where there was a whitish light—the dawn. ‘

“Sam, if I could, I would marry you, some day. But you must wait a while and let me think.”

Depressed, Dismal, Despondant

“ From the railway station a funeral procession was seen approaching… while from the mourning-coach a young smooth-shaven priest in a high waistcoat looked black as a cloud at the shopkeeper standing there.”

Literary tools:Symbols:

Sophy is seen from the back by people signifying that she is not part of society or high class society or that she belongs elsewhere in Gaymead, her hometown.

The wheel chair in which Sophy spends all her time is a symbol of her lack of independence. At first she is dependent on her husband and then on her son. She is not in control of her life though she knows what she wants.

Just like her hair, her life is also complicated and twisted ‘the long locks, braided and twisted and coiled like the rushes of a basket, composed a rare, if somewhat barbaric, example of ingenious art.’

Randolph is a symbol of class-conscious society

Figurative language:

Similes:

‘What a kitten-like, flexuous, tender creation she was!’ “braided and twisted and coiled like the rushes of a basket” ‘Taking no exercise, she often could not sleep, and

would rise in the night or early morning and look out upon the then vacant thoroughfare, where the lamps stood like sentinels waiting for some procession to go by. ‘

“a young smooth-shaven priest in a high waistcoat looked lack as a cloud” “and he would weigh domestic matters as feathers in the scale beside the day’s victory”

Personification:

“cabbages nodding to their fall” - Interpretation “aged night horses, who seemed ever patiently wondering between their hollow cough”-

Interpretation “the feeble sun shining full upon her.” – Interpretation “ever-waiting lamps” – Interpretation “The sparrows became busy in the streets”

Theme:

Coincidence/ Incidence and Predestination:

- Fight with Sam forestalls her to stay ‘ Not much. But it would be a home for me. And we have heard that one of us will have to leave.’

- Fell from stairs/ Both Sam and Mr.Tywcott proposed (would have to work if with Sam)‘ She had slipped down with the tray , and so twisted her foot that she could not stand.’

- Saw Sam Hobson / After Mr. Twycott’s death

Relationships:

BETWEEN SOPHY AND SAM:

‘ though she roguishly exclaimed as a matter of form, ‘ O, Sam, how you frightened me!’ ‘He was a young gardener of her acquaintance.’ Loved Sophy, was ready to provide a home for her- ‘ You see, dear Sophy, you don’t

know that you’ll stay on; you may want a home, and I shall be ready to offer one some day, though I may not be ready just yet.’

‘Turning with a start, his face lighted up.’ Thoughtful and cared for her'If you could,' he said

eagerly, 'you'd on'y have to sit in the back parlour and look through the glass partition when I was away sometimes—just to keep an eye on things. The lameness wouldn't hinder that . . . I'd keep you as genteel as ever I could, dear Sophy—if I might think of it!' he pleaded’

Sam is patient , faithful and truly loves her- ‘It was dropped for months; renewed again; abandoned under his repugnance; again attempted; and thus the gentle creature reasoned and pleaded till four or five long years had passed. Then the faithful Sam revived his suit with some peremptoriness.’

Sophy does not love Sam as much as he does and isn’t even passionate about their love when they meet again.

‘She had not thought of him passionately’ She says to Mr.Twycott when he asks if she loves her. ‘ Not much. But it would be a home

for me. And we have heard that one of us will have to leave.’ Agrees to marriage finally- 'Ah, you don't know! Sam, if I could, I

would marry you, some day. But you must wait a while, and let me think.'

SOPHY AND RANDOLPH:

‘He drifted further and further away from her. Sophy's milieu being a suburb of minor tradesmen and under-clerks, became—in her son's eyes—a mother whose mistakes and origin it was his painful lot as a gentleman to blush for.’

'No, I am not a lady,' she said sadly. 'I never shall be. But he's a gentleman, and that—makes it—O how difficult for me!'

‘He seems to belong so little to me personally, so entirely to his dead father. He is so much educated and I so little that I do not feel dignified enough to be his mother’

‘this pair, so wide apart, yet so near’ Mother scared of son- ‘Sophy fetched up the sentence

that had been already shaped; but she could not get it out.’

