The Role of the Supernatural in Thomas Hardys Writing :: Biography Biographies Essays

The map of the Supernatural in doubting Thomas Hardys WritingAs a child, Thomas Hardy heard various stories of preternatural occurrences from the family servants, rustics from the village, and his own mother who believed she at once saw a ghost. Thus, Hardy learned to believe in the supernatural and to accept the irrational ways of the rustic people. During an oppugn with William Archer, Hardy expressed, when I was a younger man, I would cheerfully have given x years of my life to see a ghost, - an authentic, indubitable spectre. Because of the superstitious influence of his upbringing and his own desire to believe, elements of weirdness, bigotry, and witching(prenominal) play an kindle role in Hardys works. Specifically, Hardy incorporated aspects of superstition and witchcraft into his writings. much(prenominal) elements provide the indorser with an understanding of how Hardy perceived his world. Many subatomic aspects of superstition exist within the writings of Hardy. In Return of the Native, the reader is introduced to Diggory Venn, the Reddleman. A reddleman unearths red clay which is used as a colour for sheeps wool. Because the reddleman works so much with this substance, his skin takes on a red hue and thus, red associating him with the devil, he becomes the boogeyman of the rustic people. Other examples of superstition include the evil eye, the magic of a sixpence, and dairy witchcraft. In his 1901 interview with Archer, Hardy stated that The belief in the evil eye subsists in full force. Johnny Nunsuch of The Return of the Native felt safe as he carried his sixpence because the coin was supposed to bring good wad and protect against witchcraft. Johnny becomes frightened when he happens upon Diggory Venn, the Reddleman, because the child realizes that he has lost(p) his guardian sixpence. The country people held many superstitions regarding the production of milk and cheese. The magic that these superstitions are based on is known as dairy witchcraft. For example, in Tess of the dUrbervilles after Tess arrives at Talbothays, the cows cease to produce milk. The milkers blame this inexplicable phenomena on the newcomer, believing that the milk went directly to the horns of the cows. They thus resort to melody as a device to start the cows milking again. Hardy uses slight witch imagery when describing his strong female characters because, according to Gayla Steel, he is conceal his examination of their independence and sexuality within these images.