[Hardy-l] postscript two

[Jackie Wilkinson]

     It is interesting to note that two further articles in the same journal
mirror the portrayal Hardy gives of Little Father Time.  Brian J McConville,
MB, ChB, FRCP(C) in his article on 'The Causes and Treatment of Depression
in Young Children', states,:
     'Life events causing stress, loss and deprivation in young children
give rise to sadness and misery, or more frank depressive symptoms which
eventually be associated with minor or major affective disorders. [. . .]
prolonged deprivation and loss in a non-caring environment, and especially
where parenting figures are diffused, negative or unknown, seem to provide
for a long-term deleterious effect. p. 61
     In yet a further article again in the same magazine by John D. O'Brien,
MD on 'Intervention and Prevention Strategies for Children with Depressed
Mothers', pp.73-4, O'Brian remarks: 
     'Further, regarding the depression the child, at this age, feels an
acute sense of deprivation from the mother's lack of disinterest and often
feels that is due to something that they have or have not done. Serious
difficulties arise because the child assumes the responsibility for the
state of his mother. When the child attempts to be different, to change, or
reach mother, the child feels frustrated and worthless because the mother
greets his attempts with further withdrawal, more hostility or scolds him
for being a demanding child.' 
      Even though Sue does not actually scold little Jude she does behave in
a manner which typifies depression. The similarities once again between
Hardy and relatively modern thought on depression are remarkable. What
enhances the depiction of Little Father Time for me, however, is that
simultaneously he is a complex metaphoric figure who is indeed 'a nodal
point' not only in Sue and Jude's world but in the novel itself and, I would
argue, in Hardy's own creative process.
     All the best
     Jacky  
     
     
     -----Original Message-----
From: Susan Mary Farrell [mailto:sfarrell at unm.edu] 
Sent: 24 November 2008 16:01
To: hardy-l at coyote.csusm.edu
Subject: RE: [Hardy-l] postscript two
     
     
     I agree with you Jacky. I have worked most of my career with
emotionally
     disturbed children and their families.    I have a long standing
interest in
     Hardy since my teenage years, and for a long time I have had the
fantasy of
     writing a discourse on his portrayal of familial transmission of
character
     and "fate" (Tess, Jude).  Father Time is clearly depressed, probably
having
     been severely emotionally and possibly physically neglected and abused
while
     in Australia with Arabella and her parents, being a sensitive child
anyway
     with Jude as his father, with his keen sensibilities (and cousin Sue as
     well).    Hardy's portrayal of Father Time is so heartbreaking, and
there
     are and have been of course thousands - millions? -  of children born
into
     his kind of situation.  
             I am so glad to have discovered this online community of Hardy
     admirers and look forward to continuing communication and commentary.
         Susan
     
     Susan M. Farrell, LISW
      Senior Social Worker
      Counseling Assistance and Referral Services
         (CARS)
       University of New Mexico
       Albuquerque, NM  87131
       
     -----Original Message-----
     From: Jackie Wilkinson [mailto:jacky at wilkinson1.eclipse.co.uk] 
     Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2008 8:05 AM
     To: hardy-l at coyote.csusm.edu
     Subject: RE: [Hardy-l] postscript two
     
          I know I digress a little here, Arthur, but in a section I am
working
     on regarding Little Father Time I discovered this extract from the
Journal
     of Children in Contemporary Society (1982) regarding Hardy's depiction
of
     the child:
          'Problems are often dramatised in literature long before they are
     recognised as contemporary social issues [. . .]  After years of
debate, and
     almost a hundred years after Hardy wrote about Little Father Time, a
growing
     number of specialists in the medical profession are concluding that
children
     can suffer from depression' Mary Frank    
          Source: Mary Frank,  'Introduction to Childhood Depression',
Journal of
     Children in Contemporary society, , ed. by Mary Frank (Kingston,
Ontario:
     The Haworth Press, 1983), p.1.
          In my studies I have been interested to learn of Hardy's interest
in
     psychology, counting among his friends several psychologists including
     Crichton-Browne, an expert on child suicide. Hardy never ceases to
amaze me,
     his research, in all areas, is so thorough and often ground-breaking.
          Jacky Wilkinson
          PhD candidate, Lancaster University 
           
          -----Original Message-----
     From: Arthur Efron [mailto:efron at buffalo.edu] 
     Sent: 23 November 2008 14:18
     To: hardy-l at coyote.csusm.edu; efron at buffalo.edu
     Subject: [Hardy-l] postscript two
          
          In my book on TESS, I recount a little tale about Freud and Hardy.
I 
          don't think it is well-known, and it is relevant to my
determination to
     
          deal with Tess as a character in  a novel who should be regarded
as if 
          she is a full human being who has an unconscious. Quote from my
book:
          
          -----------------------
          As for Hardy's psychological insight, perhaps this comment by
Sigmund 
          Freud will suffice:  "He knew psychoanalysis." Freud said this in
1923,
     
          as he looked up from the copy of  TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES  that
he
     was 
          reading.
          
          --------------------
          
          All the best,
          
          --Art Efron
          
          
          
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