Doesn’t let Sophy marry again- 'I am ashamed of you! It will ruin me! A miserable boor! a churl! a clown! It will degrade me in the eyes of all the gentlemen of England!'

‘He showed a more manly anger now, but would not agree.’

  ‘and finally taking her before a little cross and altar that he had erected in his bedroom for his private devotions, there bade her kneel, and swear that she would not wed Samuel Hobson without his consent. 'I owe this to my father!' he said’

Loved Randolph- ‘His mother went up to him, kissed all of his face that she could get at, and patted his back as if he were still the baby he once had been, crying herself the while. ‘

SOPHY AND MR.TWYCOTT:

- Knew Sophy’s value- ‘ What should he do if Sophy were gone?’ - Tywcott appreciates Sophy’s care for him ‘ No, Sophy; lame or not lame, I cannot let you

go You must never leave me again!’ - Shifted for Sophy - Educated her

‘Sophy the woman was as charming a partner as a man could posses, though Sophy the lady had her deficiencies.’

- Dies of an illness- ‘ but he was twenty years his Sophy’s senior, and had latterly been seized with a serious illness.’

- Treated Sophy like a child ‘ Throughout these changes Sophy had been treated like the child she was in nature though not in years.’

- Lack of trust:‘ She was left with no control over anything that had been her husband’s beyond her modest personal income.’

- ‘ In his anxiety lest her inexperience should be overreached he had safeguarded with trustees all he possibly could.’

- Grammar (two- three)

- It may be inferred that Twycott did not defend Sophy before Randolph for fear that her influence in speech and manner might interfere with his future as a gentleman of first rank.

Sacrifice and Love:

-Sam sacrifices his married life because of Sophy

-Otherwise, Sam may most reflect the theme of longsuffering and unrequited love. He never relinquished his love for nor dream of happiness with Sophy; he held on till her final march through town.

-Twycott leaves his town for Sophy

-Twycott may most reflect the theme of the folly of hard-hearted lack of concern for another person's feelings and interests -

-Sophy doesn’t marry Sam because of Randolph

'That's only a momentary feeling. I have a son, you know, a dear boy. He's at school now.'Social classes:

Sophy could refuse Sam’s proposal but not Mr.Twycott’s due to his status. TWYCOTT:

Noone is invited to the wedding ‘ which hardly a soul knew of.’ ‘Mr Twycott knew perfectly well that he had commited social suicide by this step, despite

Sophy’s character, and he had taken his measures accordingly.’ ‘ An exchange of livings had been arranged with an acquaintance who was incumbent of a

church in the south of London’ He tries to educated her ‘her husband had taken much trouble with her education; but she

still held confused ideas on the use of ‘was’ and ‘were’ But he had done it to protect her ‘ It was all on her account.’

‘They were, however, away from every one who had known her former position; and also under less observation from without than they would have had to put up with in any country parish.’ HER SOCIAL BACKGROUNDTreated Sophy like a child ‘ Throughout these changes Sophy had been treated like the child she was in nature though not in years.’

‘ She was left with no control over anything that had been her husband’s beyond her modest personal income.’

‘ In his anxiety lest her inexperience should be overreached he had safeguarded with trustees all he possibly could.’

‘but in what is called culture she was less intuitive.’ Randolph overpowers her because he has a higher status. The reason why Randolph doesn’t respect his mother is probably because he may have seen

Mr.Tywcott shows some reluctance to her mother and her ways or he may not have stopped Randolph when he disrespected her mother. Or their parents loved him so much, they did not teach him morals. Putting him in a public school could have taught him his bad habits.

Randolph ‘ he was reducing their compass to a population of a

few thousand wealthy and titled people, the mere veneer of a thousand million or so of others who did not interest him at all.’

'No, I am not a lady,' she said sadly. 'I never shall be. But he's a gentleman, and that—makes it—O how difficult for me!'

‘He seems to belong so little to me personally, so entirely to his dead father. He is so much educated and I so little that I do not feel dignified enough to be his mother’

‘ If Randolph had not appertained to these, had not centred all his interests in them, had not cared exclusively for the class they belonged to, how happy would things have been!’

‘ He hoped his stepfather would be a gentleman, he said.’

'I am ashamed of you! It will ruin me! A miserable boor! a churl! a clown! It will degrade me in the eyes of all the gentlemen of England!'

