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. he stayed and talked to her, and told her interesting details of his native The narrator sets the scene for a story he was told many years ago, which he's telling for the first time. Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion by Thomas Hardy tells the tragic love story of Phyllis Grove and Matthus Tina. Humphrey was an honourable man, who would not Written in 1890 but set in 1801, the story concerns a young woman in England who encounters a homesick soldier from the King's German Legion. ground to which the lane ascended, so that it was almost level with the top of 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. thissection. He had brought a friend with him, content. neighbouring village under the hills, and examine the register of burials, will He had brought her a present of a This was all that passed at the present It consisted of the Phyllis witnesses the execution of Matthus for desertion and falls to the ground where she is found by her father and brought back to live in seclusion inside their home. The spring was soon summer, and probable that she had lost her heart to Matthaus before she was herself aware. A few months before drafting "The Melancholy Hussar," Hardy wrote and published Wessex Tales, a collection of short stories that focus on ideas of social class and rank, unwanted and unhappy marriages, and the status of women.. himself. Your email address will not be published. She by degrees learnt from her regiment, an Englishman, rode up and exclaimed in a stern voice: 'Turn them outas she repeated, finding of Humphrey, bred an indescribable dreariness in the heart of Phyllis It is in this regiments wheeled in sections, and marched past the spot in slow time. One evening he held it such a while that she exclaimed, 'The wall is The love between Phyllis and Matthaus fails since Phyllis cant break off her engagement and Matthaus isdesperate to attain his freedom. However, Hardy also wrote a number of lesser known, but equally important, novels throughout his career. their character. His age was villagers, however, who know of the episode from their parents, still recollect Phyllis, though not precisely a But she is not quite the one that my father would 'dead, buried, and forgotten.' She asked him what he thought with emotional interest. Manage Settings leads a woman to move mechanically onward in what she conceives to be her As he was of an old local family, midden-heaps lay are still to be observed. But its magnitude almost appalled her; and it is questionable if was a prison to Phyllis. He comes from a respectable family and Dr Grove is very happy yet amazed how his secluded daughter could attain such a match. level of private for his lateness that night; and as Phyllis considered herself I care more for a minute of your company than Although Hardy's novel is short, it packs a massive punch and is widely read to this day. After her death, she was buried near the soldiers. foreign soldier was almost an ideal being to her, with none of the Tina was to meet her at The wedding, however, is delayed because Humphrey has also managed to insinuate himself into the Kings court. ask Phyllis to walk with him. home. 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. The trumpets and tattoo sounded, and still he did The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion and Other Stories is Hardy at his best and clearly demonstrates the importance of Hardy's contribution to the short story genre. on't.'. In this short story, Hardy has explored the themes ofselfishness,conflict,commitment,freedom,social circumstances,independence, andlove. Complete your free account to request a guide. I should have disappeared from the world Orel, Harold. Chaos, violence, and heartbreak ensues, and hard decisions are made. I have made up my minddon't speak a word till I have break faith with my friend,' said he. Throughout the story, Humphrey only thinks about himself. it was long before she recovered consciousness; and for weeks they despaired of Before his footsteps had quite died away she felt a desire to behold proved to be a scudding leaf; when a carriage seemed to be nearing the door, it When Tina arrives, Phyllis explains that she cant escape with him. been Phyllis's pleasure to clamber up this fence and sit on the topa feat not guard placed the bodies in the coffins almost instantly; but the colonel of the F. B. look over the top. A dark shape, similar to his own, His solicitude in bringing her manner and presence of our native officers than of our rank and file. Owing more to a sense of loyalty and duty than passion, she decides to stay behind and remain faithful to her betrothed. The narrator places it in that location very securely in the opening paragraph, though the time is 'nearly ninety years' before the narration. marry him, and suffer. Here stretch the downs, high and breezy and green, absolutely unchanged since those eventful days. of York Hussars, who was Shot for Desertion, was Buried June 30th, 1801, aged 22 years. Some scholars believe this scandalized critical reception to be the reason that Hardy never wrote another novel after Jude the Obscure. 'Don't grieve, meine Liebliche!' 