The withered arm In the story of ‘The Withered Arm’, there are four main characters: Rhoda who is a milkmaid, Gertrude who is Farmer Lodge’s new wife, Farmer Lodge who owns the farmhouse and the Son whose parents are Rhoda and Farmer Lodge. At the beginning of the story Rhoda becomes pregnant and soon after splits up with Farmer Lodge. She is outcast because people think she is a witch. Then eight years have …showed first 75 words of 636 total…

…showed last 75 words of 636 total…as they cannot imagine themselves in the book. He uses adjectives very well; throughout ‘The Withered Arm’, if he did not do this the story would become very boring. Good examples of his use of adjectives are when he describes Gertrude. Hardy calls Gertrude, ‘Soft and evanescent, like the light under a heap of rose-petals’, if he had just said pretty it would have meant the same thing but not have created the same atmosphere.