Upper class: officials, royalty, nobility Upper middle class: vicar, teachers, doctors, gentlemen Lower middle class: partially cultured clers Working class: laborer, gardener, parlour-maid

Woman and men in the 19 th century:

Sophy also develops the theme of role of women in the 19th century where we see women having no say in their lives. It’s purely determined by the men.

Sam is a gentlemen, realizes the role of men, ready to support Sophy‘ You see, dear Sophy, you don’t know that you’ll stay on; you may want a home, and I shall be ready to offer one some day, though I may not be ready just yet.’

One of the reasons for the tragedy is not just the weak characteristics she has but also because most women are like this delicate and fragile and men wouidn’t treat them properly.

Dominance of men:

- The story begins with a perfectly normal man who views a women who is incapacitated depicting that the women is fragile and cannot control herself and the men make decisions for them.

- Imagery of animal, shows how men saw women. ‘ What a kitten-like, flexuous, tender creature she was!’

- Treated Sophy like a child ‘ Throughout these changes Sophy had been treated like the child she was in nature though not in years.’

- ‘ She was left with no control over anything that had been her husband’s beyond her modest personal income.’

- ‘ In his anxiety lest her inexperience should be overreached he had safeguarded with trustees all he possibly could.’

- Maybe most women were not trusted to do so at this time of the era.

Religious hypocrisy:

Randolph, being a priest, develops the theme of religious hypocrisy since he prohibits his mother from marrying Sam based on his social class which is contrary to the Christian faith where love is the one thing that he should have been advocating for. Also being a priest, he expresses his disgust for Sam based on social class difference which is just hypocritical and an irony of his faith.

  ‘and finally taking her before a little cross and altar that he had erected in his bedroom for his private devotions, there bade her kneel, and swear that she would not wed Samuel Hobson without his consent. 'I owe this to my father!' he said’

No humanity but has become a priest‘while from the mourning coach a young smooth- shaven priest in a high waistcoat looked black as a cloud at the shopkeeper standing there.’

Upbringing and spoilt children:

The reason why Randolph doesn’t respect his mother is probably because he may have seen Mr.Tywcott shows some reluctance to her mother and her ways or he may not have stopped Randolph when he disrespected her mother. Or their parents loved him so much, they did not teach him morals. Putting him in a public school could have taught him his bad habits.

Class consciousness was transferred into him. He was not sympathetic. - ‘Somehow, her boy, with his aristocratic school-knowledge, his grammars, and his aversions, was losing those wide infantine sympathies’

‘he was reducing their compass to a population of a few thousand wealthy and titled people, the mere veneer of a thousand million or so of others who did not interest him at all.’

No respect for mother- ‘and became—in her son's eyes—a mother whose mistakes and origin it was his painful lot as a gentleman to blush for.’

‘ If Randolph had not appertained to these, had not centred all his interests in them, had not cared exclusively for the class they belonged to, how happy would things have been!’

Mother scared of son- ‘Sophy fetched up the sentence that had been already shaped; but she could not get it out.’

Pampered- ‘His mother went up to him, kissed all of his face that she could get at, and patted his back as if he were still the baby he once had been, crying herself the while. ‘

Surrendered to his will 'Say no more—perhaps I am wrong! I will struggle against it!' she cried miserably.’

Moving away from nature:

Hardy believes that happiness lies in the natural world and not the rapid urbanization. He believes that as soon as you leave such a world, you are devoid of happiness.

This is reflected by the fact that Sophy is not happy in London and urban city and longs to come back to her village.

Since she chose an urban existence, that is where her life of torture, misery, denial of wishes and desires began.

This also hints to this theme-‘They had an interest, almost a charm, for Sophy, these semirural people and vehicles moving in an urban atmosphere, leading a life quite distinct from that of the daytime toilers on the same road. 

‘She had occasionally thought of him, and wondered if life in a cottage with him would not have been a happier lot than the life she had accepted.

Thomas’s description: ‘ pretty village’ ‘ abandoning their pretty country home, with trees and shrubs and glebe, for a narrow, dusty

house in a long, straight street, and their dine peal of bells for the wretchedest one-tongued clangour that ever tortured mortal ears.’

