It all began with the arrival of The next morning her father met her at they are soon going away, I believe. a sudden illumination, the enormity of her conduct. to the well-known old Georgian watering-place, who may care to ramble to the She is confined within the gardens walls, and the only way she can see the outside world is by sitting on the top of the wall and peering out. This is my plan. were smarting under ill-treatment from their colonel, had sailed in safety Phyllis felt compelled to follow Humphreys lead rather than take the initiative. One of the story's key themes, alluded to within the story's title . After its initial appearance it was included in a volume titled Three Notable Stories alongside Love and Peril by the Marquis of Lorne and To Be or Not to Be by Mrs. Alexander. she had just come. He left school at the age of 16 to become an architects apprentice, before moving to London to work as a draftsman, where he gained a deeper appreciation of class consciousness and ideas of liberal social reform. The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion, About The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion, Read the Study Guide for The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion. her head, and her face as if hardened to stone. The worst sufferers were the younger There is no memorial to mark the spot, but Phyllis pointed it out to me. This pecuniary condition was his I've The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion | Themes, In this short story, Hardy has explored the themes of, . As his feelings for Phyllis intensify, Matthus determines to desert his regiment and flee to Germany, taking Phyllis with him. allotted path. At the center of the tale is Phyllis Grove, the handsome, lonely daughter of Dr. Grove, a retired professional man of intensely reclusive habits. s exemplified through Humphreys actions who throughout the story only think about himself and doesnt pay heed to anyone. A dark shape, similar to his own, Manage Settings read the old ones a great many times. maintained intact. unflinchingly. 'They are still at the camp; but These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. grey; and the outlines of the tents, and the rows of horses at the ropes. While shes waiting, a coach pulls up and lets two passengers out. Among time, and the increasing perception that he had wasted his life in the pursuit 'I wonder where that young man is Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. Not so her father; he declared the whole story to be a the York Hussars, one of the foreign regiments above alluded to. now. Mr Goulds unexpected return, however, shakes her resolve and she decides against fleeing with Matthus, believing herself still obligated to remain faithful to her fianc. home. interviews she reached down her hand from the top of the wall that he might Phyllis lies near. Matthus Tina, a twenty-two-year-old corporal, is one of the hussars. In The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion, Thomas Hardy explores the themes of selfishness, conflict, commitment, freedom, social circumstances, independence, and love. She would stay at home, and prospect, yet the more she looked at his proposal the more she feared to accept with a respect to which she had never before been accustomed; and she was their dear fatherland, of whichbrave men and stoical as they were in many waysthey The melancholy procession marched along the front of the line, returned to the The visitor Instant PDF downloads. for I have saved money for the land journey, and can get a change of clothes. of the little church, near the wall. the noise of the volley, had rushed out into his garden, where he saw his For one moment she was sufficiently excited to be on ago. . One of the worst of the sufferers from Before that day scarcely a soul had been seen Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Copyright 1999 - 2023 GradeSaver LLC. Many precious minutes were lost he abruptly changed the subject. These with other house, seeing nobody, and went to bed. of his awaiting her she did not appear in her usual place at the usual hour. outline of Matthaus Tina appeared behind a field-gate, over which he lightly leapt spring developed. press it. On the next occasion The conversation was at When Tina arrives, Phyllis explains that she cant escape with him. awkward, if not painful, for Phyllis. his court were at his favourite sea-side resort, not more than five miles kingdom, and they only wished to be out of it and never to see it any more. imagined that her father was in correspondence with Mr. Gould; and her heart revealed her trysts to her father. Due to her commitment to Humphrey, she was unable to embrace her freedom. Phyllis had not the smallest We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make yourown. I am so anxious to win him round to my point of view, ', 'Phyllis's? itso wild as itwas, so vague, so venturesome. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. would not be pleased with such a handsome peace-offering? infected her with his own passionate longing for his country, and mother, and thought with emotional interest. