Withered Arm example essay topic

In the short stories 'turned' by charlotte Perkins the withered arm' Thomas Hardy there are many similes and differences between the two. In 'the withered arm' which is about a lonely woman named Rhoda who has a disturbing dream about her intense jealously of her friend Gertrude, "the figure thrust forward its left hand mockingly, so as to make the wedding ring it wore glitter in Rhoda's eyes". In Rhoda's dream, she "seized the confronting spectre by its obtrusive left arm, and whirled it backwards to the floor". this results in Gertrude having a withered arm, which she refuses to tell her husband about. She tries all sorts of treatment to cure it and nothing works, so she goes to Conjuror Trendle who tells her to put the arms on the neck of a freshly hung person. When Gertrude enters the room to do this, Rhoda is in there with her husband Farmer Lodge, it was her unnecessary son that was hung. Gertrude and Farmer Lodge both die also.

There are many situations between the four women in the poems 'The withered arm' and 'turned'. In 'turned' Gert a is young uneducated servant who is a foreigner from Sweden; she gets spoken to like a child, she gets influenced very easy to have sex with Mr. Marrone r because he disguised it as friendship, what was she supposed to do when she is to obedient how was she to refuse? She was powerless and he gave he $50 as if she was a prostitute but yet it also could be to help her, shows he might be giving her some responsibility. Whereas Rhoda in 'The withered arm's he is an older lady who is poorly educated but yet she did have some education her job is as milk maid she only acquires money for her basics. She is in a historical battle between the rich and the poor.

She is in a very vulnerable position no men to look after Her reputation is important is this time, if a girl was sexually active outside of a marriage they would be highly criticised for not being a virgin until marriage, but men on the other hand were allowed even encouraged to have sex. This is how Rhoda is an outsider she has a illegitimate son but she all so chooses to be an outsider, maybe she chooses to be to keep her self respect and to exclude her self from society to show she is in control. Gertrude is a high class lady, she had an education 'in her school girl time she would have ridiculed as Polly', in 1819 most women did not received any education due to them not being considered to need it, Due to her education she initially rejects conjure trendle 'how could my people be so superstitions as to recommend a man of that sort! I thought they meant someone off a medical nature' this shows she believe in science she also says 'my people' which suggest that she is rich and she owns poor people. Her finical status was wealthy from having two farms which she lets out, that are where all the wealth came from in the 1819's. Which compared to marion in 'turned..