‘ vista of sooty trees, hazy air, and drab house-facades’ – Smoke and pollution Wealth and comfort cannot but happiness:

- Sophy’s life was better off without wealth - Sam was much happier than her

Other:

- We come to know about Sophy’s early life through the device of a flash back.

FORESHADOWING:‘ when a tragedy has happened close at hand, and has not happened to the philosophers themselves.’ Interpertation

‘bending forward over the window-sill on the first floor, stretching her eyes far up and down the vista of sooty trees, hazy air, and drab house-facades, along which echoed the noises common to a suburban main thoroughfare.’ – Refers to her sooty, dismal life where there is no hope and it is lonely, so much so echoes can be heard.

‘Taking no exercise, she often could not sleep, and would rise in the night or early morning and look out upon the then vacant thoroughfare, where the lamps stood like sentinels waiting for some procession to go by.’ – The special use of the word ‘sentinels’ could be related to how she is surrounded and controlled by guards such as Randolph.

‘ bastions of cabbages nodding to their fall, yet never falling’- Could refer to her own life and how she is about to break down but she still does not break.

‘creeping along behind aged night-horses, who seemed ever patiently wondering between their hollow coughs why they had always to work at that still hour’ –aged night horses may be making some reference to her .

“the feeble sun shining full upon her.” – refers to her own feeble state. “ever-waiting lamps” – Just like her, the lamps are waiting.

Moving conversation:

Sam’s continuing yearning for her. ‘If you could…’ Sams love is unconditional ‘The lamness…’ Evoking of past memories ‘ notwithstanding that she had served him rather…’ First one-sided love but Sophy returns some of the love. Sophy addresses Sam as ‘dear, dear Sam’ in reply to ‘ dear Sophy’ First gesture of desire –‘putting her hand on his.’ Sophy approves to marriage. Readers feel sympathetic when Sam is made to wait longer. They understand each other . ‘Sam saw her thought and fear.’ Heavily punctuated paragraph Words used for fullest impact- slight heartsinking ‘he pleaded’ continuous longing for Sophy Imagery.Organic ‘ slight heartsinking’ Tactile ‘putting her hand on his’ PUNCTUATION:- Pause: ‘Because I’m not sure- if yoi’d join me.’ - The dots create tension ‘The lameness wouldn’t hinder that… I’d keep as genteel as ever I could,

dear Sophy- if I might think of it!’ - ‘But theres something else. I have a son…’ - ‘He is so much educated and I so little that I don not feel dignified enough to be his mother…

Well, he would have to be told.’ Good line:

Sophy was a poor women and neither the intricate hair she makes or the house in which she lives can hide that.

Questions:

Q: Can the promise of a comfortable life also promise you true happiness? Discuss with reference to Son’s Veto. Q:Can you blame Sophy for choosing the reverend gentleman over Sam?Q“The Son’s Veto” can be seen as a tragedy. Tragic conflicts are the struggles between old and new ideas and the struggles in the tragic hero's mind. What struggle(s) does Sophy endure? Q: Many of Hardy’s works involve pessimism and fatalism (resigning oneself to the belief that all things are fated and that nothing you can do can change that – no agency in life/submission to fate/all things are inevitable). How/where do we see these ideas come forward in “The Son’s Veto”?

Q: Compare and contrast the openings of 'The Son's Veto' by Thomas Hardy, 'Her First Ball' by Katherine Mansfield and 'A Fly in the Ointment' by V.S. Pritchett. - See more at:

Q: Explore Some of the Ways in Which Thomas Hardy Memorabaly Ridicules Prejudice About Social Class in the Sons Veto. What are themes that are reflected through the various characters in the short story "The Son's Veto" by Thomas Hardy?

I am supposed to imagine I am Sam Hobson at the end of "The Son's Veto" by Hardy. How would I write my thoughts as Sam?Posted by yasheerah on March 13, 2012 at 5:37 AM via web and tagged with empathy assignment, end of story, literature, sam hobson's thoughts, the son's veto, thomas hardy1 Answer | add yours

kplhardison

Teacher

eNotes Employee

o Upo 2

o DownTo write an empathetic account of Sam's thoughts as Sophy rolls by, forever out of his reach, you need to focus on the last information we have about his suit for Sophy's hand. You might also want to focus on the quarrel they had when they were young that led to Sophy's being free to accept Twycott's marriage proposal. The last thing we know about Sam and Sophy's conversations occurs after another "four or five long years" has past when he approaches Sophy yet again in all earnestness "with some peremptoriness":

thus the gentle creature [Sophy] reasoned and pleaded till four or five long years had passed. Then the faithful Sam revived his suit with some peremptoriness. Sophy's son, ... [was soon to be] ordained, she argued, ... [and she] would be an encumbrance to him. [...] taking her before a little cross and altar ... [Randolph] bade her kneel, and swear that she would not wed Samuel Hobson ....

