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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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"Two On A Tower" is a tale of [[star-crossed]] love in which Hardy sets the emotional lives of his two lovers against the background of the stellar universe. The unhappily married Lady Constantine breaks all the rules of social decorum when she falls in love with Swithin St. Cleeve, an astronomer who is ten years her junior. Her husband's death leaves the lovers free to marry, but the discovery of a legacy forces them apart. This is Hardy's most complete treatment of the theme of love across the class and age divide and the fullest expression of his fascination with science and astronomy. |
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The plot concerns two – literally [[starcrossed]] – lovers: Swithin St. Cleeve, a very young amateur astronomer, and Viviette Constantine, an unhappily married and abandoned woman 8 or 9 years his senior (ref. p38). Each night Swithin climbs the old tower of the title, in the grounds of the Constantine estate. Lady Constantine, whose husband has been absent some years on an extended hunting and exploring journey to Africa, joins the young man in his stargazing, and supports his astronomical ambitions by buying him equipment, though his dreams of scientific renown are disappointed. The couple [[secret marriage|marry in secret]], after having been told of Sir Blount Constantine’s death in Africa. They discover to their horror that the wedding is formally bigamous, as he was still alive at the time of the vows, but maintain the secret to preserve a legacy to Swithin. He goes abroad to pursue his studies, but unknown to both of them leaves her pregnant; to avoid giving birth to an [[illegitimacy|illegitimate child]] she weds an aging bishop, who also soon dies. On his return several years later, Swithin finds Viviette and their child atop the tower. Swithin discovers that his feelings for Viviette have changed from "lover's love" to "loving kindness" but offers to wed her nonetheless. In a melodramatic finale, the shock proves too much for her overtaxed heart and as Tabitha Lark, a younger village girl, approaches below, Viviette falls dead. |
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==Background== |
==Background== |
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Revision as of 08:22, 22 August 2010
| Author | Thomas Hardy |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
Publication date | 1882 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | |
| ISBN | NA Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
Two on a Tower (1882) is a novel by English author Thomas Hardy, classified by him as a romance and fantasy and now regarded as one of his minor works. The book is one of Hardy’s Wessex novels, set in a parallel version of late Victorian Dorset.
Plot
"Two On A Tower" is a tale of star-crossed love in which Hardy sets the emotional lives of his two lovers against the background of the stellar universe. The unhappily married Lady Constantine breaks all the rules of social decorum when she falls in love with Swithin St. Cleeve, an astronomer who is ten years her junior. Her husband's death leaves the lovers free to marry, but the discovery of a legacy forces them apart. This is Hardy's most complete treatment of the theme of love across the class and age divide and the fullest expression of his fascination with science and astronomy.
Background
In the 1895 preface Hardy writes, "The scene of the action was suggested by two real spots in the part of the country specified, each of which has a column standing upon it. Certain surrounding peculiarities have been imported into the narrative from both sites." Wimborne was the location of the village of “Warborne”, and Charborough Housewas the location of the “Welland House” in Two on a Tower.[1]
Hardy's intention, in his own words, was to "set the emotional history of two infinitesimal lives against the stupendous background of the stellar universe".[2]
Reaction
Upon release the book was called shocking, repulsive, and one critic called it Hardy's "worst yet"[3]. Hardy's biographer, Claire Tomalin, says Hardy was "writing for serialization, which drove him to pack in far too much plot, and that he wrote too fast, without time to think or reconsider.[4] It is possible that Hardy intended to produce some sort of shock value in the book's promotion by suggesting an advertisement pointing out the age difference between the lovers and the lady's "desperate coup d'audace involving a bishop".
See also
Notes
- ^ Letter from Hardy to Bertram Windle, transcribed by Birgit Plietzsch, from CL, vol 2, pp 131-133
- ^ [From Hardy's 1895 preface to the book]
- ^ Tomalin, Claire. "Thomas Hardy." New York: Penguin, 2007.
- ^ Tomalin, Claire. "Thomas Hardy." New York: Penguin, 2007.
References
External links
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