Analysis For A Pair Of Blue Eyes

In this article Hardy’s 3rd novel; A Pair of Blue Eyes, has over and over again been gravely pilloried for its lapses in pragmatism, categorization of rural life, and selection of narrative makeup. As expressed in this article, the author criticizes those scholars who instead of recognizing the novel as having merit literary in itself, they have assigned its worth as example of the Hardy’s weaknesses in his early text or as a pioneer to his later celebrated novels, like Test of the D’Urbervilles (1891) and the other one on; Jude the Obscure (1895). Scholars like Edmund Blunden and J. I. M. Stewart, who have tried to expose the novel’s imaginative inconsistencies especially on Hardy’s handling of its intricate motives. He demonstrates for instance Blunden’s negation on the text prior to allowing himself to have a practical opportunity to explore it which is shown by some of his comments like; “you don’t get far in A Pair of Blue Eyes sooner than we are entertained, which is not the author intension”. He commends on the great scholarly enthusiasm saying that pursuit on man’s capacity and experience in expressive relations. He criticizes most scholars whose critical mindset do not recognize the close scrutiny of Hardy’s novel like the scheming chess metaphor that benefits his textual breakdown

The important component of this analysis is in the close attentive estimation that is critical to the accepting of Hardy’s extremism, his boldness in convention, his denial of existing sexual practices and dedication to the sexual authenticity of his women.

John V. Not Surprising. Jalic Inc., 2005.

The author agrees that there are parts in the novel that shows as if things are going to turn out OK for all characters a point at which the Hardy just ruins one or two characters lives in his stories. This has made the author struggle to Hardy saying that he’s got a cruel splash, either for his characters or for his readers. The author recommends the book as a good reading probably for a person who is feeling too good about life in the world in order to get what he has called a threatening winter-storm sensation. In this articles the author figure out the motive of Handy in his text whether to create audience of disheartened people or he has written the depressing dramas to construct a point as he wonders where fun is in being the kill-joy ALL of the time.

He points out Handy’s liberalism where Handy doesn’t tell to us of the dangers of breaching society’s ethical code but rather points out the peril in having a stern moral code. In Blue Eyes, Hardy has avoided a happy ending because he wanted to make his character’s defeat the product of their opinions. The author congratulates Thomas Handy as one author who has managed to clearly show the self harsh quality of chauvinism, prejudice, arrogance and creativity in the characters used making the reader like them and at the point of falling apart it’s hard for the reader to watch it happen.

Justin. 1st Hardy for me. Jalic Inc., 2003.

The author comments that he would genuinely congratulate Thomas Handy in the novel; a pair of blue eyes due to the uniqueness in the way Handy manages to paint each character in the book which makes the reader identify with the books characters feeling like one knows them more closely than from reading the book. The author also acknowledges the vast use of symbolism, forewarning in a serious way but lightly told. He further says that Handy manages to prove that it’s not all dull or dark until the closing stages and has liked it greatly.

Rachelle de Bretagne. Book reviews: A Pair of Blue Eyes, by Thomas Hardy. Whitmore Publishing, 1995.

The recommends that the author, Hardy has particularly managed to portray a life in this epoch of history, and the enticing expressive nature of his effort embroiders fine details that encompasses the details of perceptions and values neighboring the British rank of the time. The author feels that Handy has not used words to pad the text but rather has designed to give focus and skill to the word in print. The novel as the e article shows has portrayed Hand as exceptionally clever at it with a smart sense of clarity.

This article says that the glow between characters in the novel has worked very credibly and the varying tides of luck and reputation embraces the storyline making it work well and this leaves the reader evaluating the lives of the characters highlighted by Hardy. The author in this article also expresses hi like of the print and the way it’s presented in a Penguin typical version. She feels that one of the things which took away the reputation of this novel is the quick of the much loved which is distant From the Madding multitude. The author of the article has concluded that the book has its merits, and it’s very nicely penned.

Halperin, John. Leslie Stephen, Thomas Hardy, and “A Pair of Blue Eyes”. The modern Language Review, 75(4), 738-745.

