Tony Kytes the Arch Deciver, by Thomas Hardy, Life Choices.

Tony Kytes the Arch Deceiver is a novella which carries the traditional Hardiesque backdrop of malevolence and determination, but here his normally pessimistic approach to life is treated much more lightly . For example, when the women were put in danger by the uncontrolled cart, the situation was controlled with a farcical denouement. Had this been a different Hardy novel, the outcome would probably have been more serious. (i.e. Tess of the Durbyvilles.) On a …

…without weighing up the implications of times consequences. On a large scale the story is quite sad but the tragicomic nature of the ludicrous situation Tony finds himself in, through his own foolishness makes the story funny. What Tony does not realise, as he makes what I think he believes to be mature life choices, is that once something is said, a script has been written and an important moment has been sealed in memory.