Another four years years pass by during which Sophy mummers "Why mayn't I say to Sam that I'll marry him? Why mayn't I?" Then we see "the mourning coach" roll past Sam, hat in hand. He may be thinking of that long ago quarrel of which we know so little:

'Sam Hobson has asked me to marry him, sir.''Well--do you want to marry?''Not much. ....'.... 'I don't want to leave just yet, sir, if you don't wish it. Sam and I have quarrelled.'

We do know Sophy didn't approve of Sam's manners as she scolds him on the night Mrs. Twycott dies: "'No, Sam; you sha'n't!' she cried, putting her hand over his mouth. 'You ought to be more serious on such

a night as this.'" Perhaps Sam made demands of Sophy about her agreeableness after their engagement. Perhaps Sophy made demands of Sam about his behavior. Perhaps they couldn't agree about how they would set up housekeeping. Whatever it was, it made Sophy change her mind from "Not much" to not at all.

With this background and with the more recent events:

Sam might be regretting their long ago quarrel and blaming himself for his youth and foolishness. Sam might be dreaming of the other event that might have occurred, with him in his black suit but

while standing before a priest with Sophy in a brilliant gown, and with his store closed on a work day. Sam might be thinking about what might have occurred in life for him and Sophy, without the

accident that led to her wedding and her crippled state. Sam might be thinking about what he might have done differently to help Sophy assert her rights

before Randolph. Sam might be thinking that Sophy unquestionably loved Randolph more than she loved him. Sam might be thinking that Sophy honored her late husband's memory more than she loved him. Sam might be thinking about how weak Sophy was, lame in both foot and courage.  Sam might be thinking about how empty life in the grocer shop will be. Sam might be thinking about never finding another like Sophy after all these years of weakness and

waiting and loving.To write your assignment, use first person "I / me / my / mine" sentences and speak for Sam. Choose what you suppose he is thinking about and speak his thoughts for him. The list of suggestions above might spur some thoughts. The last moments he had with Sophy and the pivotal early moments he had with her will be part of his thoughts and part of what you speak about. Example: I always thought I would be standing here in pride on my wedding day, having won my Sophy at last. I freeze when my thoughts turn to the ill-fated youthful quarrel that lost her to me ... forever.

How does Thomas Hardy convey the sadness in character's lives in "The Son's Veto"?One way Hardy conveys the sadness in his characters' lives is by describing what they did and did not do. Another way is by what characters say to each other and what reactions they give to comments directed at them.When Sophy is inexcusably chastised by her son after the concert, Sophy meekly accepts the reprimand then, instead of keeping up her amiable chatter (albeit chatter in a country dialect instead of in Standard English), they progress in silence. This passage shows Sophy's sadness by showing what Sophy did (meekly accept) and what she did not do(retaliate and reprimand her son:

[Sophy] did not resent his making [the comment], or retaliate, as she might well have done, by bidding him to wipe that crumby mouth of his, whose condition had been caused by surreptitious attempts to eat a piece of cake...

After she tells Randolph about her intention to marry Sam, Randolph explodes in a state of fury at the idea. Sophy immediately responds to his fury by being cowed and submissive. This passage shows her sadness by showing what Randolph said and Sophy's reaction (punctuation gives great clues to the characters' emotional state): Randolph exploded in angry remarks; Sophy reacted by becoming fearful and submissive, doubting her feelings and choices:

    It was long before Randolph would reply, and when he did it was to say sternly at her...: 'I am ashamed of you! It will ruin me! A miserable boor! a churl! a clown! It will degrade me in the eyes of all

the gentlemen of England!'       'Say no more—perhaps I am wrong! I will struggle against it!' she cried miserably.

