The Withered Arm

The Withered Arm is a short story written by Thomas Hardy, originally published in 1888. The story is set in the rural countryside of Wessex, England, and follows the life of a young farmer named Rhoda Brook. Rhoda is a single mother who lives in poverty and works hard to support herself and her son. She is haunted by a dream in which she sees a beautiful young woman who becomes her rival for the affections of a man named Farmer Lodge.As the story progresses, Rhoda becomes increasingly jealous of the woman in her dreams and begins to believe that she is a real person. She becomes convinced that the woman is the reason why Farmer Lodge has become distant and cold towards her. In a desperate attempt to rid herself of her rival, Rhoda seeks the help of a local witch who tells her to touch the woman's arm with a piece of wood. Rhoda follows the witch's instructions, but the woman's arm withers and becomes disfigured.The story then takes a tragic turn as it is revealed that the woman is actually Farmer Lodge's wife, Gertrude. Gertrude's withered arm becomes a physical manifestation of the guilt and shame she feels for having married a man who is beneath her social status. She becomes increasingly isolated and depressed, and eventually dies from her emotional and physical suffering.The Withered Arm is a powerful exploration of the themes of jealousy, guilt, and social class. It is a haunting and tragic tale that showcases Hardy's skill as a writer and his ability to create vivid and compelling characters.She did nothing for months, and patiently bore her disfigurement as before. But her woman's nature, craving for renewed love, through the medium of renewed beauty (she was but twenty-five), was ever stimulating her to try what, at any rate, could hardly do her any harm. 'What came by a spell will go by a spell surely, ' she would say. Whenever her imagination pictured the act she shrank in terror from the possibility of it: then the words of the conjuror, 'It will turn your.blood, ' were seen to be capable of a scientific no less than a ghastly interpretation; the mastering desire returned, and urged her on again.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original wor