"Arcadia"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how the portrayal of different time periods, the early nineteenth century and the late twentieth century in Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia" reveals a progression of knowledge and values, which differentiate across the generations and centuries. It looks at how both periods of time focus around the two female heroines of the novel Thomasina Coverly and Hannah Jarvis and the events, ideas and attitudes are sometimes quite different.

From the Paper:

"There are many other instances, especially through the character Hannah who epitomizes pessimism, where Stoppard may be viewed to present the late nineteenth century as "weary cynicism." A good illustration of this can be seen by looking at the two households. The family of Thomasina's age is refined and aristocratic, at the height of high society. However in Hannah's generation, the Croom family may be seen to have dissolved somewhat into disarray. Chloe appears rather uneducated, the parents are absent and all the children have developed what may be considered curious characteristics, or at least would have been to their early nineteenth century ancestors."

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