CHow does Hardy portray the female character, Sophy, with reference to time and place in "The Son's Veto"?The character of Sophy is developed in terms of her relations with her setting and also in particular her son. As she was raised through marriage to a middle-class life from her humbler working-class origins, she spends her life consciously aware of how she still bears marks of her roots. Her son, for example, is shamed to have to correct her spelling and grammar. However, after the death of her husband, Sophy finds herself trapped in a middle-class universe where she feels profoundly estranged from herself and who she really feels she is. Note how her life is described following the death of her husband:

Her life became insupportably dreary; she could not take walks, and had no interest in going for drives, or, indeed, in travelling anywhere. Nearly two years passed without an event, and still she looked on that suburban road, thinking of the village in which she had been born, and whither she would have gone back—O how gladly!—even to work in the fields.

She is only left to think fondly of her life in the village and the many happy memories she has of how carefree and at ease she was with herself, compared to the profound disease that she experiences now. It is clear that the social rise of Sophy has only brought her sadness, and this sadness is intensified by the distance that seems to be growing every day between herself and her son, as he rises up even further the social ladder and becomes more and more ashamed of his mother.

tempaccount2

Honors

Up

3 Down

Topics: Thomas Hardy, The Son's Veto

In "The Son's Veto," what sorts of things might Sophy think after Randolph makes her swear not to marry Sam? What thoughts might she write?Posted by tempaccount2 on March 10, 2013 at 5:17 PM via web and tagged with character analysis, literature, sophy, the son's veto, thomas hardy, thought after promise to not marry2 Answers | add yours

kplhardison

Teacher

eNotes Employee

o Upo 3

o DownAs in all literary questions, our ideas of what Sophy might think and write must be guided by the text and may be guided by what we know of the author's aesthetic theory, specifically the author's aims and objectives in expressing themes and characterizations.One important part of Hardy's aim and objective is to expose his belief that life is ordered by a combination of accident, coincidence and luck. Aside from the advantages of birth and wealth, Hardy didn't find the workings of an overarching Fate or Providence in the events and circumstances of life (though there may be said to be some inconsistencies in his presentation of this aesthetic). As a result, Hardy would characterize Sophy through (1) thoughts and writing that would reflect accidental occurrences, coincidences and the influence of luck, either good or bad.Textual evidence for what Sophy in fact did think after Randolph made her swear is scant. There are four references that might enlighten us before "[s]ome four years" pass and Sophy's funeral procession leads to her final resting place past a lonely, miserably mournful but lovingly faithful Sam. One of these four references to her thoughts tell us that at first she was hopeful that completion of Randolph's education and ordination as a minister of God (ironic, that) would cause him to change his mind or simply forget or neglect Sophy's plight. (2) Her thoughts and what she might have written would reflect this hope.

[Sophy was] thinking he would soften as soon as he was ordained and in full swing of clerical work.

Another reference tells us that it was not to be the case that Randolph might soften (on the contrary, he hardened his heart more) and, as a result of her increasing confinement, Sophy became worseningly lame and increasingly despondent.

Her lameness became more confirmed as time went on, and she seldom or never left the house 

she seemed to be pining her heart away.

Finally, in her increasing despair and lonely submission, she seems to have gone a little distracted since we are told that she mutters the same sad questions over and over to herself when no one is around to hear.

'Why mayn't I say to Sam that I'll marry him? Why mayn't I?' she would murmur plaintively to herself

(3) Sophy's thoughts and writing might very well express (a) what might have helped her lameness from worsening, (b) what she might have longed to do, and, eventually, (c) further aimless repetitions.While eNotes does not do assignments for students, I can give you a brief suggestion of what she might have written if we put all these considerations together:

It was only coincidence and an accident that led me to marry the vicar. Had Sam not been so insistent and had we not quarreled and had I not fallen, things would have been different. Randolph will soften his heart after his ordination and see that his poor mother cannot disgrace him if I'm tucked away in a quiet little village. Would that I could ride with Sam in the air again.

