wn upon and suspected as being a witch, as Rhoda is, however the father can carry on life as normal, he can remarry and not be looked down upon. When Farmer Lodge's wife Gertrude arm becomes disfigured he starts to find her 'disgusting'. He does not sleep with her and there is nothing to their relationship, showing he was never truly in love with her.
             Now the way Farmer Lodge treated his women would not be acceptable. Nothing would be thought of if a woman has a baby out of wedlock and they are also given benefits to help. Disfigurement is not something for which people are discriminated against. Today men and women are equal and it is very different to when the novel was written. Now attitudes to illegitimacy have changed drastically. Many people are born out of wedlock and they are not in any way looked down upon or treated differently because it is so common. The father is now also expected to help support their child by paying child maintenance.
             A child born out of marriage was not a known common occurrence when this novel was written. It was not encouraged and severely frowned upon. This is shown from when we are introduced to Rhoda and Farmer Lodge's son. Rhoda looks after and lives with her son, he knows who his father is, however they do not talk. We know of how their son came about because of gossip and talk from Rhoda about Farmer Lodge and how he calls Farmer Lodge father. When Farmer Lodge brings Gertrude back to the village Rhoda sends her son to look at her and compare herself with her. Farmer Lodge sees his son and appears not to know him, 'The farmer, though he seemed annoyed at the boy's persistent presence, did not order him to get out of the way...the farmer trotted on with relief in his lineaments – having taken no outward notice of the boy whatever.' Farmer Lodge wants this secret to be kept quiet as it was a mistake he made. When his marriage is seriously failing afte...