the Unexpected’ By Kate Choplin ‘a Suitable Boy’ Essay Example

two families together or securing dowry. Additionally, there are those who marry solely for monetary gain after their partner's passing. Despite the romantic ideal of marriage, situations do still exist where a couple may not wed due to differences in social class or status.

The meanings of love and marriage have expanded over time, and can be often misused. This essay examines three short texts by Kate Choplin, Thomas Hardy's 'A suitable boy', and 'Tony Kytes the arch deceiver', to explore various perspectives on the themes of love and marriage from different historical contexts. In Kate Choplin's 'The unexpected', the main characters struggle to comprehend the true meanings of love and marriage. Even when faced with obstacles like illness and altered appearance, these concepts are trivialized. Dorothea, for instance, declares, "Never! Not for all his thousands! Never, never! Not for millions! " indicating that she will not marry Randall no matter what.

Despite their passionate and authentic farewell, it is clear that the couple's love was not strong enough to withstand physical change. Although they believed themselves to be in love, the superficial nature of their affection was revealed. Dorothea's habit of gazing at Randall's portrait for hours each day suggests that her feelings were more shallow than his. This leads us to question whether any of us can truly experience genuine love or if it is merely based on surface-level factors. However, despite these doubts, Dorothea emphasizes the importance of marriage as a true expression of love and refuses to marry Randall.

Although Randall was wealthy, Dorothea's refusal to marry him could have resulted in her banishment from the community. This implies that her

decision was not solely based on superficial reasons and she may have genuinely loved Randall. Unfortunately, his illness had caused qualities that she admired in him, like his strength and independence, to disappear. Despite facing potential exile for her choice, Dorothea remained true to her principles. This aligns with contemporary attitudes towards love and marriage where we would not wed someone who we do not truly love or can no longer care for if they become fully dependent on us. Therefore, it reveals that love is not constant and can be affected by factors such as dependence.

Although love is essential for marriage, "The Unexpected" story illustrates that some individuals would rather forfeit their current lifestyle than marry someone they do not love. In comparison, "A Suitable Boy" depicts the significance of social standing and caste in arranged marriages, as evidenced by lines such as "Pran was indeed...". Each story presents a different perspective on the role of love in marriage.

The significance of marrying within the same social status and caste is emphasized in the culture mentioned. It is expected that parents arrange marriages for their children with individuals from similar backgrounds to unite the families. While this may appear absurd in western culture, a closer examination reveals a similar practice. In fact, high status individuals in western society are often pledged to another individual by their families to join the two families together.

Prince Charles and Lady Diana were an example of an arranged marriage, which may not seem ludicrous. Having a similar background can help two people in love, but ultimately, whom to marry is a matter of self-choice. However, as seen with Prince

Charles and Lady Diana, having the same background does not guarantee a perfect match. In modern society, we can see different opinions on arranged marriages even in other cultures, as demonstrated when Lata grunts and speaks non-directly in response to her mother speaking of her arranged marriage. This part of the text highlights the struggle in society to maintain the true meaning of marriage as a union of two people in love.

Lata's preference is to have her country remain independent and to fall in love before marriage rather than marrying someone chosen by her mother. This choice is similar to Dorothea in 'The Unexpected', as both women are willing to risk upsetting their families and straying from their cultural traditions to avoid marrying someone they do not love. This raises the question of whether marriage is valued more than love in modern times, a theme that is also explored in 'Tony Kytes the Arch Deceiver'. Despite its comical nature, this story offers insight into the idea that love can be distorted and confused with obsession or infatuation. The character of Tony embodies the youthful perspective on love as shallow and fickle, evident in his indecisiveness regarding his affections for different women. This reflects the tendency of today's youth to declare love for anyone who shows interest in them.

Tony highlights how love is often misunderstood in contemporary times. He also explores how young love can be superficial by replacing one girl with another based solely on physical appearance, as demonstrated by his statement, "She was a much more dashing girl than Milly Richards," when referring to Hannah Jolliver.

When it comes to love, is

it accurate to say that our perspective on it changes as we get older? Alternatively, can the use of 'The Unexpected' in conjunction with 'Tony Kytes...' serve as a prime example that visual appeal and desire are always important aspects in love and marriage? Within this story, the women demonstrate people's willingness to go to any lengths for love, including hiding in the back of a cart in a comical situation.

Even though Tony displays shallowness towards Milly, she still agrees to marry him. The fact that their banns were put up the very next Sunday depicts this fully. This aspect is distinct from the other two stories we have analyzed. Tony Kytes explores the theme of love more deeply than marriage, a theme that the other two texts focus on more closely. However, both 'A suitable boy' and 'The unexpected' present a more mature perspective on love. The main characters in both stories understand that true love cannot be coerced and is not based solely on physical appearance or attraction.

The depiction of love and marriage in 'Tony Kytes...' highlights its immaturity, as Tony's indecisiveness is so extreme that he even asks his own Father to choose between his suitors by saying, "Which would you marry, father, if you was in my place?" Additionally, 'A Suitable Boy' similarly emphasizes the social status hierarchy over love and marriage, with characters expressing concern over scandals and arranged marriages. This can be seen in Tony Kytes through Tony's father warning him against "driving about the country with Jollivers daughter and making a scandal", and in 'A Suitable Boy' through the mother's struggles to ignore her daughter's disapproval of

arranged marriages. Both texts present the idea that social standing is more important than love or marriage to many of the characters involved.

After analyzing the themes of love and marriage in various texts, we found multiple explanations for these themes, which depend on factors like origin, religion, and personal qualities. However, our exploration of the texts revealed that love may develop and grow in honesty over time, as evident in 'Tony Kytes' when compared to 'The Unexpected.' Additionally, we found that marriage is less frequently pursued than love and that Real love interpretations vary across the texts but characters in 'A Suitable Boy' and 'The Unexpected' strive to ensure that they are truly in love before entering into marriage. Above all, our findings suggest that most individuals ultimately seek genuine love in any form it comes and this is evident from the actions of all three women in 'Tony Kytes.'

Both 'A Suitable Boy' and 'The Unexpected' feature characters who are willing to endure social rejection in the pursuit of true love. They lower themselves and wait patiently for the moment when true love reveals itself.