How does social prejudice affect the lives of the characters in The Withered Arm and other
The Withered Arm and other Wessex Tales by Thomas Hardy deals with social prejudice and looks at the lives of lower and upper class people. ... He believes that fate is the cause of social prejudice because one cannot decide whether he or she wants to be born into a rich and poor family, it all depends on fate. All of Hardy’s short stories in this book like, The Withered Arm and The Son’s Veto are set in a part of South West England which he called Wessex. ... Hardy uses themes like superstition among the lower classes, jealousy (the lower class are jealous of the upper class) and betrayal to show social prejudice. In The Withered Arm social prejudice exists even before the story starts. ... We know that they had an affair because the other milkers at the dairy said “He ha’n’t spoke to Rhoda Brook for years” referring to Farmer Lodge suggesting that he had something to do with her. ... Since the upper class are not supposed to associate with the lower class Lodge abandons them and does not even try to speak to them privately or try to help them by giving them money, food, clothes, etcetera. ... He ignored them because he was afraid that if anyone found out it would ruin his social status. This shows us social prejudice. ... This shows us social prejudice. ... ” This shows us that social prejudice exists because the lower class is jealous of the upper class and so they want to be better than the upper class in anyway possible. ... Due to this gesture and because of Gertrude’s pressure she held Gertrude’s left arm and ‘whirled it backward to the floor, starting herself as she did so with a low cry.