Works of Thomas Hardy discussion

On A Discovered Curl Of Hair

When your soft welcomings were said,
This curl was waving on your head,
And when we walked where breakers dinned
It sported in the sun and wind,
And when I had won your words of grace
It brushed and clung about my face.
Then, to abate the misery
Of absentness, you gave it me.

Where are its fellows now? Ah, they
For brightest brown have donned a gray,
And gone into a caverned ark,
Ever unopened, always dark!

Yet this one curl, untouched of time,
Beams with live brown as in its prime,
So that it seems I even could now
Restore it to the living brow
By bearing down the western road
Till I had reached your old abode.

Written in February 1913. Published in 1922 in "Late Lyrics and Earlier"

Related quote from "The Mayor of Casterbridge" Chapter 44 (second paragraph) about Henchard's pack:

"Although everything he brought necessitated carriage at his own back, he had secreted among his tools a few of Elizabeth-Jane’s cast-off belongings, in the shape of gloves, shoes, a scrap of her handwriting, and the like, and in his pocket he carried a curl of her hair. Having looked at these things he closed them up again, and went onward."

The poem, "A Discovered Curl Of Hair"

The poem is a soliloquy addressed to the spirit of a deceased loved one. This was written after Emma's death when Hardy discovered a curl of hair that his wife had given to him years earlier. (It is known that it was Emma's hair since Hardy showed it to his friend, Rebecca Owen.) It brought back memories of their courtship.

In Victorian times, a curl of hair was a common remembrance of someone who is loved. While we have memories in our minds, a physical remembrance that we can see and touch is very special.

Over to you!

Thank you Connie for these posts and more generally for the great work you did in connecting Thomas Hardy's poems to The Mayor of Casterbridge, providing us with deeper thoughts.

This mention of the few things Henchard had secreted was a sad passage in the novel and the poem was equally sad!

I would rather remember Marianne Dashwood, (view spoiler)[her lock of hair and her Willoughby crush in Sense and Sensibility (hide spoiler)] instead 🙂!

I'm so glad that you found this endearing poem, Connie. I wondered when I read the line about Henchard carrying a lock of Elizabeth-Jane's hair, I wondered if there were be comments regarding the tradition of giving a lock of hair to someone they love. It made me think of the lockets Victorian women used to wear as keepsakes, as well as larger portraits and even floral arrangements under glass.

What a beautiful poem--you have convinced me I need to read more of Hardy's poems, Connie!

I have a lock of my mother's hair that, based on the color, must have been from when I was very young. It has moved from my childhood jewelry box to each of my adult ones. How absolutely right Hardy is that it makes you feel a connection to the past, like you jump right back to it.

I too thought of Marianne Dashwood! I hope this is still something people do--it's a lovely keepsake.

Claudia wrote: "Thank you Connie for these posts and more generally for the great work you did in connecting Thomas Hardy's poems to The Mayor of Casterbridge, providing us with deeper thoughts.

Thi..."

Claudia, thank you for the reminder about Marianne Dashwood's lock of hair in "Sense and Sensibility." That book also has Edward carrying a lock of hair in a ring, and there is speculation about which woman he wants to remember.

Photography started in the early 1800s, and was an expense few could afford to remember their loved ones.

Pamela wrote: "I'm so glad that you found this endearing poem, Connie. I wondered when I read the line about Henchard carrying a lock of Elizabeth-Jane's hair, I wondered if there were be comments regarding the t..."

Pamela, I'm glad you mentioned the Victorian lockets, some with portraits of their beloved, and others with a lock of hair. John led the Hardy poem "A Forgotten Miniature" about a locket with a portrait of Emma.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Connie wrote: "Claudia wrote: "Thank you Connie for these posts and more generally for the great work you did in connecting Thomas Hardy's poems to The Mayor of Casterbridge, providing us with deeper..."

Yes Connie, I remember Edward's keepsake too and the speculations about it! Photography was an expense, miniatures were a possibility, albeit still onerous, (Nicholas Nickleby) or silhouette scissor cuts, more affordable (Sylvia's Lovers) by itinerant artists.

Kathleen, thanks for sharing your personal connection to a lock of hair. I'm sure it brings up treasured memories of your mother.

Connie I really appreciate how you have blended Hardy’s poems within the novel. The connections are certainly there, and I am grateful that Hardy’s writing, imagination, and skill as a novelist and a poet integrate so seemlessly.

Hardy’s couplet ‘And gone into a caverned ark/Ever unopened always dark’ is brilliant. While the words describe a somber object, the image the words evoke is implanted firmly in my mind.

I have paid scant attention to Hardy’s poetry before reading TMOC. You have introduced me to new vistas of thought.

Claudia wrote: "Connie wrote: "Claudia wrote: "Thank you Connie for these posts and more generally for the great work you did in connecting Thomas Hardy's poems to The Mayor of Casterbridge, providing..."

Thanks for the reminder of scissor cuts of a profile as a remembrance, Claudia,. It's also nice to think back fondly of books that many of us have read together!

Peter wrote: "Connie I really appreciate how you have blended Hardy’s poems within the novel. The connections are certainly there, and I am grateful that Hardy’s writing, imagination, and skill as a novelist and..."

Peter, you've highlighted some wonderful lines in the poem.

Hardy saw himself as a poet first, but the novels paid the bills. It's great that this group is reading both his poetry and prose throughout the year.

Oddly I have a lock of hair from my grandfather, whom I never knew as he died before I was born. My mother kept it as a precious memento of him. It is a rich red-auburn colour, as hers was when young.

(Poem is linked to our list.)

Bionic Jean wrote: "Oddly I have a lock of hair from my grandfather, whom I never knew as he died before I was born. My mother kept it as a precious memento of him. It is a rich red-auburn colour, as hers was when you..."

Even though you never met your grandfather, the lock of hair probably reminds you of stories your mother told of him and her love for her father. Thank you for sharing this with us, Jean.

Thank you again Connie for leading another wonderful poem. I wasn't able to get to the computer yesterday (real life getting in the way), and opening this page today was such a treat to read everyone's thoughts.

I remember giving a lock of hair to my first high school crush. I wonder if he still has it? I wish I had a lock of my grandmother's hair, that is something I would cherish always.

The lines "So that it seems I even could now/Restore it to the living brow", really tugged at my heart. It's so true that one wants to restore the departed loved one to the living world. He's really touched on a deep human emotion there.

Bridget wrote: "Thank you again Connie for leading another wonderful poem. I wasn't able to get to the computer yesterday (real life getting in the way), and opening this page today was such a treat to read everyo..."

Bridget, you've chosen some wonderful emotional lines from the poem. The lock of hair is bright brown which brings back the narrator's younger memories when they were in love.