A Mere Interlude

Last updated
"A Mere Interlude"
Author Thomas Hardy
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Genre(s) Short story
Published inThe Bolton Weekly Journal
Publication type Periodical
Media typePrint
Publication date1885

"A Mere Interlude" is a short story by Thomas Hardy. It was first published in The Bolton Weekly Journal in October 1885. [1] The story was reprinted in the collection A Changed Man and Other Tales (1913).

Short story Chinese Mirja work of literature, usually written in narrative prose

A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a "single effect" or mood, however there are many exceptions to this.

Thomas Hardy English novelist and poet

Thomas Hardy was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, especially William Wordsworth. He was highly critical of much in Victorian society, especially on the declining status of rural people in Britain, such as those from his native South West England.

A Changed Man and Other Tales is a collection of twelve tales written by Thomas Hardy. The collection was originally published in book form in 1913, although all of the tales had been previously published in newspapers or magazines from 1881 to 1900. There are eleven short stories and a novella The Romantic Adventures of a Milkmaid. At the end of the book there is a map of the imaginary Wessex of Hardy's novels and poems. Six of the stories were published before 1891 and therefore lacked international copyright protection when the collection began to be sold in October 1913.

Contents

Plot summary

Baptista Trewthen is the daughter of a small farmer in St Maria's, one of the Isles of Lyonesse. She works as a schoolmistress in a village near Tor-upon-Sea. During the Easter holidays she accepts a marriage proposal by Mr David Heddegan, a rich man from Giant's Town who is at least 20 years older than herself.

On a Saturday at the end of July, four days before her wedding, she misses the steamboat from Pen-zephyr to St Mary's, and the next boat is only on Tuesday. She meets Charles Stow, her former boyfriend. He persuades her to marry him. The ceremony takes place on Tuesday morning in Trufal. Back in Pen-zephyr Charles takes a plunge in the sea and drowns.

Steamboat Smaller than a steamship; boat in which the primary method of marine propulsion is steam power

A steamboat is a boat that is propelled primarily by steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S or PS, however these designations are most often used for steamships.

One day later Baptista marries Mr Heddegan as planned, without telling anyone about the brief interlude on the mainland. They spend their wedding night at an inn in Pen-zephyr, accidentally the same place where Charles' corpse is kept.

Mainland is a contiguous landmass that is larger and often politically, economically and/or demographically more significant than politically associated remote territories, such as exclaves or oceanic islands situated outside the continental shelf.

After less than a month a decayed glazier, who witnessed Baptista's first wedding, starts blackmailing her. When he keeps asking for more and more money she finally decides to tell the truth to her husband. He confesses he's a widower himself and father of four daughters. After this she gradually begins to love her stepdaughters and husband.

Glazier profession

A glazier is a skilled tradesman responsible for cutting, installing, and removing glass. Glaziers may work with glass in various surfaces and settings, such as windows, doors, shower doors, skylights, storefronts, display cases, mirrors, facades, interior walls, ceilings, and tabletops.

Location

Of all Hardy's stories this is the one with the westernmost location. The Isles of Lyonesse are really the Isles of Scilly. St Maria's is the largest island, St Mary's, and Giant's Town its capital Hugh Town. Pen-zephyr is Penzance in Cornwall. Tor-upon-Sea is Torquay. [2]

Isles of Scilly Chain of islands off the south-westernmost point of mainland Britain

The Isles of Scilly is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in England, being over 4 miles (6.4 km) further south than the most southerly point of the British mainland at Lizard Point.

St Marys, Isles of Scilly UK island of the Isles of Scilly

St Mary's is the largest and most populous island of the Isles of Scilly, an archipelago off the southwest coast of Cornwall in England.

Hugh Town town on the isles of Scilly, England, UK

Hugh Town is the largest settlement on the Isles of Scilly and its administrative centre. The town is situated on the island of St Mary's, the largest and most populous island in the archipelago, and is located on a narrow isthmus which joins the peninsula known as the Garrison with the rest of the island.

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References

  1. "Thomas Hardy: "A Mere Interlude"". Online Literature.
  2. "Thomas Hardy: Placenames". Neal.Oxborrow.net. Archived from the original on 2012-07-28.
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