In this article the author criticizes Carl J. Weber who claims that the Knight’s ordeal as in Handy’s story developed from a picnic that he had with Emma Lavinia Gifford who eventually became his wife, during the picnic Emma lost her ear ring in a rocky crevice and requested Handy to look for it despite the heavy downfall. Weber claims that from the experience Hand y wrote poem which he called ‘where the picnic was’ where he portrays his ability to keep interest in a tense circumstance. The author has greatly taken interest in the Handy’s possible sources fro the episode of which Weber is wrong as another scholar by the name Bailey has shown, that the poem ‘where the picnic was’ came from a very different picnic in 1912 of the which Knights nightmare as in the novel had not anything to do with a picnic. The author in this article feel that one of the scholars by the name Gittings was closer to the truth about the details of the episode in the book; a pair of blue eyes’ where Knight is shown as hanging on face of a cliff. Gittings claims that the episode is based Leslie Stephen essay which was titled’ A bad five minutes in the Alps’.

Hardy, Thomas. A pair of Blue Eyes. London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd, 1912.

The article say that the novel; A Pair of Blue Eyes” is notable for its innermost scene that to extent surprised and inspired Victorian readers. In the beginning it had caused Hardy to be entangled in arguments regarding the sexual morality of his book which he strove to show by the oppressive effects of societal conventions on the human character. The article recommends that the novel is loaded with biographical echoes revealing the full surfacing of the graphic ironies which portray Hardy’s afterward in his great works, and gave a implication of the terrible philosophy that dominated all he wrote. The author describes the novel as with a loving nature of the champion, Elfride Swancourt, which pervades the text and concludes the book has got a singular

In this article the book; a Pair of Blue Eyes is said to have given a particular place in Hardy’s novel. The book is said to be autobiographical, showing part on his youthful courtship to Emma Gifford, Hi future his first wife. The author of the article relates to Emma’s death, where Hardy resolves to a pair of blue eyes where guilt and lament for his cold disregard of her in her lifetime took hold of him and he simply plots on a girl, Elfrida Swancourt who at he same time falls in love with an architect by the name Stephen Smith and while Stephen moves to India to make his fortune, Elfrida’s distressed wavering in choosing amid of her two suitors becomes the focus of the novel. Hardy’s prose is beautiful and this makes it rise high with romantic Victorian fiction. The article recommends the book for the dramatic episodes especially where Knight is hanging on a face of a cliff only to be rescued using her undergarments. The author also says that the characters are likeable while the dramatic incidents and landscape descriptions are as portrayed by he novel look beautiful. His story sounds intensely personal perhaps because he engaged the heart more than the head.

The author says that he loved the novel “A Pair of Blue Eyes”. He marks Hardy’s use of poetical language as remarkably strong and with softening sway which in essence was powerful, turbulent and scandalous. Hardy who in the article is described as an omniscient narrator draws the characters quite accurately, passionately in addition to including some stunning comments on life and love. The way he has bought out comments like; “Love is faith, faith, like a gathered flower, will flourishly live on”. He concludes that the book is n encourager.

The articles describes the book as written at a time when the vogue for unsystematic church-restoration had just gotten to the outmost nooks of western England, where the feral and tragic features of coast had extensively combined in ideal accord with the rough Gothic Art of the clerical buildings marked along it, throwing into unusual friction all architectural trials at freshness there. The author of the article highlights and fantasy narration of three human hearts, with no correspondence with material state of affairs, found in the average incidents of such renovations appropriate for its production and marks it a great work. The author of the article recommends Hardy for the way he has brought out romance and love as well as faith and he gothic bigotry.

The author in this article explains the synopsis in the Blue-eyed and excited, Elfride Swancourt as of little occurrence of the world outside her remote community, and becomes entwined with the two men: the Stephen Smith who is described as a boyish architect and Henry Knight referred as older literary man. The previous friends turn into rivals, and Elfride faces an unbearable choice. Elfride’s predicament mirrors the tricky verdict Hardy himself had to make in this novel which is either pursuing the career of architecture, in which he was conventional, or writing, where at that particular time has to establish and make a name.

Moore, Bill. Hardy’s Most Underrated Work. Amazon, 2010.