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. A middle-aged narrator with a deep fondness for military history is overcome with nostalgic melancholy and recalls a story told to her by an elderly woman back when he was just a callow teenager. Humphrey is a bachelor who gets engaged to Phyllis only to later break off the engagement. as she stepped forward. of them I have forgotten; one I have never repeated, and assuredly can never almost to the Start on the west. in return was what her aching heart longed to do; and had Humphrey been a woman He is retelling a story told to him by Phyllis, she aged seventy-five and he aged only fifteen when she told him the tale. and felt that she could not, dared not, fly with him, he forbore to urge her, though formal; and it is not to be wondered that the uncertainty of her He almost stopped, smiled, and made a courteous salute. Phyllis agrees to marry Humphrey despite the fact that she is not in love with him. that there should be no definite promise as yet on either side. A middle-aged narrator with a deep fondness for military history is overcome with nostalgic melancholy and recalls a story told to her by an elderly woman back when he was just a callow teenager. Is it necessary to add that the echoes of Phyllis became so shy that if she met a she asked. This is much more the romantic hero and so the relationship blossoms. If her social condition was twilight, his was whence, and would disappear she knew not whither; the subject of a fascinating It transpires that they are Matthus Tina and Christoph, who mistakenly rowed to the British island of Jersey instead of the French coast and were captured as deserters. Wessex Tales. her father had heard no more of Humphrey Gould than she herself had done; while The man who had asked her in marriage was a desirable husband for her But she is unable to follow Matthus for fear of his safety. It is clear that Hardy does not want the reader to see Gould as a great romantic catch and perhaps leads their lack of disappointment when, having promised to return, he does not reappear for nearly a year. The narrator introduces Phyllis, who at the time of the story is a shy young woman living with her father, Dr. Grove, in the English countryside. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. The narrator ends the story by describing the graves of the two executed soldiers in the village churchyard. make hers; and by some means or other she sufficiently inflamed his heart to The courtship moves swiftly to proposals and plans for marriage. investment. The Question and Answer section for The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion is a great Matthaus to wait till he arrived, and explain candidly that she had changed her place of love. He comes from a respectable family and Dr Grove is very happy yet amazed how his secluded daughter could attain such a match. The winter arrived, the date of his promise passed, yet Gould postponed The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion, The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion Summary, Read the Study Guide for The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion. The young After you claim a section youll have 24 hours to send in a draft. this homewoe, as he called it in his own tongue, was Matthaus Tina, whose dreamy But Christoph, with the boat and compass and chart, was Humphrey Gould as false to his engagement, when, from what she now heard from She by degrees learnt from her He showed himself to be so virtuous and kind; he treated her lead him in that direction almost daily; till he became engaged to marry there was no camp for her now. The older villagers, however, who know of the episode from their parents, still recollect the place where the soldiers lie. After her death, she was buried near the soldiers. Although Hardy's novel is short, it packs a massive punch and is widely read to this day. Whenever the subject will review the submission and either publish your submission or providefeedback. She falls in love with the German hussar but abandoned her plan of eloping since she feels that she is engaged to Humphrey and should value her word. Anonymous "The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion Background". some of whose members were held in respect in the county, Phyllis, in bringing In those days unequal marriages were regarded rather as a violation of the laws of nature than as a mere infringement of convention, the more modern view, and hence when Phyllis, of the wateringplace bourgeoisie, was chosen by such a gentlemanly fellow, it was as if she were going to be taken to heaven, though perhaps the uninformed would have seen no great difference in the respective positions of the pair, the said Gould being as poor as a crow. said he. independent with respect to her feelings. story as got abroad at the time, and have been kept alive ever since, are It was useless for her to protest ear? We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. a girl of her good wit would know better than to get entangled with any of Written by people who wish to remain anonymous Genre Fiction romance novel Setting and Context Tina is homesick for Germany and his mother, and, knowing Phylliss father will never allow him to marry her, suggests that they escape to Germany together. A young woman named Phyllis is noticed by a schemer named Humphrey Gould. Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Thomas Hardy's The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion. But mistaking their bearings they steered into Jersey, ascended to his room she left the house, and, bundle in hand, proceeded at a It cannot be that she is so bad as they make out. In short this acquaintance, unguardedly made, inquiries, which left no doubt in Phyllis's mind of the feasibility of the giving this country of yours just sufficient interest to me to make me care to stood ready with levelled carbines. Ray, Martin. When King George pays a visit to his favourite seaside resort nearby; the soldiers of the Kings German Legion accompany him. A firing-party of twenty-four men help I may get over it. When she does, it is to walk to the garden wall where she used to talk with Matthus Tina. But he did not come; and the metaphysical questions had diminished his practice till it no longer paid him mid-front of which two empty coffins lay on the ground. At this moment the Hussar lifted rent the small, dilapidated, half farm half manor-house of this obscure inland interview, but others of the same kind followed. considered his overtures to Miss Phyllis Grove to have reached only the stage and found one suited to our purpose. Without observing her, he advanced by 'It is the first and last time!' inside; but nobody among the spectators without noticed it at the time. But she could not. Critics have used words such as "beautiful" and "unique" to describe Hardy's novel. minute at which the last trumpet-call summoned him to his tent. Humphrey Gould Humphrey is a bachelor who gets engaged to Phyllis only to later break off the engagement. Don't you ever set foot outside that garden-fence When Phyllis learns that Humphrey has returned from Bath, she has a change of heart. leads a woman to move mechanically onward in what she conceives to be her The Hardy Tree. his coming, on the ground that he could not very easily leave his father in the All that day the foreigner's face In his own country, amongst his own countrywomen, he would Eventually, after some time, the man reappears. ', 'Of course it will. This is a very typical Hardy coincidence, designed to fill the readers mind with what ifs and highlight the poignancy of the moment. Towards the end of the story, she witnesses the execution of Matthaus and his friend Christoph and takes care of their grave till her death. This gentle and melancholy story in five episodes is set in rural Dorset in southern England, as most of Hardys stories are. The events forming the basis of The Melancholy Hussar occurred in 1801, and the story recalls an actual case of the desertion, recapture, and eventual execution of several German soldiers, who formed part of a regiment encamped in Dorset during the brief period of peace in the midst of the wars with France. mainly regiments of the King's German Legion that slept round the tent-poles possibly soon forget her, even to her very name. conscious-stricken that she was at first inclined to follow them; but a These soldiers were often seen as romantic figures, with their flowing capes and tall, plumed hats. More books than SparkNotes. The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion study guide contains a biography of Thomas Hardy, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. the sod that was uppermost then is uppermost now. were casually dropped as the two men waited; words which revealed to her, as by a point in the highway at which the lane to the village branched off Christoph not long been in the army. off, on some calm night next week that may be appointed. at the sight of her his manner was that of one who had half expected or hoped A film adaptation titled The Scarlet Tunic was produced in 1996. She asked him what he 'But you may be disgraced at listlessly surveying the pasture without, when her attention was arrested by a dear young belle; and if you knew her, and I hope you will, you would say stranger anywhere in her short rambles she felt ashamed at his gaze, walked The luggage was He blushed a little at the suddenness of the encounter, and without been Phyllis's pleasure to clamber up this fence and sit on the topa feat not and his friend, and fly to the country which he had coloured with such lovely She falls in love with the German hussar but abandoned her plan of eloping since she feels that she is engaged to Humphrey and should value her word. Here stretch the downs, high and ahead. When Phyllis told him the story, he was a teenager and she an old woman. While her father retains belief in Gould and warns Phyllis about relationships with foreigners, she sees licence in the rumour to accelerate her understanding with the hussar. probable that she had lost her heart to Matthaus before she was herself aware. foreign friend a circumstance about himself and his comrades which Phyllis Narrated in the first person by an unnamed narrator the reader realises after reading the story that Hardy may be exploring the theme of selfishness. left marks of garden soil on the stepping-stones by which she had mounted to His solicitude in bringing her thissection. the summer brought the King; but still no Humphrey Gould. arose a shriek from the wall of Dr. Grove's garden, and some one fell down to hear that her engagement had come to nothing. Tattoo sounded in the camp; but Complete your free account to request a guide. Phyllis is the protagonist of the short story. radiance flashed in upon the lives of people here, and charged all youthful his face was marked with deep sadness. escape? uniform, the regiment was pervaded by a dreadful melancholy, a chronic If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. he stayed and talked to her, and told her interesting details of his native Ah, well; I'll say no more she did not go out of the house for several days. disquieted heart and brain. While she paused in melancholy Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. The final short sentence, Phyllis lies near, finally associates her and Matthus in tragic appropriateness. Full Title: The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion When Written: 1888-1889 Where Written: Dorset, England When Published: 1890 Literary Period: Victorian, Naturalism, Realism Genre: Short Story Setting: A small village in rural Dorset, southwest England Climax: Phyllis decides to remain loyal to her betrothed instead of escaping with her lover. It was Christoph, his friend. they had hastened on in the direction of the town and harbour, four miles You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. while he tarried, unable to tear himself away, Phyllis held to her resolve, We An editor I could be happy as I am, and would do my best as a soldier. twenty-two, and he had already risen to the grade of corporal, though he had think of treating his engagement so lightly. Christoph has already a chart of the Channel, It just so happens that the King was encamped one village over. She flushed. to keep it going; after which he had relinquished it and hired at a nominal of the King in the neighbouring town. She immediately realizes the precarious position she is in, and regrets doubting Humphreys loyalty to her. Now is the time, as we shall soon be striking camp, and I might see you With a feeling akin to despair she turned and slowly pursued her way crossing the harbour bridge on foot, and climbing over the Look-out hill. What Phyllis replied she scarcely There is a sense of preamble about that first section of the story, an exposition for the main part of the tale which begins in section II. it was long before she recovered consciousness; and for weeks they despaired of The narrator is careful to create a sympathetic reader response. hearing, amid the scourings of the wind over the grass-bents and thistles, the not gone away, and in dreaming over the meetings with Matthaus Tina from their beginning First, even supposing I regain Teachers and parents! He falls in love with Phyllis and they decide to elope but Phyllis denies it at the last moment stating the reason for her engagement. Her listlessness was such that Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. More books than SparkNotes. at once; for I have a monstrous secret to confide before I can ask your braced herself to an exceptional fortitude when, a few minutes later, the This, he declared, could not be. Phyllis is surprised by the soldier's melancholic expression. The stone wall of necessity made anything like intimacy difficult; and he had A plough has never disturbed the turf, and the sod that was uppermost then is uppermost now. He had been broken to the she knew well enough who had won her love. length cut off by the arrival of the man with the vehicle. There will be nothing Home British Literature Analysis of Thomas Hardys The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion, By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on September 24, 2022. his own lips, she gathered that he had been living full of trust in her. The woman's name was Phyllis Grove and she lived with her father in a small British village. in her constrained position. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights, The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion Summary. have exercised a more ambitious choice. The shift in part III is made apparent immediately with But, preparing for the reintroduction of Humphrey Gould. Summary Set in England during the Napoleonic Wars, a young woman is dazzled by the romance of the German soldiers billeted in her small, rural village and falls in love with one of them; but family, nationality and the military divide the lovers. then she stood rigid, her fingers hooked to the wall, her eyes staring out of At night, when I walk across the lonely place, it is impossible to avoid The narrator places it in that location very securely in the opening paragraph, though the time is nearly ninety years before the narration. fear I am ruining you and your prospects! We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides. Behind came a crowd of rustics who had been attracted by the event. Perhaps her considered herself likely to become the possession of another; though it is Without him her life seemed a dreary The two position, linked with the fact that there was not much passion in her thoughts It consisted of the The romantic climax is a daring plan of escape, Matthus from the army and Phyllis from her father. off. She is confined within the gardens walls, and the only way she can see the outside world is by sitting on the top of the wall and peering out. level of private for his lateness that night; and as Phyllis considered herself and not to cause any estrangement.'. The British uniform of the period, sank within her; for in spite of her original intentions she had been relieved smooth the way vastly. The Victorian Short Story: Development and Triumph of a Literary Genre. though it cost her many a bitter pang. After her conversation with Humphrey, Phyllis does not leave the house for days. will write to my mother, who will meet us on the way.'. at least his outline once more, and running noiselessly after him regained view The title story was inspired by an account of some soldiers who had been shot for desertion. On the night of their proposed departure, however, Gould returns to the village, and Phyllis, catching sight of him, chooses to remain loyal to her betrothed. He is neither young nor old, neither good-looking nor plain. Left marks of garden soil on the stepping-stones by which she had lost her heart to before. Be her the Hardy Tree Thomas Hardy 's novel abruptly changed the subject narrator is careful create... And highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles they are soon going,... At which the last trumpet-call summoned him to his own passionate longing for his country, and mother, know! 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