I A brief introduction to Thomas Hardy and Tess

Tess

1A brief introduction to Thomas Hardy and Tess of the D’Urbervilles Thomas hardy was a famous critical realistic writer in England. Tess of the D‟Urbervilles is the most influential one of his work.

1.1A brief introduction to Thomas hardy and his writing features

Thomas Hardy (1840_1928), one of the representatives of the English critical realism novelist, he was also a poet. He is famous for novels of character and environment. His birthplace was in a country which named Egdon in the westland; this natural environment formed the main environment in the hardy‟ writes. His father was a stonecutter, but like music, his parents paid more attention on Hardy‟s education. In his childhood，he received the education for theology, but when he grew up, he turned to learn the literary. After Hardy left school he became a architect‟s apprentice in 1856. And then he went to London to become a post of the building draftsman in 1862. He also took courses in London University. His literature career began with poetry, but due to not have the good fortune to publish it he changed the matter for novel creation. His firs novel was published in 1871, the celebrated work was his fourth novel Far From the Madding Crowd(1874),from then on, he dropped construct industry and devoted to the novel creation.

Hardy wrote nearly 20 long novels his life, the most famous novels are The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), Tess of the D'Urbervilles(1891), Jude the Obscure(1896). His works reflected the changed of social economy, political, moral and tradition when the hypocritical bourgeoisie invaded the countries in England.

.As a transitional writer, Hardy was both influenced by both the past and the modern, as a result he is known as intellectually advanced and emotional traditional writer. In his novels on the one hand he showed an apparent nostalgic feeling in his description of the simple and beautiful though primitive rural life, which was gradually declining and disappearing as England marched into an industrial country. On the other hand, the immense impact of scientific discoveries and modern philosophic thoughts upon man is quite obvious too,

He was deeply influenced by Influenced by Darwin‟s The Origin of Species and Spencer‟s The First Principle, he accepted the idea of survival the fittest and believed that man‟s fate is predeterminedly tragic, driven by a combined force of “nature” both inside and outside. The natural environment is shown as some mysterious supernatural force, which is very powerful.

1.2The brief plot of Tess of the D’Urbervilles

Tess

Tess comes from a farmer‟s family, the Durbeyfields. One day her father, John Durbeyfield learns that they‟re descended from the D‟Urbervilles, an ancient noble family. Her mother urges Tess to claim kinship with the remaining D‟Urbervilles, so that Tess could marry a gentleman. Unwillingly, the girl comes in contact with the Stoke D‟Urbervilles. There she meets Alec D‟Urbervilles. Having received a job of tending chickens, Tess stays in the D‟Urbervilles house. Before long the rich but guileful Alec manages to seduce the girl and make her pregnant. Being humiliated and resolute, Tess returns home, and gives birth to the child who is named Sorrow but dies. Without financial support, Tess has to leave home and goes to work at a distant farm, where she meets Angel Claire. After Angel persistent pursuit of Tess, the two fall in love. In the weeding night, Tess admits about Alec D‟Urbervilles and the child. She begs for forgiveness, but Angel leaves her in disgust. Tess again returns home alone, only find that her family remains impoverished and she even has no place to stay. She has a difficult time finding work and is forced to take a job at an unpleasant and unprosperous farm. In the meantime Alec D‟Urbervilles appears again. He promises to support her family, only as a means to make Tess dependent. At the end of hope, the girl jumps into the trap of the shameless man. However, Angel Claire, who is regretful for his brutality comes back, which makes Tess even more desperate. After Angel leaves, she kills Alec. Then she follows Angel and escape with him. They manage to hide for a while in a wood before she is arrested. She is hung late

2 Two reasons lead to Tes s’s tragic fate

2.1 Economic hardship leads to Tes s‟s tragic fate

At the beginning of the novel, Tess is a daughter of a poor family. Her poor family forced she seeks help from relatives with same surname. So her tragic fate begins.

2.1.1The first economic hardship

Tess was born in a poor family, she is the eldest child in her family. Her father bears the burden of all the families. But he also suffered from heart disease. In one accident, their horse died. So their family fell into a serious economic hardship. The author wrote “The haggling business, which had mainly depended on the horse became disorganized forthwith. Distress, if not penury, loomed in the distance.‟‟(Tess of the D’Urbervilles37) Under the economic pressure, Tess dose not insist on her first choice, but chooses to follow her mother‟s advice to the house of wealthy relatives. In the end she suffers devastating, becomes the sacrificial victim.

Tess

2.1.2the second economic hardship

The second time of economic hardship is happened more than 8 months after Tess was abandoned by Angel. She is unable to work because of the rainy season. Her mother send a letter to her to ask for money to repair house“ Part of the reminder she was obligated to expand in winter clothing, leaving only a nominal sum for the whole inclement season at hand.‟‟(Tess of the D’Urbervil les322) Facing with the bad economic situation she could ask Angle‟s father for help or she could tell her families or she could return to Talbothays. But she finally chooses to work in Fintcomb-Ash farm “a starve acre place” (Tess of the D’Urbervilles335). Unfortunately, the farmer there is the one who was hit by Angel before. He treats Tess very bad. “She did for one moment picture what might have been the result if she had been free to accept the offer just made her of being the monied Alec‟s wife. It would have lifted her completely out of subjection, not only to her present oppressive employer, but to a whole world who seemed to despite her.‟‟(Tess of the D’Urbervilles374) Although at that time she does not do what she had thought. But to some extent we can predict the future of Tess‟s. Then Tess gives up the chance to go to the town to find a job. “having a vaguely-shaped hope that something would happen to render another outdoor engagement unnecessary‟‟(Tess of the D’Urbervilles376). Tess‟s choice do esn‟t directly force her to become Alec‟s prey. But after she and her family moves out of Marlott, they become homeless and helpless.

