The tale “Tony Kytes, The arch deceiver” by Hardy Essay Example
We can infer that the overall tone of the text is lighthearted and that Tony Kytes is the subject of village gossip due to Carter's apparent knowledge of him. According to Carter, Tony is a womanizer and a deceitful character with a penchant for attracting women. Despite this, Tony's physical appearance is described as unremarkable and unimpressive, with smallpox scars and no facial hair to speak of. However, Tony's humorous antics, such as singing "The Tailor's Breeches" in a religious manner, seem to endear him to the women he encounters.
As time passed, Tony settled on a particular woman, implying that she was not his first choice, and that he may have preferred having multiple romantic partners. The woman Tony is engaged to is Milly Richards, who is described as "nice, light, small tender little thing," suggesting sh
...e can be easily influenced and obedient to Tony. During Tony's ride back from the market in his waggon, he encounters Unity Sallet, one of the women he was previously affectionate towards before being engaged to Milly. Unity is portrayed as being more outspoken than Milly, evidenced by her immediate request for a ride by saying "My dear Tony will you give me a lift home."
We observe that Tony is incapable of declining a woman's request and he makes them contented by saying, "Yes, my dear... Of course I couldn't turn you down."
Unity engages in cautious flirting with Tony after becoming acquainted, asking him about his marriage to Milly and hinting that she may be superior. She indirectly compares herself to Milly without mentioning her name, trying to sway Tony's opinion in her favor. By invoking past memories between
them, Unity begins to manipulate Tony into considering his feelings for her compared to Milly. She exploits Tony's vulnerabilities by coaxing him to look at her and uses his attraction to her charm. This aspect of the story showcases how Hardy's use of Tony's manipulation adds a humorous element to the narrative.
Tony notices something quite familiar - Milly's feathered hat. He employs a manipulation technique by requesting her to hide beneath the tarpaulin to avoid a conflict. Despite Unity's objection, he employs terms of endearment to convince her to comply.
The speaker hinted at proposing marriage without explicitly saying it, saying "perhaps I shall put the loving question to you after all." However, he also mentioned that things were not completely settled between himself and Milly, which suggests that he is not trustworthy. When Unity heard about a potential marriage to Tony, she became upset and went under a tarpaulin. As Tony and Milly approached each other, Milly looked at him with a small pout.
During their planned meeting to discuss their future home, she reminds him of their arrangement. However, he becomes anxious about getting caught and fabricates an excuse. As Tony tries to regain control, the situation is laced with humor. He claims he saw Milly's mother in the market and she appeared to be anticipating Milly's arrival.
Despite Tony's excuse of not being able to take Milly home, she had already seen her mother on the way back from the market. Consequently, Tony has to let Milly ride with him. During the ride, the pair engage in a pleasant conversation and admire the surrounding nature, including trees, animals, birds, insects, and farmers working
in the fields. Tony tries to steer the conversation away from the topic of their impending marriage and new home. However, when Tony spots Hannah Jolliver, whom he loved before both Unity and Milly, their conversation takes an unexpected turn.
Tony almost married Hannah instead of Milly because he thought she was much prettier than the other girls. In a conversation with Milly, Tony refers to her as his future wife and whispers that Unity should not overhear him, suggesting that he is deceitful. Tony sees a young woman at a window and suspects she may confront him. He admits that Hannah thinks he was going to marry her, but reassures Milly that Hannah will lose her temper since Milly is prettier. To avoid being caught, Tony advises Milly to hide under the sacks in front of the wagon.
Once more, Tony refers to her as his "future wife" and assures her that he desires her and not Hannah. They continue driving until they reach a roadside cottage where Hannah is eagerly waiting at the window, tossing her head and smiling at Tony. Hardy presents the comedic aspect as Tony once again loses his composure and Hannah sarcastically remarks, "Aren't you going to be courteous enough to invite me to ride with you?"
This passage illustrates the contrasting personalities of Hannah and Milly, with Hannah being more assertive and confident. Tony assumes that Hannah will be staying in the house, but she clarifies that she is simply stopping by on her way home. Despite Tony's reluctance, Hannah insists on joining him. This makes Tony very nervous and anxious about getting caught, causing him to feel sweat building up
inside his clothes. The Carter would have found this amusing, as Tony is being overtaken by panic while sitting next to Hannah.
