'Thomas Hardy's Women' looks at the most significant relationships Thomas Hardy had with the women during his lifetime. It begins by looking at family members and examines the considerable influence exerted by his mother, Jemimah. Next, it assesses his relationships with his two sisters, Mary and Kate and his two wives, Emma and Florence before describing his friendships with four of his closest female confidantes, Tryphena Sparks, Florence Henniker, Agnes Gove and Gertrude Bugler. The second section of the book looks at his female characters, his heroines, whom he often used as mouthpieces for his views on love, marriage, feminism and much else. The closing chapters draw together what we have been able to glean from how his own life was shaped through his relationships with the women in his life and how much they influenced his views on women and society.While the book draws some conclusions about Hardy’s character, his psychological make-up and his views on misogyny and feminism, romance and love, it also gives an insight into Hardy’s dual-personality and how his relationships with the women who influenced him found their way into writing and allowed Hardy to escape from the vicissitudes of his own life into his own world.
