Isolated figures denied Essay

Isolated figures denied the fulfilment they crave by forces that pop outs to conspire against them. To what extent is this true of the characters lives from your understanding of The drab Hussar of the German Legion? This short accounting is based on deuce eff triangles, at the apex of both being Phyllis, a withdraw young woman who lives alone with her pay indorse, a failed doctor in an apart(p) farmhouse later on-school(prenominal) Weymouth. It is described as an obscure is get nook which encapsulates the fact that there was no fresh work for the failed doctor, Phyllis vex. ace day Richard Gould, a failed businessman, turns up at her door and after a short courtship asks for her pay in marriage. The preceptor immediately accepts this offer as he gets the r eveue stamp that Gould is of higher social status than him and as the sole benefactor he would profit from their marriage. However, his intentions were well made and although convenient, Goulds act had forced her fa ther into a mistaken calculation. In his pursuit of illusions, he misses several(prenominal) menstruations, much(prenominal) as the fact he had made her fathers acquaintanceship before he made hers, giving the impression that he was smell in desperation for a bride.patronage of first impressions, Gould is, in fact, scurvy as a crow besides he gives an impression of having ground level status. The marriage arrangements were not based on love unless were obviously a convenience, which results in it being for material security rather than a romantic affair. Gould is whence forced to leave to for Bath, an excuse about his father covering up his pecuniary condition leaving Phyllis bemused. The date of his retrovert passed and winter arrived.This change of season is a metaphor, which represents the colour of Phyllis mood, described straight as lonely in the extreme as she had no experience of why her husband to be had retard his return. The change back to origin represents a change in Phyllis fortunes. Although Gould had kept in contact with her by means of regular yet formal letters, there was still an uncertainty in her condition. Phyllis loyalty except did not waver, which is meant to represent the passivity of women at that clipping in a male-dominated society. At this change, however, a modernistic influence invades her life, which supercharged all youthful thought with emotional enkindle.This is the presence of the York Hussars, a armament regiment taken from Germany to serve in Britain. They were renowned for their distant air and mustachios which drew crowds of spectators wherever they travelled which shows Hardys unmixed eye for detail that appears eon again without the story. Phyllis was sitting on top of a environ at the base of her garden, app bently a favourite spot for her from childhood, when she sees an alien figure walk up the path. One of the soldiers from the Hussars camped costlyby was walking up the path, with the ma nner of someone who wishes to escape accompany.He is in contrast to the splendid men who usually are the visual bird-scarer to the Hussars and it seems as though this soldier wished to escape the rigours of military life. The soldier notices Phyllis on the jetty, who was dressed in white raiment typically the colour of innocence and inexperience. She is c quickivated by him and falls in love at first sight. after(prenominal) a few days of this they trigger off talking. She finds out his name is Matthaus Tina and how he was forcibly removed from his alkali to touch base the army and had quickly reached the rank of corporal.He was well educated and had in brief proved himself in the strongly class-based society of the army. These interviews occurred on a periodic basis soon the conversation spread to his life at home and his longing for his mother. Hardy introduces a scholarly influence by analyze her pity of him to that of Desdemona, a character from Othello, a catastrophe by Shakespeare. This is an apt comparison, as the piece itself will eventually turn into a tragedy full of mistaken judgements, well-intentioned actions and undeserved misfortune.The wall is a metaphor for the boundary between them it is described as being in disrepair, which indicates the precarious base for their romance and the lack of unity. All through the story this wall re of imports between them until finally when Phyllis attempts to break free. She learns that although the regiment appears happy in fact it was pervaded by a dreadful melancholy powered by a longing for the return for their home showing a mise en scene of natural prejudice. This need was driven for a hatred of their face officers and English attitude in general.Matthaus is said to suffer one of the worst from this home-woe and Phyllis pities him but still declined any form of physical contact or even permit him to cross the boundary line of the wall. Coincidentally cuttings reached Phyllis of Gould thro ugh the village of how he only had a half-understanding of their current arrangements and that it was still not finalised. Now as this was still a rumour, it would be indecent of Dr. woodlet to approach Gould but it overshadowed all previous thoughts of marriage. This rumour was also indorse up with the fact that Goulds letters had be numerate more infrequent.Phyllis perfume sank inwardly her as she recognised the fact that her engagement had develop to nothing. Despite of this father had noticed her attachment to Matthaus, he warned her not to go outside the boundary in her purpose of pursuing him, effectively making her a prison houseer of her own home. However, she had no intention of leaving the garden however and the meetings continued as before. Then one evening an unforeseen shot destroyed her plans said to be decided by fate. She had been delayed by come about and Matthaus waited at the gate for her.The condemnation he was collectible back in camp came and went but s till he stayed. When she finally met him he was extremely late and on his return she heard that he had been stripped of his rank. The tragic consequence of this was that the chances of her father letting her marry him if Gould did not materialise had been slim but now they were practically nil. It was at this flow that she makes one of the greatest decisions of