Thomas Hardy’s on the Western Circuit

Thomas Hardy’s “On the Western Circuit”, is a relative tale of a ‘menage’ of sorts between three, or ultimately four characters who are very different but for one common similarity. There is the young protagonist, his object of affection, his admirer and his admirer’s husband, all of whom are very human and possess very different qualities. Where they are the same however, lies in the very fact that they are each trapped, mentally, socially and more importantly sexually, destined to lead the rest of their lives in a prison that they cannot escape from.

Charles Raye, the protagonist, is immersed in sexual imagery at the beginning of the story. He is young and vibrant, surrounded by “throbbing humanity” and steam barrel organs”. One gets a sense of sexual virility and the ability to attract the opposite sex; which proves the case with him attracting both the younger unmarried Anna and the slightly older yet married Edith. The first signs of his trapping occurs when he and Edith are trapped in the crowd, unable to move yet unawares that their hands are locked in embrace. This foreshadows what is to come, since Charles believes that he is in love with Anna yet really being “in love” with Edith. Even when he eventually sleeps with Anna, yet again he is “forced” into doing the right thing by marrying her after he learns that she is pregnant. This social trapping is much more complicated than doing simply the right thing, since his marriage may prevent him from rising above his social status^[1] (Brady, 1982). The ultimate trap is revealed at the end when he realizes that Edith is the true author of the letters and not his beloved Anna. He woefully admits to Edith:

“Why, you and I are friends—lovers—devoted lovers—by correspondence!”

He commits to Anna, but we get a sense of regret and resignation, since he is now trapped with who he thought he loved and without the one he really loved.

        His counterpart Edith is similarly trapped. She married young to a much older wine merchant and from the onset, is perpetually unhappy and sexually frustrated. Kristin Brady describes her as “a woman of deep and unsatisfied passion” and her insinuation that her husband “go a hundred miles the other way” shows exactly what she thinks of him and their relationship. This is why Charles is such a pleasant surprise. From the way he makes the sexual hand gesture when they inadvertently hold hands to his manner and voice, she is instantly attracted to him but cannot act upon it; she is married. Adultery was severely prohibited especially in that time period, and even writing about it, a la this story, was strictly frowned upon. Thus, she is even more trapped since she is the victim of immense sexual emotions and cannot act upon it. Even when Anna becomes pregnant, we see the burden of the marital cage that Edith is in, since she is envious of the former’s ability to have a baby and the baby’s father: