Short Fiction · Chapters

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Chapter companions for Short Fiction by Thomas Hardy.

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Chapter 1
Short Fiction
A collection of short stories exploring themes of love, deception, social mobility, and fate, featuring characters navigating complex relationships and moral dilemmas.
Chapter 2
How I Built Myself a House
The narrator recounts the trials of building a new home with his wife Sophia, from selecting a site and architect to dealing with construction anxieties, costly extras, and the final settling-in.
Chapter 3
Destiny and a Blue Cloak
A young woman named Agatha Pollin is courted by Farmer Lovill, but her heart belongs to Oswald Winwood, who has gone to America to seek his fortune. She obtains a written pledge from Lovill to wait for Oswald's return, but when Oswald fails to return by the deadline, she is forced to marry Lovill. On her wedding morning, she attempts to escape but is caught, and the marriage proceeds.
Chapter 4
I
The chapter opens with a commotion at the Paddocks' house, where Selina has received a letter from her former fiancé, a sergeant-major of dragoons whom she believed died in the Battle of the Alma. Neighbors gather at the well and discuss the situation, revealing that Selina had been on the verge of marrying another man, a master-wheelwright, but now must decide between her old love and her new engagement.
Chapter 5
II
Selina Paddock is torn between her former fiancé, Sergeant-Major John Clark, who has returned alive despite being reported killed, and the kind Mr. Miller, who has agreed to marry her and provide for her son Johnny. As Clark arrives, the household braces for a confrontation.

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Short Fiction

How I Built Myself a House

Destiny and a Blue Cloak

I

II