her life. Matthaus had suggested that he was planning an escape from the army with several close companions and return to Germany and his mother.At first she seems amazed but then uncertainty steps in I fear I am ruining you and your prospects. However eventually she was persuaded but questions their route to freedom and how they protrude to achieve it. Their scheme included stealing a boat and product across the channel to France. Here they would hike to Germany using their army earnings to buy food and shelter. He asks to meet her serious off the alley (symbolical of a turning point in her life) from where they shoul d flee. He tells her that a patron of his, Christoph would also join them along with two others not named but who detest British authority.Coincidentally when she re move home, however, she found out that her father had spotted her with Matthaus. A confrontation occurred but her father had already decided she should go to her aunts to resist the temptation. He had still not given up faith on Gould, as he believed it was in best interest for her to marry him showing a paternal domination of his family. Her heart died within her as she heard this news and the house became want a prison to Phyllis, so she let her mind fly to the prospects of Matthaus scheme. Her confidence in Matthaus was fulfilled.On her return, she arranged to meet him at a junction off the main passage the following week and when the time arose she waited just off the road hidden in a position where she could see any passers-by. The symbolic junction of the main road represents another turning point in Phyllis l ife where she has an option of which path to choose. She then hears a carriage come down the hill and stop nearby and as fate would throw it Humphrey Gould, long awaited, stepped out. The carriage came down the hill as though Gould was grueling himself to Phyllis, in terms of class status.He talked to the driver about a present he had bought for Phyllis and he admits to treating her rather badly. In a rush of indecisiveness, Phyllis tries to make up her mind should she be loyal to her father and Gould and return home or follow her instincts and leave to a new life. This again represents Phyllis lack of decisive action and passivity of women at that time and this concept is repeated several times throughout the story. At this point Matthaus climbs over the gate behind her and presses her to his breast.This is the first time that the figurative boundary of the wall has not divided them in their relationship. Phyllis left with them and after a long night of travelling to the coast t hey meet with the friend, Christoph, just before sunrise. At this point Phyllis makes her final decision and they separate for the delay time on a hill overlooking the sea, dooming their relationship itself a metaphor as the sea represents freedom and this is simply describing how close she has come yet as it is dark she is still blind to it, her future an uncertainty.After she returns to her house, she finds Gould with an expensive gift a looking glass which won Phyllis marvel and until that point she had regretted leaving Matthaus. However, things were to take a turn for the worse tragically after Matthaus had left. She finds out that whilst he had been away he had met a new lady, who would be a much better choice as she came from the akin upper class terra firma as Gould yet another case of class distinction which was obviously very powerful at that time.This shows how the respect of money dictates Goulds priorities. It is an irony that she finds this out on that day, as s he would then not have hesitated to run away with Matthaus. Phyllis was shocked at this because she viewed Gould as a person who would confide every last detail of verity with her judging by the information in his letters. She retreated to the only taper where she could be alone the old wall-where she dreams about what her life could have been like had she taken the other route. One morning those dreams are brought to an abrupt halt.On a morning described as being broke in fog and mist behind which the faint outlines of tents and the camp were visible from the wall and this is against the permanence and regularity of the natural landscape. The mood is also set in an almost slow-time as Hardy describes in minute detail the landscape, such(prenominal) as every blade of grass was weighted with little well-fixed globes, an image captivating the idealistic morning. As she watched in melancholy devotion she sees a procession led by an English colonel, who represents the cultural back ground of Anglo German hostilities.Two prisoners are led in front of a firing squad, clearly Matthaus and Christoph. After a prayer, they were executed in front of the entire regiment and their bodies ordered to be turned out of their coffins as an example to the men by the English Colonel, resented by the men. Tragically it turned out that they had stolen the boat as planned, and at first sight of land thought it was France and went ashore. It turned out it was Guernsey and the men were arrested and sent back to England so it was ironic that this mission that this mission seemed doomed to failure.It was simply undeserved misfortune they had arrived in the wrong place and a fault in navigation. On arrest, they had sacrificed themselves for the two other comrades by claiming to be ringleaders. Whilst the others had received a flogging, the punishment for desertion was death and so this order was carried out. As a consequence Phyllis symbolically died of a broken heart and was buried near where the two men lie. The idea of the love triangles that was stated at the jump off of this essay are the heart of the story.At the centre of both is Phyllis but on one is Gould and Dr. Grove her father. On the second is Matthaus and his mother, who Phyllis longs to be with. This story is an example of the number of external factors that can shape peoples destinies in life. It shows how chance events, such as Phyllis sitting on the wall at the time of Matthaus arrival along with tragic circumstances that arise, can affect the socio-economic class of change. The idea is that we are powerless to control our destiny, and seeming coincidences may appear to be pre-ordained but fate is out of our control.