Moore thinks that the author’s earlier novels Under the Greenword Tree and Desperate Remedies were flawed but they were interesting and promised great work to come. A pair of Blue Eyes was a quantum leap; it was great improvement from one book to another. Although this book was seen as a great improvement at the time it was published, today it is one of the underrated books considering the books that came after this.

The author has thinks that the book has detailed, interesting and often beautifully and lyrical descriptions of setting. He makes these settings an integral part of the story which is not common among many writers. The author of the article also thinks that this novel brings out Hardy as a strong heroine. Although his first two books had this, they did not bring it clearly as in the case of this novel. The Focus of the novel is on Elfride Swancourt and it never shifts from her. Hardy is seen has having a far higher view of women than most people of his time.

Daniel, Martin. Review of Hardy’s Book. University of Saxion, 2009.

The author of the article feels that this is one of Hardy’s “Romances and Fantasies.” He thinks that the story has a quality that is almost mythic, he thinks that the female character Elfride has a character that is common to the genres heroines. He thinks that, if the book is given a cut that is dried and cut label, this is injustice to the novel. What is interesting is that it relies on coincidence that is melodramatic which is more than in any other of Hardy’s book. Some people do not like Hardy’s novels but they find themselves liking this one. The story brings out the life’s view of the Author which the author of this article thinks that it was a dark view. The author thinks that this view does not come out clearly up to the last part of the novel. His artistry is also controlled in a tight way and is brought out in an immaculate way. In the novel, it is clear that the author will turn out well in every novel that he writes. This is especially to those who have read his earlier work, they will see this pattern of improvement in any new book that Hardy writes.

Kunnari, Mathew. Matthewkunnari’s review of A Pair of Blue Eyes. Goodreads Inc., 2010.

The author thinks that the book is an improvement comparing it to the writer’s earlier work Almost a Shock. He wonders how the author managed to write a better book. He thinks that the story has a plot that is sound, interesting character, a setting that is not as dominant as in the previous works. He however thinks that the book is weak in that the book has an ending that is somewhat predictable.

The author of this article says that Hardy does not have an intention of painting a character who is perfect. He thinks that the main character is mostly based on Hardy’s wife. This however does not seem so important to the author but he thinks that what is important is not to look for parallels with Hardys life but to take her on her terms. He thinks that other characters in the Novel are also interesting and this is much improvement compared to the earlier novels. He thinks that the earlier work has character development that is not much. He thinks that Elfride’s father is little more than a stock overbearing father or a preacher who is pretentious. The two male characters are of much interest: the Scholar and the architect. The author thinks that there are elements of Hardy in both characters but neither of them is near exact portrait. They are always in any interesting events and are sympathetic in many ways. Both also have faults which are clear but the reader is made to feel for both.

Chris. Early Hardy Circa. Amazon, 2007.

The author has some moments of wry humor and thinks that the story has a stunning end as the two men try to reunite with Elfride. The introduction is stunning and has an exhaustive history of the text. He mentions that the book is not one of the writer’s most celebrated but when one starts to read it, it is not easy to put it down. He thinks that the book is an early classic written by one of the greatest minds in the history of English literature.

The author speaks of the most famous scene in the Novel – “Knight and Elfride’s literal cliffhanger.” He thinks that this is a scene that led to the book getting much attention and it is also the focal point and remains highly influential. This also spawned many imitations up to today. This scene is thought to be one of the best writings from Hardy. It is not much plausible how Knight comes to be saved but Hardy has an ulterior motive. The author however thinks that the Novels written by Hardy after A Pair of Blue Eyes were better and had more complicated plots. Although this novel cannot be ranked as his third or fourth best, it is better than almost any other author’s masterpiece. The Author finishes by saying that the book is absolute for critics and fans.

The author of this article starts by pointing out that he has liked every story or poem by Hardy. He feels that Hardy reminds him of William Faulkner. He thinks that Faulkner must have read the writings from Hardy because he writes in the same pattern as Hardy. The girl with the blue eyes also reminds this author of many characters from many other books that he has read. He thinks that the quotes in the novel from the Peasants are wonderful. Hardy’s many references enrich this novel and educate the person reading it. The book is filled with sex which only seen when one reads in between the lines.