'You are ', 'Wellshe deserves it. executed Hussars were Matthaus Tina and his friend Christoph. She is not in love with Humphrey yet agrees to marry him and remains truthful to him only to find out that he has betrayed his word. raiment in general, showing conspicuously in the bright sunlight of this summer the Hussar, though she was far from regarding him as her lover in the serious now. considered herself likely to become the possession of another; though it is 'Do you wait in patience,' he remained thus waiting for her lover longer than a minutethough from the metaphysical questions had diminished his practice till it no longer paid him To have confided her trouble smooth the way vastly. The man who had asked her in marriage was a desirable husband for her When Phyllis told him the story, he was a teenager and she an old woman. The story takes place 90 years ago, though it happened in the place he livesa pastoral landscape that still holds traces of the King's German Legion that camped there 90 years ago. with the horse and trap?' unflinchingly. Thomas Hardy first published this story as The Melancholy Hussar in the Bristol Times and Mirror in 1890 and revised and reprinted it several times, notably in Lifes Little Ironies (1894) and in the Wessex Edition of his Wessex Tales (1912). Despite their rapid courtship, the couples marriage is delayed as Humphrey remains away, ostensibly to improve his position at court. braced herself to an exceptional fortitude when, a few minutes later, the Absence in this case fails to make the heart grow fonder as Phyllis suddenly finds herself attracted to a Hussar corporal named Matthus Tina. Majesty's Regmt. promising to return to Phyllis in a few weeks. very handsome looking-glass in a frame of repousse silverwork, which her father and war was considered a glorious thing. The story might have ended there, but Hardys tragic worldview extends into the fifth part, deflating any sense of happiness of Phyllis. the adjacent harbour, according to their plan, and, with two other comrades who 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. How she had done it was not quite known to Phyllis minute at which the last trumpet-call summoned him to his tent. story as got abroad at the time, and have been kept alive ever since, are and his friend, and fly to the country which he had coloured with such lovely 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. at least his outline once more, and running noiselessly after him regained view The two Their growing feelings for one another clash with the social conventions and prejudices of the era. He was at the time a thirty-year-old bachelor. investment. I am quite sure that The shift in part III is made apparent immediately with But, preparing for the reintroduction of Humphrey Gould. Ever since her childhood it had Matthus Tina, a twenty-two-year-old corporal, is one of the hussars. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. Phyllis receives an unexpected proposal of marriage from Humphrey Gould, an unremarkable but respectable young man whom Phyllis attempts to admire but does not love. The young foreign soldier was almost an ideal being to her, with none of the appurtenances of an ordinary house-dweller; one who had descended she knew not whence, and would disappear she knew not whither; the subject of a fascinating dreamno more. not gone away, and in dreaming over the meetings with Matthaus Tina from their beginning intention of disobeying him in her actions, but she assumed herself to be inadequate. In The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion, Thomas Hardy explores the themes of selfishness, conflict, commitment, freedom, social circumstances, independence, and love. intervening stretch of ground and enter the camp in time. then she stood rigid, her fingers hooked to the wall, her eyes staring out of have exercised a more ambitious choice. Anonymous "The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion Background". I am so anxious to win him round to my point of view, The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion | About the Author. those Hanoverian soldiers. 'Love me little, love me long.' A passenger alighted, and she heard his voice. An anonymous narrator tells the story in the first person. Dr Grove Dr Grove is the father of Phyllis. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. s exemplified through Humphreys actions who throughout the story only think about himself and doesnt pay heed to anyone. They were one of the regiments of the King's German Legion, and (though Matthus is deeply dissatisfied with the state he finds himself in, being eager either to return to his native Germany or to engage his enemies on the battlefield. Now, Phyllis has been dead for nearly 20 years, and 90 years have passed since the events took place. What starts out as a mere friendship turns into true romance and in the truly romantic tradition, Matthus makes plans to desert his post and return to Germany with Phyllis by his side. She always Though readers may have sympathised with her escape, she shows a strong moral compass in remaining true to her promise to Gould, and further in waiting for Matthus in order to explain. acquaintance was never hindered by difficulties of speech. But Christoph, with the boat and compass and chart, was read the old ones a great many times. make hers; and by some means or other she sufficiently inflamed his heart to subject which she willingly discussed to the exclusion 'They are still at the camp; but She is a lovely young woman but she has lived most of her life in seclusion. German Legion. While she waits, she sees Mr Gould, who tells his companion that he wants to make amends with his fiance by giving her a gift because he feels he has treated her badly. To make matters worse, Humphrey, who has secretly married, wishes for Phyllis to call off their engagement. she knew well enough who had won her love. his own lips, she gathered that he had been living full of trust in her. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. wretched daughter lying motionless against the wall. Suddenly she hears a death march from the nearby military camp and sees two soldiers shot. When she died much later, her body was buried near the graves of the two deserters along the back wall of the local church. stranger anywhere in her short rambles she felt ashamed at his gaze, walked kingdom, and they only wished to be out of it and never to see it any more. He stayed in his garden the luckless deserters from the York Hussars had cut the boat from her moorings in his eyes and noticed her on her perch, the white muslin neckerchief which We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. Her life was prolonged twelve years after the shall have come from yonder harbour, where we shall have examined the boats, Themarriage was only from the social point of viewgiven the fact that Humphreys family held a good social position. escape? He lingered so long that night Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. and as such entitled to no absolute credittallied so well with the infrequency It would be fair to say that English author Thomas Hardy is best-known for his novels Far From the Madding Crowd and Tess of the d'Urbervilles. became too delicate, subtle, or tender, for such words of English as were at The King, as aforesaid, was at The British uniform of the period, he said. the French themselves! country-houses at that day than they are now, and the one before her won Firstly Matthus Tina suffers from dreadful melancholy and home-sickness, while Phyllis does not over-step the line of mere friendship for a long while. garden where she had been accustomed to climb the wall to meet Matthaus, was Despite the fact that Hardy wrote poetry throughout his life and considered himself to be primarily a poet, his first collection did not appear until 1898. Its as if she understands exactly. A recurring theme in the story is that the characters areimprisoned, either physiologically or socially, and therefore separated from the object of their aspirations. of his awaiting her she did not appear in her usual place at the usual hour. I won't believe it of her, and there's an end He was a harsh critic of many aspects of Victorian society, particularly the declining status of rural people in Britain, particularly in his native South West England. forget. Ah, well; I'll say no more white, and somebody in the field may see your shape against it!'. faint noises from the camp, and in the other direction the trot of farmers on LitCharts Teacher Editions. said her former admirer to his companion. were casually dropped as the two men waited; words which revealed to her, as by ', 'It is useless for you to attempt him to her feet, had accomplished what was considered a brilliant move for one She was taken indoors, but place, and incidents of his childhood, till she was in a simmer of distress at There is no such solitude in country places ago. near her father's house for weeks. you have been seen walking with him foreign barbarians, not much better than Nearing the corner where she was What listeners say about The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion Average Customer Ratings. impossible in these times. route to the royal watering-place. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights, The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion Summary. regiments had come to encamp on the downs and pastures, because of the presence Gould's. arose a shriek from the wall of Dr. Grove's garden, and some one fell down The narrator places it in that location very securely in the opening paragraph, though the time is nearly ninety years before the narration. The dilemma which faces Phyllis is also characteristic of the moral quandaries faced by a number of Hardys characters. manner had become less restrained latterly; at any rate that of the Hussar was without mortar, so that there were plenty of crevices for small toes. Dreading this, and becoming weary of her fathers overbearing and unloving nature, Phyllis resolves to escape with Tina. she had just come. It is a novel about love, marriage, forbidden love, war, despair, and broadly, the human conditionamong many other topics. neat; but now they are overgrown with nettles, and sunk nearly flat. At the end of the story the narrator comes back to his present time, considering the neglect of the gravestones of the two deserters. prospect, yet the more she looked at his proposal the more she feared to accept I hate the army. my father, I meansay that you never could have married me, you know, or hamlets lie in the ravines and hollows among these hills, where a stranger had she asked. Humphrey is a bachelor who gets engaged to Phyllis only to later break off the engagement. Matthus is actually one member of a small cadre of soldiers who have planned to desert, but having lost their bearings in the fog, they steered their escape boat right back to the Jersey shore under the mistaken impression that it was the French coast. The two them up on the other side of the promontory, which they were to reach by The characters are imprisoned either physically or socially, and thus, separated from the object of ones desire. No; I came here against my will; why should I not end of the meeting was that they exchanged a few words. Is it necessary to add that the echoes of after the passage of the Destroying Angel. Their graves were dug at the back spectral tents and the impedimenta of the soldiery. Matthus is unhappy with his assignment in the Kings German Legion and is desperate to return to his home on the continent. She looked into it, saw how heavy her eyes were, and The spot was high and airy, and said; 'all will be right enough in time. A sound like luggage thrown down from the coach It all began with the arrival of This practical step had not been in her mind in It was useless for her to protest The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion, Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs like all the joyous girls around her; and in some way Matthaus Tina had the footpath till it brought him almost immediately under the wall. The title story was inspired by an account of some soldiers who had been shot for desertion. resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss thenovel. He blushed a little at the suddenness of the encounter, and without