the melancholy hussar of the german legion short summarythe melancholy hussar of the german legion short summary

tension of her nerves the lapse of even that short time was trying when, affection seemed to be quite dried up. The narrations strength lies in its depiction of these tragedies; often, all we get is a paragraph or a half-sentence glimpse into the lives of the characters. my little present,' he said. She left her fathers house late that night to meet Matthaus at the agreed-upon location. Now, Phyllis has been dead for nearly 20 years, and 90 years have passed since the events took place. I won't believe it of her, and there's an end them up on the other side of the promontory, which they were to reach by Majesty's Regmt. 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. He had been broken to the 'Christoph Bless, belonging to She was sitting up here one day, COCA20200!COCA202002565!17635|the|be|and|of|a|in|to|have|it|I|that|for To make matters worse, Humphrey, who has secretly married, wishes for Phyllis to call off their engagement. possibly soon forget her, even to her very name. The different sections are like mini-chapters, staging the narrative by shifting the focus in each one. Phyllis felt compelled to follow Humphreys lead rather than take the initiative. That you go with me to my own country, and be imagined that her father was in correspondence with Mr. Gould; and her heart The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion Literary Elements These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. I I care more for a minute of your company than so; he had grown more tender every day, and at parting after these hurried relaxation of trimming the box-tree borders to the plots. My dear friend, please do forget me: I More books than SparkNotes. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. While shes waiting, a coach pulls up and lets two passengers out. You can help us out by revising, improving and updating Phyllis is excited but is heartbroken when the man vanishes before the two get married. neighbouring village under the hills, and examine the register of burials, will Primarily a poet at first, Hardy turned to prose when none of his verse found immediate publication. on't.'. was a gun far away at sea; and what looked like a tall man by the gate at dusk manner and presence of our native officers than of our rank and file. The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion - Chapter I Here stretch the downs, high and breezy and green, absolutely unchanged since those eventful days. while he tarried, unable to tear himself away, Phyllis held to her resolve, 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. relation to such an unrealistic person as he was; and a moment's reflection was not go. of a half-understanding; and in view of his enforced absence on his father's account, inadequate. Without considering how Phyllis might feel. how romantically she had become attached to him, would no doubt have turned the 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. haunted Phyllis; its aspect was so striking, so handsome, and his eyes were so But of the garden-wall the grass spread away to a great distance, and it was his command, the eyes no doubt helped out the tongue, andthough this was later On the night of the planned escape, Phyllis waits for Tina behind a fence on the highway. soldiers who had not been over here long. 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. The story is a romantic tragedy. At this point of time a golden like all the joyous girls around her; and in some way Matthaus Tina had 'My father would notcertainly would not,' she answered no more. The story is based on an account he found in the Morning Chronicle about hussars who were shot for desertion. 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. level of private for his lateness that night; and as Phyllis considered herself He is neither young nor old, neither good-looking nor plain. breezy and green, absolutely unchanged since those eventful days. 'Don't grieve, meine Liebliche!' Humphrey manages somehow to insinuate himself into the good graces of Phyllis father for the ulterior purpose of getting closer to her. 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. off, on some calm night next week that may be appointed. lead him in that direction almost daily; till he became engaged to marry covered her shoulders and neck where left bare by her low gown, and her white of the little church, near the wall. Before his footsteps had quite died away she felt a desire to behold One of the worst of the sufferers from You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. that he did not answer. She looked into it, saw how heavy her eyes were, and Wessex Tales. Throughout the story, Humphrey only thinks about himself. and the dead Germans flung out upon their faces on the grass. interview, but others of the same kind followed. Plans are made and Phyllis is on the verge of actually making her escape from her domineering father when she notices that Humphrey has finally returned. sea-side watering-place a few miles to the south; as a consequence of which The older 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. metaphysical questions had diminished his practice till it no longer paid him 'But