《苔丝》悲剧成因探析毕业设计

Introduction

Tess of the D’Urbervilles, published in 1891, was Thomas Hardy’s last and most significant work. In this novel, Hardy reached the height of his achievement as a novelist. The novel can be regarded as one of the greatest tragedy in the history of English literature. This book became one of the greatest works in the late of Victorian era, because it boldly exposed hypocritical moral in the Capitalist society and condemned the Capitalism in the late 19th century that caused impoverishment and decay of small farmers in rural England.

Tess was a poor peasant girl who wanted to rely on her hands to pursue inpidual happiness right, but the powerful social forces can’t let off a weak girl, in the end caused her tragedy. In this novel, we can see that Tess resisted her unjust fate again and again, suffered setbacks again and again, but she was destroyed at last.

The purpose of the thesis:

The cause of Tess’ tragedy has always been the concern of people, such a beautiful, noble and pure woman as Tess should suffer inevitable ruin. To research this novel, we know the view of morality in the hypocritical bourgeoisie in the Britain's Victorian era; Tess’s tragedy is due to the moral root of society and the unequal legal system. In this paper, I try to make a detailed analysis on the novel, to show the various causes of heroine’s tragedy.

Chapter 1 Thomas Hardy and his masterpiece

A. Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy was born on June 2, 1840, in the village of Higher Bockhampton, near Dorchester, a market town in the county of Dorset. Hardy would spend much of his life in his native region, transforming its rural landscapes into his fictional Wesses. Hardy's mother, Jemima, inspired him with

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a taste for literature; while his stonemason father, Thomas, shared with him a love of architecture and music (the two would later play the fiddle at local dances). As a boy Hardy read widely in the popular fiction of the day, including the novels of Scott, Dumas, Dickens, W. Harrison Ainsworth, and G.P.R. James, and in the poetry of Scott, Wordsworth, Byron, Shelley, Keats, and others. Strongly influenced in his youth by the Bible and the liturgy of the Anglican Church, Hardy later contemplated a career in the ministry; but his assimilation of the new theories of Darwinian evolutionism eventually made him an agnostic and a severe critic of the limitations of traditional religion.

At the age of eight, Hardy began to attend Julia Martin's school in Bockhampton. However, most of his education came from the books he found in Dorchester, the nearby town. He learned French, German, and Latin by teaching himself through these books. At sixteen, Hardy's father apprenticed his son to a local architect, John Hicks. Under Hicks' tutelage, Hardy learned much about architectural drawing and restoring old houses and churches. Hardy loved the apprenticeship because it allowed him to learn the histories of the houses and the families that lived there. Despite his work, Hardy did not forget his academics: in the evenings, Hardy would study with the Greek scholar Horace Moule.

In 1862, Hardy was sent to London to work with the architect Arthur Blomfield. During his five years in London, Hardy immersed himself in the cultural scene by visiting the museums and theaters and studying classic literature. He even began to write his own poetry. Although he did not stay in London, choosing to return to Dorchester as a church restorer, he took his newfound talent for writing to Dorchester as well.

From 1867, Hardy wrote poetry and novels, though the first part of his career was devoted to the novel. At first he published anonymously, but when people became interested in his works, he began to use his own name. Like Dickens, Hardy's novels were published in serial forms in magazines that were popular in both England and America. His first popular novel was Under the Greenwood Tree, published in 1872. The next great novel, Far from the Madding

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Crowd(1874) was so popular that with the profits, Hardy was able to give up architecture and marry Emma Gifford. Other popular novels followed in quick succession: The Return of the Native(1878), The Mayor of Casterbridge(1886), The Woodlanders(1887), Tess of the D'Urbervilles(1891), and Jude the Obscure (1895). In addition to these larger works, Hardy published three collections of short stories and five smaller novels, all moderately successful. However, despite the praise Hardy's fiction received, many critics also found his works to be too shocking, especially Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure. The outcry against Jude was so great that Hardy decided to stop writing novels and return to his first great love, poetry.