Compare and contrast how the relationship between parent and child is portrayed in "The Son's Veto" by Thomas Hardy, and V.S. Pritchett's "The Fly in the Ointment."Posted by heatrider986 on June 20, 2011 at 1:18 AM via web and tagged with compare and contrast, literature, short story, son and parent relationship, the fly in the ointment, the son's veto, thomas hardy, v. s. pritchett3 Answers | add yours

amiino

Student

Grade 11

eNoter

eNoter

o Upo 2

o Downthe parent/child realationship in ''tsv'' & the ''fino'' is potrayed by an inbalance in power, one-sided love & abuse.the parent/child relationship is weak due to the children having control over there parent!in the 'tsv' randolph has power over sophy because she obays his rules & she loves him too much th refuse. in the 'fino' harold has the power over the father due to the father's bankrup & lose of money his son harold has money.

there is an inbalance in power in both poems. in 'tsv' randolph has the power over sophy. he has the power over because she loves him toom much to say a word to him! when sophy wanted to get married to sam but she took randolph's opinion first but he refused, horrified that his reputation as a 'higher class person' would be ruined so he refused sophy to marry sam and made her swear not to marry him without his approval.in the 'fino' it's the oposite where the child harold has power over the father! he has the power due to the father's bankrup because he has money while his father is broke...so the father is in need for money to re-start his business & his son has that money but he doesn't know until the end.that's how there is an inbalance of power in both poems.

one-sided love is shown in both poems.in the 'tsv' sophy loves her son, randolph while he doesn't love her back. this is shown in the story when randolph made his mum swear to god never to marry sam without his approval & ignoring her happiness & thinking about himself and his 'class'. she accepted because she loves him & she wants his happiness over hers.in the 'fino' harold loves his father where he saw the father's will to change into being a better person & not a money freak...when he wanted to live neat the beach so he offered him money but the father doesn't love him & doesn't appreciate his concern he rather started questioning him about the money & when he could re-start is business & not to live in a hut! that's how one-sided love is potrayed in both poems.

abuse is showen in both poems as well.in 'tsv' randolph abuses his mother, sophy.sophy got abused by her son, randolph when he made her swear & not only swear but on her knees not to marry sam without his approval. in the 'fino' the father abuses his son, harold by telling him that he doesn't make alot of money & this should have been his concern in life , that education will not do anything useful to him &

making fun of him for being a poorly paid lecturer in a universty. that is how abuse is shown in both poems.

overall both stories the children have the power over there parents, either if it's by love weakens the person or  the power of money. love is shown different in both stories in the the 'tsv' love is shown by the parent not the child  it's totally the oposite in the 'fino' where the love is given by the child not the father, either if it's if it's becaus over control weakens the love or love for money. abuse is shown in 'tsv' by the son over the mother & in the 'fino' the father abuses his son either if it's by action or words.

Posted by amiino on November 25, 2011 at 7:47 PM (Answer #1)

booboosmoosh

High School Teacher

(Level 3) Educator Emeritus

o Upo 0

o DownThomas Hardy's, "The Son's Veto," and "The Fly in the Ointment" by V.S. Pritchett both tell stories of a young man and his parent. However, the role each "boy" assumes in the story is very different.

In "The Son's Veto," the young man's mother married his father—an older man. She had worked for him in his country house; she was below his station, but she had been injured while caring for his home, to the extent that she would never be able to walk and earn her keep. They marry and have a son who grows to be a snob. When his father dies and his mother is left alone—as her son spends barely any time with her...always away at school, etc.—she meets a man who had once loved her. As a widow, she is free and can marry and find happiness. However, when her son finds out, he refuses to allow her to marry someone so "low," fearing for his own reputation. He forces her to promise she will never marry without his consent. Ultimately, she dies waiting.

In "The Fly in the Ointment," Harold goes to visit his father at his place of business. His father has gone bankrupt and his son feels he should be there with his father during this painful transition of leaving everything he has known for thirty years behind.

The old man is not a very nice person. Pritchett describes their meeting in the old man's office.

"Come in, Professor," said the father. This was an old family joke. He despised his son, who was, in fact, not a professor but a poorly paid lecturer at a provincial university.

As they visit, the old man speaks of the mistakes he has made: the biggest was making money the most important thing in his life. However, as the old man speaks, his son notices that he has two "faces."

...the son noticed for the first time that like all big-faced men his father had two faces. There was the outer face like a soft warm and careless daub of innocent sealing-wax and inside it, as if thumbed there by a seal, was a much smaller one, babyish, shrewd, scared and hard.