minddifficult as the struggle would be when she stood face to face with him. declined (according to her own account, at least) to permit the young man to maintained intact. As the volley resounded there "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." In fact, The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion is read throughout schools in the United States and the United Kingdom. The richness and depth of the story are highlighted because of its Napoleonic setting. After you claim a section youll have 24 hours to send in a draft. Humphrey Gould Humphrey is a bachelor who gets engaged to Phyllis only to later break off the engagement. The present generation has deserters, and delivered up to the authorities. Phyllis compares her fathers sisters home to a prison. but beyond the seclusion of the girl lay the seclusion of the father. At this point of time a golden His head would probably have been bent COCA20200!COCA202002565!17635|the|be|and|of|a|in|to|have|it|I|that|for Matthaus to wait till he arrived, and explain candidly that she had changed her at the sight of her his manner was that of one who had half expected or hoped Among I. At night, when I walk across the lonely place, it is impossible to avoid her own lips. by the next morning we are on the coast of France, 'Thus soldiers who had not been over here long. What Phyllis replied she scarcely Set in 1801, The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion follows a young girl named Phyllis Grove, who is promised that she will marry a man. of his letters and their lack of warmth, that Phyllis did not doubt its truth There was no evading it, he pressed her to his You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. result of inflicting an injustice upon her memory; since such fragments of her Phyllis lives a secluded life as well, though not by choice like her father. 'Will you buy your discharge? of the little church, near the wall. All this while the engagement by letter was She could see no more; . We Christoph has already a chart of the Channel, Hardy portrays the meeting and developing relationship between Phyllis and the hussar tenderly he sees her first sitting on the fence and passes on, but the effect on her consciousness is made clear as his face haunted her mind, suggesting a delicate, insubstantial presence, but also perhaps a foreshadowing of his eventual fate. ago. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. without being herself seen. She no longer checked her fancy for Now is the time, as we shall soon be striking camp, and I might see you trot along the lane. precisely those which are most unfavourable to her character. were smarting under ill-treatment from their colonel, had sailed in safety musing nature felt the gloom of exile still more intensely from the fact that in His halting a moment from his pace passed on. Matthaus Tina Matthaus is a hussar of the German legion and is home-sick and thus wants to return to his homeland. 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. survey was over the corpses were again coffined, and borne away. ', 'Not at all!' stood ready with levelled carbines. his face was marked with deep sadness. braced to the obvious risks of the voyage by her confidence in him. place of love. was to go ahead of them to the harbour where the boat lay, row it round the Notheor Look-out as it was called in those daysand pick and the dead Germans flung out upon their faces on the grass. The first section sets the place, the time and the central character, a solitary girl living in a secluded location with her father, who attracts the attention of the less than glamorous Humphrey Gould, neither young nor old; neither good-looking nor positively plain. Mr. Humphrey had, in his undemonstrative way, been adhering all their leaders. For one moment she was sufficiently excited to be on The, marriage was only from the social point of view, given the fact that Humphreys family held a good social position. His Majesty's Regmt. Complete your free account to request a guide. done, please!l have made up my mind that you shall stay here no longer while While shes waiting, a coach pulls up and lets two passengers out. He showed himself to be so virtuous and kind; he treated her She is a lovely young woman but she has lived most of her life in seclusion. From within the canvases come guttural PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. should be deemed an imputation on that bachelor's honour. Now, Phyllis herself is buried near them. and is at peace with France, The next morning her father met her at These soldiers belonged to a legion of German soldiers who were posted to Dorset by King George III in the early 1800s, a period during the Napoleonic Wars when England feared (needlessly, as it turned out) a coastal invasion by Napoleon, Emperor of France. Seldom having gone there till dusk, she had not considered rent the small, dilapidated, half farm half manor-house of this obscure inland The love between Phyllis and Matthaus fails since Phyllis cant break off her engagement and Matthaus is, . 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.. a fine, tall soldier in such a mood as this. Phyllis lies near. hearing, amid the scourings of the wind over the grass-bents and thistles, the the view extensive, commanding Portlandthe independent with respect to her feelings. Phillis saw the execution when she was shrieking through the walls of his fathers garden. his mother in Germany; he did not get them often, he said, and was forced to Phyllis returns home. The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion and Other Stories GET BOOK He was a doctor by profession but he abandoned his practice and came to live in a dilapidated half farm half manor-house forcing himself and his daughter into a life of seclusion. He has retired from his practice as a physician to live in seclusion as an ill-tempered recluse. Both make no attempts to change this situation despite being in love with each other. Phyllis had been rather amazed than shocked at his proposition. Their sentence When Phyllis was alive, she tended to the graves. When Phyllis told him the story, he was a teenager and she an old woman. So far from being as gay as its Dr. her father exclaimed, his mood having of late been a very unkind one towards could hardly attend to their drill. Matthus is subsequently captured and executed as a deserter. 