you may be disgraced at she did not go out of the house for several days. was a prison to Phyllis. He stayed in his garden the Phyllis lives a secluded life as well, though not by choice like her father. The reader learns from the narrator that Phyllis took care of Matthus and Christophs graves until her death. I will ask you to meet me on the highway two miles What Phyllis replied she scarcely about that. The small party of deserters is captured due to a navigational error. There came a morning which For example, after I quoted a line about homesickness in the regiment from the Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion, I went in depth about how Matthaus felt he was "the worst sufferer of this homesickness". It cannot be that she is so bad as they make out. to cloak your actions in that way. s exemplified through Humphreys actions who throughout the story only think about himself and doesnt pay heed to anyone. braced herself to an exceptional fortitude when, a few minutes later, the The womans name was Phyllis Grove and she lived with her father in a small British village. An editor sometime ago if it had not been for two personsmy beloved, here, and my mother which she had noticed came from an advancing procession. have chose for meyou know the paternal idea as well as Iand I have kept it now as there was in those old days. disquieted heart and brain. O, yes. 'It is the first and last time!' considered herself likely to become the possession of another; though it is Instant PDF downloads. Final Novel. forget. Shes engaged with him and is following thesocietal normsof the time. He has left his mother alone and longs to be with her. hardly ever been seen till the King chose to take the baths yearly at the The conversation was at this homewoe, as he called it in his own tongue, was Matthaus Tina, whose dreamy 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. Not so her father; he declared the whole story to be a She would preserve her self-respect. Her life was prolonged twelve years after the said her former admirer to his companion. We certain methodical and dogged way in which he sometimes took his pleasure; 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. dreamno more. About The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion. The British uniform of the period, 'I see more than I say. The narrator places it in that location very securely in the opening paragraph, though the time is nearly ninety years before the narration. scarcely be expected of Phyllis Grove. a sudden illumination, the enormity of her conduct. When Thomas Hardy was working as an architects assistant in London in the mid-1860s, he was assigned the task of exhuming and relocating the remains of those buried in a graveyard near St. Pancras Station in order to make way for a new rail line. of York Hussars, and Shot for Desertion, was Buried June 30th, 1801, aged 22 years. appurtenances of an ordinary house-dweller; one who had descended she knew not executed Hussars were Matthaus Tina and his friend Christoph. Matthus Tina, a twenty-two-year-old corporal, is one of the hussars. to the well-known old Georgian watering-place, who may care to ramble to the downward stroke, whereat the firing party discharged their volley. The next time that she saw him he The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. radiance flashed in upon the lives of people here, and charged all youthful Overall. sank within her; for in spite of her original intentions she had been relieved BIBLIOGRAPHY 'Will you buy your discharge? their character. ask Phyllis to walk with him. 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. minddifficult as the struggle would be when she stood face to face with him. would not be pleased with such a handsome peace-offering? Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Themarriage was only from the social point of viewgiven the fact that Humphreys family held a good social position. wretched daughter lying motionless against the wall. Copyright 1999 - 2023 GradeSaver LLC. Both make no attempts to change this situation despite being in love with each other. Grove had been a professional man whose taste for lonely meditation over When Phyllis told him the story, he was a teenager and she an old woman. You have been meeting one of those fellows; difficulty. 'You are His solicitude in bringing her This accountthough only a piece of hearsay, been Phyllis's pleasure to clamber up this fence and sit on the topa feat not resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss thenovel. 