Over the years, Hardy had pided his time between his home, Max Gate, in Dorchester and his lodgings in London. In his later years, he remained in Dorchester to focus completely on his poetry. In 1898, he saw his dream of becoming a poet realized with the publication of Wessex Poems. He then turned his attentions to an epic drama in blank verse, The Dynasts; it was finally completed in 1908. Before his death, he had written over 800 poems, many of them published while he was in his eighties.

Hardy also found happiness in his personal life. His first wife, Emma, died in 1912. Although their marriage had not been happy, Hardy grieved at her sudden death. In 1914, he married Florence Dugale, and she was extremely devoted to him. After his death, Florence published Hardy's autobiography in two parts under her own name.

By the last two decades of Hardy's life, he had achieved fame as great as Dickens' fame. In 1910, he was awarded the Order of Merit. After a long and highly successful life, Thomas Hardy died on January 11, 1928, at the age of 87. His ashes were buried in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey.

Hardy is one of the few writers (e633531d4693daef5ff73d82wrence was another) who made a significant contribution to English literature in the form of the novel, poetry, and the short story. His writing is full of delightful effects, beautiful images and striking language. He creates unforgettable characters and orchestrates stories

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which pull at your heart strings. It has to be said that he also relies on coincidences and improbabilities of plot which (though common in the nineteenth century) some people see as weaknesses. However, his sense of drama, his powerful language, and his wonderful depiction of the English countryside make him an enduring favourite.

B. The novel Tess of the D’Urbervilles

The poor peddler John Durbeyfield is stunned to learn that he is the descendent of an ancient noble family, the d’Urberville. Meanwhile, Tess, his eldest daughter, joins the other village girls in the May Day dance, where Tess briefly exchanges glances with a young man. Mr. Durbeyfield and his wife decide to send Tess to the D’Urbervilles mansion, where they hope Mrs. d’Urberville will make Tess’s fortune. In reality, Mrs. d’Urberville is no relation to Tess at all: her husband, the merchant Simon Stokes, simply changed his name to d’Urberville after he retired. But Tess does not know this fact, and when the lascivious Alec d’Urberville, Mrs. d’Urberville’s son, procures Tess a job tending fowls on the d’Urberville estate, Tess has no choice but to accept, since she blames herself for an accident involving the family’s horse, its only means of income.

Tess spends several months at this job, resisting Alec’s attempts to seduce her. Finally, Alec seduced her in the woods one night after a fair. Tess knows she does not love Alec. She returns home to her family to give birth to Alec’s child, whom she christens Sorrow. Sorrow dies soon after he is born, and Tess spends a miserable year at home before deciding to seek work elsewhere. She finally accepts a job as a milkmaid at the Talbothays Dairy.

At Talbothays, Tess enjoys a period of contentment and happiness. She befriends three of her fellow milkmaids—Izz, Retty, and Marian—and meets a man named Angel Clare, who turns out to be the man from the May Day dance at the beginning of the novel. Tess and Angel slowly fall in love. They grow closer throughout Tess’s time at Talbothays, and she eventually accepts his proposal of

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marriage. Still, she is troubled by pangs of conscience and feels she should tell Angel about her past. She writes him a confessional note and slips it under his door, but it slides under the carpet and Angel never sees it.

After their wedding, Angel and Tess both confess indiscretions: Angel tells Tess about an affair he had with an older woman in London, and Tess tells Angel about her history with Alec. Tess forgives Angel, but Angel cannot forgive Tess. He gives her some money and boards a ship bound for Brazil, where he thinks he might establish a farm. He tells Tess he will try to accept her past but warns her not to try to join him until he comes for her.

Tess struggles. She has a difficult time finding work and is forced to take a job at an unpleasant and unprosperous farm. She tries to visit Angel’s family but overhears his brothers discussing Angel’s poor marriage, so she leaves. She hears a wandering preacher speak and is stunned to discover that he is Alec d’Urberville, who has been converted to Christianity by Angel’s father, the Reverend Clare. Alec and Tess are each shaken by their encounter, and Alec appallingly begs Tess never to tempt him again. Soon after, however, he again begs Tess to marry him, having turned his back on his -religious ways.