2.1.3 The second economic hardship

The third time of economic hardship happened when her father died. Her father died and the whole family could not find a place to live. Tess comes back to Alec again for family in exchange for family member‟s warm and sufficient condition. Tess seems to have no choice but to accept Alec‟s help. But actually she still had other choices. She could ask Alec‟s father help for help or she could sell the jewels which her husband left her. However, she is reluctant to sell the jewels which her husband left her. Imaging if she values the jewels her husband left her so much, how can she betray her husband to be someone else‟s lover! Or she could do some work to support her family. So what‟s the real reason of her tragic fate?

2.2Ethic and temptations lead to Tess‟s tragic fate

Tess is a girl who needs love. Facing with ethics and temptations, her tragic fate is finally decided by her true feelings.

2.2.1The first moral dilemma

Tess

The first time she faces the serious moral dilemma happens after she lost her virginity. In the Victorian Age, it was a shameful thing for girls. Facing with the ethnic pressure she doses not choose to marry Alec but to tell Alec that “if I had gone for love o‟ you, if I had ever sincerely loved you, if I loved you still, I should not so loathe and hate myself for my weakness as I do now! ...My eyes were dazed by you for a little, and that was all.‟‟(Tess of the D‟Urbervilles89) she would rather choose to go home to bear heavy ethic pressure by herself. Between love and ethic, Tess chooses love.

2.2.2The second moral dilemma

The second time she faces with the serious moral dilemma happens when she meet Angel again. This time Angel pursues her. But her heart is full of contradiction. She doses not know whether to tell him of her past or not. She is in hesitation. After missing many chances to confess the truth to him, she finally says yes to Angel‟s proposal. On the next day she writes …‟a most toughing and urgent letter‟‟ (Tess of the D‟Urbervilles229) to her mother for advice. In her response she says “on no account do you say a word of your Bygone Trouble to him ‟‟(Tess of the D‟Urbervilles229). So she doesn‟t tell about her experiences. Before married, Tess writes a letter to Angel to confess her past. But “Under the edge of the carpet she discerned the faint white margin of the envelope containing her letter to him, which he obviously had never seen, owing to her having in her haste thrust it beneath the carpet as well as beneath the door” (Tess of the D‟Urbervilles251) and she has to destroys the letter in her room.. In hesitation she decides to tell Angel after the weeding. At this point, between love and ethic she chooses love. This choice directly leads to her tragic destiny. She is abandoned by Angel. Alec once says …‟O Tess! If you had only told me sooner,

I would have forgiven you!‟‟ (Tess of the D‟Urbervilles315)

2.2.3The third moral dilemma

The third moral dilemma happens when she faces with the pursuit of Alec again. This time she was already married. She has to choose between a husband who is in name only or who is in nature. Before her sister comes to her to ask for help Tess writes to Angel “come to me-come to me, and save me from what threatens me-your faithful heartbroken Tess‟‟(Tess of the D‟Urbervilles396). But she doesn‟t receive the response. Under the economic pressure and temptations from Alec, the first time she hates Angel and writes a letter to Angel “O why have you treated margin so monstrously, Angel! I do not deserve it. I have thought it all over carefully, and I can never, never forgive you! You know that I did not intend to wrong you-why have you so wronged me? You are

Tess

cruel, cruel indeed!‟‟(Tess of the D‟Urbervilles418) At last Tess surrenders to Alec. The writer wrote: “It was not her husband, she had said. Yet a consciousness than in a physical sense this man alone was her husband seemed to weigh on her more and more!‟‟ (Tess of the D‟Urbervilles420) On the other hand, Angel chooses to go back to England. But before he could find Tess, Tess goes back to Alec already. But when Angel turns up again, Tess goes mad. Facing with the pressure from love and moral, her mental breaks down, she blames all the crime to Alec. She makes an impetuous decision. She kills Alec.

3 Social background

This story happened in the Victorian era, the society is full of changes in almost every respect, and man totally dominating woman.

In Victorian era, the industrial continues to develop in spite of the social evils that accompanied. The emergence of locomotives throws Britain into a frenzy of railway building. Agriculture is further mechanized. Trade and commerce grew quickly driving more peasants, hand spinners and weavers to the crowd factories of the smoky cities. The great transformation makes England from an agricultural base to an industrial base, under the process of industrialism and the disintegration of peasantry. More and more peasants become impoverished and live miserable life. In Victorian era, the male requested females to be loyal to male. Males dominate females, if a girl lost her virginity before married that will be a shameful thing. The sexual morals were presumably rooted in people‟s rational minds.

In the novel, when Tess and Angel finished their confessions of each other, Angel‟s reaction towards Tess after her confessions is totally unlike Tess‟s towards him. After his casual account of his previous experiences, Tess feels that Angel‟s wrongdoing is just the same as her own. In contrast, Angel thinks Tess is no longer a pure girl of nature. Moreover, the whole society turns against Tess, which aggravates her miserable life.

4 Conclusion

From the novel and analysis, in fact poverty is not being overwhelmed Tess. Facing with the first and the second economic crisis she doesn‟t surrender to Alec. But the third time she goes to Alec is not all because of economic hardship. Facing with the moral dilemma she doesn‟t give up. She bravely chooses love. Facing with the request of being honesty to confess, Tess chooses love. When Alec appears again at that time Tess is in the hopeless of Angel‟s love. So she chooses the one

Tess

who loves her of great passion. Because she is a woman needs love. Her husband abandons her and her family in a very bad situation, under this condition she chooses Alec at last. So I think if her father didn‟t die and Angel doesn‟t go back to England she would still chooses Alec instead of killing him.

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Tess

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