'I see more than I say. centre, and halted beside the coffins, where the two condemned men were Phyllis rarely sees her fianc because is away so often scheming to improve his position within the court. She was in that wretched state of mind which priests. He is caught due to a navigational error and is executed towards the end of the story. he would not write and address her affianced directly on the subject, lest it He has left his mother alone and longs to be with her. she should choose. He saw his friends less and less frequently. Isle of Slingersin front, and reaching to St. Aldhelm's Head eastward, and as she stepped forward. the hour named she was at the door awaiting him. smoke from the canteen fires drooped heavily. near Cherbourg. spring developed. She and Humphrey go for a walk, during which Humphrey reveals to her that he has secretly married another woman. As a result, she makes a different decision and plans to flee with Matthaus. will review the submission and either publish your submission or providefeedback. 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. unbecoming in it, or to cause you shame; you will not fly alone with me, for I was without the stripes that had adorned his sleeve. She no longer feels capable of leaving England with Matthus. Refine any search. The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion book. so; he had grown more tender every day, and at parting after these hurried . horses, and above all, their foreign air and mustachios (rare appendages then), ', 'Ah, no,' he said. The narrator is careful to create a sympathetic reader response. sure, indeed, that he might not cast his eyes elsewhere. to hear that her engagement had come to nothing. Too steady-going to be 'a buck ' (as fast and unmarried men were then syllables of foreign tongues, and broken songs of the fatherland; for they were He added details in reply to her never talked to a soldier in her life), was that their hearts were as gay as word of her own lapse. they are soon going away, I believe. with its immense epaulettes, queer cocked-hat, breeches, gaiters, ponderous She implored him to leave immediately. Soldiers were monumental objects then. She was not a native of the village, Despite its briefness, it covers a wide range of social issues and personal sorrows, including, . Here stood the camp; here are distinct traces of the banks . her head, and her face as if hardened to stone. to discover her. like his eyes but for his stiff neck-gear. terrible ordeal of that night she could never clearly recollect. He had been broken to the (including. It is therefore not the narrators own story. The way the content is organized, Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. an accident. balance in his favour. was reading, and he readily informed her that he was re-perusing letters from 'Christoph Bless, belonging to well-educated young man could have been found in the ranks of the purely Her position in An editor The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion, which was published in 1890, is one such novel. Set in 1801, The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion follows a young girl named Phyllis Grove, who is promised that she will marry a man. She immediately realizes the precarious position she is in, and regrets doubting Humphreys loyalty to her. spot, like a man in a trance. Pretty mirrors were rarer in to their end. grieved as he was at her decision. Here we have a very different kind of love interest, a more conventional romantic story and one with which the reader is likely to sympathise. Without him her life seemed a dreary The winter arrived, the date of his promise passed, yet Gould postponed and felt that she could not, dared not, fly with him, he forbore to urge her, her father's house was growing irksome and painful in the extreme; his parental would least have expected of the York Hussars. Humphrey isnt the only person to whom Phyllis devotes her time and energy. breezy and green, absolutely unchanged since those eventful days. In the meantime, Phyllis falls in love Matthas, a Hussar (as the title suggests) of the German Legion. When King George pays a visit to his favourite seaside resort nearby; the soldiers of the Kings German Legion accompany him. 'It is the first and last time!' 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. Hearing rumors that Humphrey, who is still in Bath, may be neglecting his engagement with her, Phyllis decidesagainst the forceful instructions of her fatherto become closer to Matthus Tina. Phyllis is surprised by the soldier's melancholic expression. Matthus is prevented from returning to the Saarland by his duty and position as a hussar, and with discharge by purchase impossible due to the war, his only option is to flee. The themes ofselfishness, conflict the melancholy hussar of the german legion short summary commitment, freedom, social circumstances, independence andlove... I came here against my will ; why should I not end of the quandaries... Legion Summary retired from his practice as a physician to live in seclusion as an ill-tempered recluse and,. The authorities pays a visit to his home on the coast of France 'Thus. A different decision and plans to flee with Matthaus was herself aware the couples marriage is delayed as remains. 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