Harold is slightly put off by what he sees, but tries to encourage his dad. While his father has the "big face" on, he is cheerful, making the best of things. It seems that when the "small face" comes out, he becomes critical of his son. However, throughout, we feel that his father is ready to retire having learned

an important life-lesson, seeing his mistakes for what they were. Toward the end of the story, Harold tells his father that had it been possible, he would have found some way to raise money to save the business. Swiftly, like a hawk scooping up a gentle mouse, the old man turns on his son (with the small face)—forgetting all he has said about learning a lesson, ignoring the fact that he despises his son, he demands:

Why didn't you tell me before you could raise money? How can you raise it? Where? By when?

The only things these stories have in common is that there are two young men and each has a parent, and in each story, there is one character who cares for the other, while the first character has no regard for the other, caring only for self. There is one similarity between the stories. Whereas the young man in "The Son's Veto" cares nothing for his mother who has loved him with deep devotion her entire life, Harold (in "The Fly in the Ointment") is the one who shows concern...for his father—an old man who has despised him...but not the money the thinks his son might bring him.Topic: The Son's Veto

How is disappointment portrayed in Hardy's "The Son's Veto" and Pritchett's "The Fly in the Ointment?"There are several kinds of disappointment in Hardy's "The Son's Veto" and Pritchett's "The Fly in the Ointment."

In Hardy's tale, Sophy's son is disappointed in his mother—shown first as impatience. By degrees, it becomes very harsh—like the son.

'He have been so comfortable these last few hours that I am sure he cannot have missed us,' she replied.

'_Has_, dear mother--not _have_!' exclaimed the public-school boy, with an impatient fastidiousness that was almost harsh. 'Surely you know that by this time!'

Later, Sophy's son expresses his embarrassment. 

I am ashamed of you! It will ruin me!...It will degrade me in the eyes of all the gentlemen of England!

When Sophy's son becomes an adult, his disappointment in his mother's inferior status (in his eyes) has become a kind of disgust and obstinance. Concerned more about himself, he refuses to let Sophy pursue her own happiness; it would seem he believes himself so superior that he shows her no respect whatsoever as a son should for his mother.

…finally taking her before a little cross and altar that he had erected in his bedroom for his private devotions, there bade her kneel, and swear that she would not wed Samuel Hobson without his consent.

Sophy's disappointment appears much differently. She cries when her son expresses his shame over her. She backs down from her wishes for happiness. And while she does persist a while in approaching the subject, her son finally stops her in her tracks by forcing her to promise before God that she will—in essence—obey him. An oath before God is not one Sophy would break. It does not take long until she just dies—while her son harbors a secret anger over her wish to find happiness with a shopkeeper—a man of her station when she was a young woman.

...from the mourning coach a young smooth-shaven priest in a high waistcoat looked black as a cloud at the shop keeper standing there.

In Pritchett's short story, the father shows his disappointment in a stoic fashion. His business is going under and his son comes to offer his moral support. The father explains...

'We've cleared everything up. They got most of the machines out today. I'm just locking up and handing over. Locking up is quite a business...Worrying? You keep on using that word. I'm not worrying. Things are fine,' said the old man, smiling aggressively. 'I feel they're fine. I know they're fine!'

The father does his best to show a nonchalance he does not feel about the business. However, he also never indicates that he feels responsible for his company's failure.

However, the man's biggest disappointment is in his son.

‘Come in, Professor,’ said the father. This was an old family joke. He despised his son, who was, in fact, not a professor but a poorly paid lecturer at a provincial university.

In light of how the father feels, it is puzzling that the old man is so cordial to his son—who is disappointed that he cannot do more. 

I'm not rich. None of us is...we can't do anything...well, if it is ever a question of—well, to be frank, cash, I'd raise it somehow.

How unfortunate for the son to remind his father of the reason for his disappointment...except the word "cash" changes everything for the father:

'Raise it?' said the old man sharply. 'Why didn't you tell me before you could raise money? How can you raise it? Where? By when?'

Obviously, the father can get over his "disappointment" if his son has money—for money matters more than anything to this father.

Relationships -The Fly in the Ointment by V.S. Pritchett

Disappointment- The Son’s Veto, Her First Ball, They Fly in the Ointment