Thomas Hardy II

Hardy was close to his mother, who was rather domineering, and to his sisters and he courted several girls during his youth. He then married Emma Gifford, a girl of a higher class. Her father was a solicitor and she had an uncle who was an archdeacon. However her father retired early and the family were not so well off as they had been and Emma and her sister had to go out as governesses. Hardy was still working as an architect, and was doing a report on a parish church, when he met Emma, who had clerical connextions. She could see his talent, and encouraged him to write. However she was also very class conscious and soon developed the idea that he was of much lower class than her, and that she was his superior. This caused a rift in their marriage. She began to put him down in front of people and she and he grew apart. People found her odd and difficult to get on with and began to think of her as a little mad. His novels were about class differences and tension between the sexes. He began to flirt with other women, and Emma became more reclusive.