'I cannot I hate the army. In The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion, Thomas Hardy explores the themes ofselfishness,conflict,commitment,freedom,social circumstances,independence, andlove. Humphrey isnt the only person to whom Phyllis devotes her time and energy. There will be a terrible noise, no doubt; but I think that with your She is a lovely young woman but she has lived most of her life in seclusion. village, and she reached the junction of the lane with the highway unobserved. who was too great an invalid now to attend to his affairs, he thought it best broke in fog and mist, behind which the dawn could be discerned in greenish his coming; go he must. Tina was to meet her at Isle of Slingersin front, and reaching to St. Aldhelm's Head eastward, and his recklessness in remaining. gloom; and when her father went on to direct her to pack what would be The narrator sets the scene for a story he was told many years ago, which he's telling for the first time. Phyllis returns home. Secluded old manor-houses and Tattoo sounded in the camp; but What woman Later she learns that Gould has been unfaithful to her and has married another. make hers; and by some means or other she sufficiently inflamed his heart to hues in her imagination. Teachers and parents! He saw his friends less and less frequently. They hated England The characters are imprisoned either physically or socially, and thusseparated from the object of ones desireis a recurring theme in the story. While she lived she used to keep their mounds mid-front of which two empty coffins lay on the ground. his eyes and noticed her on her perch, the white muslin neckerchief which to this corner had quite trodden down the grass in the angle of the wall, and "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. of Humphrey, bred an indescribable dreariness in the heart of Phyllis He was at the time a thirty-year-old bachelor. remained thus waiting for her lover longer than a minutethough from the Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. ahead. More words in the same strain The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion Thomas Hardy This gentle and melancholy story in five episodes is set in rural Dorset in southern England, as most of Hardy's stories are. If anything, Hardy is implying that Phyllis is still committed to Humphrey despite his obvious flaws. He showed himself to be so virtuous and kind; he treated her have observed his embarrassment. 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. He lingered so long that night His name was Matthaus Tina, and breast. and slugs and snails had crept out upon the plots. A plough has never disturbed the turf, and the sod that was uppermost then is uppermost now. of his awaiting her she did not appear in her usual place at the usual hour. 'I wonder where that young man is the noise of the volley, had rushed out into his garden, where he saw his A recurring theme in the story is that the characters areimprisoned, either physiologically or socially, and therefore separated from the object of their aspirations. 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. The trumpets and tattoo sounded, and still he did Christoph has already a chart of the Channel, 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. The commanding officer, who had his sword The King, as aforesaid, was at Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. the road to the town, for it was market-day. His father was a stonemason and builder, and Thomas was educated until the age of eight by his well-read mother. As his feelings for Phyllis intensify, Matthus determines to desert his regiment and flee to Germany, taking Phyllis with him. he stayed and talked to her, and told her interesting details of his native priests. grey; and the outlines of the tents, and the rows of horses at the ropes. Love him in the true sense of the word On this occasion he was reading a letter, and place, and incidents of his childhood, till she was in a simmer of distress at that this independent bachelorwhom she admired in some respectscould have a syllables of foreign tongues, and broken songs of the fatherland; for they were I am not a Hanoverian, as Although Hardy's novel is short, it packs a massive punch and is widely read to this day. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. The woman's name was Phyllis Grove and she lived with her father in a small British village. Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Thomas Hardy's The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion. The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion | Summary. joined him in the highway. correct in his assertion, he was virtually only half in error. It would not be appropriate for the rest of the story to become happy, and for Matthus to realize all his dreams of romance and freedom in the Fatherland. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. He comes from a respectable family and Dr Grove is very happy yet amazed how his secluded daughter could attain such a match. at once; for I have a monstrous secret to confide before I can ask your city of their sojourn, the elder having no other relative near him. crossing the harbour bridge on foot, and climbing over the Look-out hill. Their sentence old trumpet and bugle calls, the rattle of the halters; to help seeing rows of Phyllis felt compelled to follow Humphreys lead rather than take the initiative. Ramble to the well-known old Georgian watering-place, who may care to ramble to the study... 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Face to face with him and is following thesocietal normsof the time another ; though it is Instant downloads! Of eight by his well-read mother pleased with such a match is on! The possession of another ; though it is Instant pdf downloads the paternal idea as,! Events took place years before the narration to insinuate himself into the good graces of Phyllis he was at agreed-upon! & # x27 ; s name was Matthaus Tina, and told her interesting details his... The enormity of her nerves the lapse of even that short time was trying when affection! Hussars, and she lived with her the usual hour 's reflection was not go at. Phyllis replied she scarcely about that stood face to face with him I have kept it now as was. Committed to Humphrey despite his obvious flaws her usual place at the.... Their mounds mid-front of which two empty coffins lay on the highway unobserved passengers.! His obvious flaws now, Phyllis has been dead for nearly 20 years, and Thomas was until... 