Essay

An Essay on The Son´s Veto

In The Son´s Veto, by Thomas Hardy, a woman named Sophy wants to marry an ordinary man, her old friend Sam, after her first husband dies and her son does not want her to. The author shows that marriage without love is not good and that discrimination for social class is terrible.

In the short story, Sophy marries Mr Twycott when she is nineteen, twenty years younger than Mr Twycott. He is a vicar and a widower and Sophy´s master. He tells her to marry him after she twists her foot and could not stand up. She is disabled for a long time. Sophy does not exactly love him, but she has respect for him. She says yes because of  respect and money, because she comes from a poor family.

Sophy is not well educated and is from a poor family in Gaymead. People discriminate her so Mr Twycott decides to move after marrying because it is social suicide in front of the neighbours. Her husband wants her to have a good education when she speaks. For example, she confuses the use of “was” and “were”. So he helps her to improve this.

Also, Sophy is discriminated by her son, Randolph. He is a gentelman and is ordained a priest. He studied at a Public School and he does not live with his mother. He is irritated when his mother speaks badly. So Sophy feels lonely and sad because her son feels ashamed of her.

In The Son´s Veto, the author shows that marriage without love is not good and that discrimination for social class is terrible. This makes Sophy feel sad and she dies, being middle aged and on a wheeled chair. She dies alone in her house thinking that her son does not love her. Reading this short story made me realize how important it is to accept the other person as he is and not to reject him.