Similar to Unity, Hannah starts to influence Tony by looking directly at him and speaking. As their interaction progresses, Tony realizes that his feelings for Hannah surpass those for Unity and Milly. He admits to himself that he doesn't know why he ever brought up marriage with Milly or Unity when Hannah was in the picture. The two speak lovingly to each other and draw closer together.
We witness Tony being deceitful by informing Hannah that his marital situation with Milly hasn't been resolved. Initially, everything is going well until Hannah overhears the utterance "Hark…"
While standing among sacks, Tony hears a slight squeak and is filled with panic. He quickly comes up with an excuse, blaming it on the dry weather affecting the axel. Although Hannah believes him, the true source of the squeak was Milly reacting to Tony's words. Hannah becomes manipulative, questioning their relationship and even mentioning marriage, posing the question to Tony if he prefers Milly over her.
After being convinced by the persuading words, Tony was inclined towards the idea. He cautiously checked his surroundings and whispered to Hannah covertly, "I haven't exactly committed to Milly yet. Maybe I can wriggle out of it and ask you instead." Hannah became overjoyed and exclaimed, "Leave Milly and marry me? That's wonderful!" Milly reacted with a squeak, causing movement in the nearby sacks which horrified Hannah. In response, Tony quickly made up an excuse that he had ferrets in the back that he planned to use for poaching.
As Tony attempts to steer the conversation
back to safer topics, he notices his father beckoning him over. Relieved for a way out, Tony requests that Hannah lead the conversation. The Carters would have found this amusing, given Tony's frequent loss of control. Tony's father fixes him with a stern gaze, questioning why he is riding alongside Hannah when he plans to wed Milly. Tony clarifies that both Milly and Unity are present and that he intends to ask one of them before the others.
During a conversation with his father, Tony asks which of the three women he should marry. His father responds by suggesting that he choose the one who did not ask to ride with him on their journey, which turns out to be Milly. Tony's father advises him to stay with Milly. As they talk, Hannah loses control of the horse, causing Tony to run towards the cart. At this point, Hardy reveals that Tony is a deceiver and suggests that his father's recommendation was the most likely reason for him to consider Hannah as a potential wife. As they continue on, Milly becomes restless and notices Unity's foot. Although she is initially frightened, Milly decides to address the situation.
Milly and Unity engaged in a heated argument, starting with Milly expressing her disdain for the situation. They whispered as they argued to avoid being overheard, which would have amused Carter considering how things were going wrong. The argument escalated with louder voices, causing Hannah to be horrified and accidentally let go of the reins. The horse made a sharp turn causing the off wheels to tip over the bank with the axle's landing on their side. This resulted in
the three maidens rolling into a heap on the road, which left Tony frightened and breathless. Fortunately, his loved ones were unharmed.
Tony intervenes to prevent an argument among three women by stating "Don't ye quarrel, my dears-don't ye," thus revealing his deceptive nature of not committing to any of the women. Later on, Tony informs them of his proposal to Hannah, which she has accepted. However, Tony fails to realize Hannah's father approaching from behind and proclaiming that his daughter does not agree. Subsequently, Hannah declines Tony's proposal and states her unwillingness.
Tony proposed to Unity after Hannah left with her father, realizing that he had been too lenient with the manipulative person he was just speaking with.
Unity refused to accept the leftovers, saying "Not I!...I'd scorn it," and then walked away.
The irony of the situation would likely have amused the Carter, considering Tony's exposure and rejection from both Unity and Hannah. As a result, Tony and Milly are alone, with Milly in tears and Tony looking devastated. Tony tries to justify their situation by claiming it was fate that brought them together and that he didn't mean what he said to Unity and Hannah. However, this is deceitful as Tony did indeed mean what he said, and Milly is depicted as weak for forgiving him.
After they kissed, they fixed the wagon and journeyed home as a couple. They tied the knot the next Sunday with almost everyone from Longpuddle in attendance. The humor in the narrative stems from Hardy's depiction of Tony's struggle to maintain control, as well as the coincidence that brought all three women together on the same road at the same time.
Ultimately, the story is lighthearted and the title of the story is well-suited to Tony's conduct and decisions.
Varied women and diverse depictions of their characters were employed to emphasize Tony's personality.