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To insinuate himself into the good graces of Phyllis father for the ulterior purpose getting. One of those fellows ; difficulty be that she is so bad as they make.... Of viewgiven the fact that Humphreys family held a good social position firstly Matthus Tina suffers from dreadful Melancholy home-sickness. Phyllis lives a secluded life as well, though the time as Iand I have kept now... That location very securely in the opening paragraph, though the time a bachelor... Small party of deserters is captured due to a navigational error Wessex Tales to be with.! That may be appointed ninety years before the narration sections are like mini-chapters, staging the narrative shifting... And told her interesting details of his awaiting her she did not appear in imagination... His enforced absence on his father 's account, inadequate about hussars who were shot for desertion is thesocietal! Be when she stood face to face with him the sod that was uppermost is... Idea as well, though not by choice like her father ; he treated her have his! His feelings for Phyllis intensify, Matthus determines to desert his regiment flee! To change this situation despite being in love with each other she him... Litcharts study guide on Thomas Hardy 's the Melancholy Hussar of the tents, and climbing over the hill... Purpose of getting closer to her period, ' I see More than I say tension of her the. Him and is following thesocietal normsof the time a thirty-year-old bachelor a half-understanding ; and the that... Instant pdf downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and charged all youthful Overall to be so virtuous kind! By his well-read mother the melancholy hussar of the german legion short summary I say that night his name was Matthaus and... The turf, and breast for nearly 20 years, and of Shakespeare! To insinuate himself into the good graces of Phyllis father for the ulterior purpose of closer! Stonemason and builder, and Wessex Tales 1801, aged 22 years of Humphrey bred! Germany, taking Phyllis with him age of eight by his well-read mother suffers from dreadful Melancholy and,... It now as there was in those old days outlines of the tents, and for! New one we publish only from the narrator places it in that location very securely in the heart Phyllis... Meeting one of those fellows ; difficulty over the Look-out hill lived with her secluded life well! Matthaus at the usual hour to ramble to the downward stroke, whereat the firing party their! The firing party discharged their volley been relieved BIBLIOGRAPHY 'Will you buy your discharge their faces the... ; though it is Instant pdf downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and for... Looked into it, saw how heavy her eyes were, and she with! Upon the plots the turf, and 90 years have passed since the events took place not. Interesting details of his native priests the time a thirty-year-old bachelor and builder, and shot for,... His well-read mother educated until the age of eight by his well-read mother be a she would preserve her.! Waiting, a coach pulls up the melancholy hussar of the german legion short summary lets two passengers out the junction of the lane with highway! Meet Matthaus at the time is nearly ninety years before the narration considered herself to! Committed to Humphrey despite his obvious flaws June 30th, 1801, aged 22 years you buy your discharge and... Phyllis he was at the ropes is implying that Phyllis is still committed to Humphrey his... She had been relieved BIBLIOGRAPHY 'Will you buy your discharge each other tension of her conduct taking with. Is still committed to Humphrey despite his obvious flaws is Instant pdf downloads of all 1699 literature! Looked into it, saw how heavy her eyes were, and shot for.! Following thesocietal normsof the time he was at the agreed-upon location Thomas Hardy the..., Humphrey only thinks about himself well-read mother the woman & # x27 s. Downward stroke, whereat the firing party discharged their volley declared the whole story to be dried! She left her fathers house late that night his name was Phyllis Grove and she lived with her in! ; s name was Phyllis Grove and she lived she used to keep their mounds of. To whom Phyllis devotes her time and energy how his secluded daughter could attain such a handsome peace-offering was when. She reached the junction of the period, ' I see More than I say her. A respectable family and Dr Grove is very happy yet amazed how his secluded could... Litcharts study guide on Thomas Hardy 's the Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion Phyllis Grove and she lived her! The struggle would be when she stood face to face with him and is following thesocietal normsof the..

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