Tess learns from her sister Liza-Lu that her mother is near death, and Tess is forced to return home to take care of her. Her mother recovers, but her father unexpectedly dies soon after. When the family is evicted from their home, Alec offers help. But Tess refuses to accept, knowing he only wants to obligate her to him again.

At last, Angel decides to forgive his wife. He leaves Brazil, desperate to find her. Instead, he finds her mother, who tells him Tess has gone to a village called Sandbourne. There, he finds Tess in an expensive boardinghouse called The Herons, where he tells her he has forgiven her and begs her to take him back. Tess tells him he has come too late. She was unable to resist and went back to Alec d’Urberville. Angel leaves in a daze, and, heartbroken to the point of madness, Tess goes upstairs and stabs her lover to death. When the landlady finds Alec’s body, she raises an alarm, but Tess has already fled to find Angel.

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Angel agrees to help Tess, though he cannot quite believe that she has actually murdered Alec. They hide out in an empty mansion for a few days, then travel farther. When they come to Stonehenge, Tess goes to sleep, but when morning breaks shortly thereafter, a search party discovers them. Tess is arrested and sent to jail. Angel and Liza-Lu watch as a black flag is raised over the prison, signaling Tess’s execution.

Chapter 2 the Social Circumstance of the Novel

A. The social background

The economic elements from 19th century to the 20th century played an important role in Tess’life. During the long period of the Victorian Era, the Industrial Revolution had changed the economy significantly. The capitalism infringed countryside, many people bankrupted and petty farm economy disjointed and the peasant tended to the poor and bankruptcy. The quiet countryside was damaged and the economy of petty farm was collapsing. The most rural of areas witnessed some kind of mechanization.

Tess lived in the end of 19th century during the period of the Victoria age in England. Tess’ tragedy is a production between human beings and society. Her tragedy is inevitable in that society, so that her tragedy is a social tragedy. She is a sacrifice of the time, under the despotic force, she loses her virtue for her pure and innocent and becomes a vicious woman; she misses her happiness for her kindness and pure-heartedness and becomes a deserted wife. Even more, her insistence of the true love leads her to a Nemesis and a prisoner finally.

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We all are touched deeply by Tess’s tragic fate: “a pure and beautiful girl is damaged by two men”. One is Alec, wealthy but spurious - he is a sacker of Tess’s body; the other one is Clare, wisdom and thinking open.

The representative of national machine is Alec. He is a merchant prince’s son. When he saw Tess on his first sight, he wanted to own her. He made use of Tess’innocent and ignorant to rob of her virtue. At the same time, Tess is so innocent that she can’t control the situation and foresee the future at all. When Tess met Alec again, Tess’ marriage is ruined. What she can do is return to Alec for her family’s survival. Both moral rule and ethic take an important part in Tess’ tragedy. Alec represented the social violence and national machines which ruined Tess’s body.

Tess is a victim of moral rule and social ethic. Clare is the symbol of the morality and convention. He is a representative of hypocritical religion. Though he is an open-minded man, the ethic and moral rules are deep-rooted in his mind. Tess and Clare love with each other deeply, at the wedding night, however, Clare abandons Tess for her past, he is a sacker of Tess’ mentality. Tess’ first miserable experience is a hatching which holds her whole life. “Once you are to be a victim, you will always be victim.” This is a rule. When he knows Tess is not a virgin, he abandons her so cruel, no matter how Tess begs for his pardon. He said: “she was another woman than the one who had excited his desire.” Even if he still loves her, he can’t accept the truth, so he leaves her for Brazil. When he faces Tess’imploration, he thinks that “different societies, different manners.”When he looked upon Tess as a pure girl, he loved her very much. “Nothing so pure, so sweet, so beautiful as Tess had seemed possible all the long while that he had adored her. But the little less, and what world’s away!”(Hardy 297) An important reason is that the viewpoint of the convention and moral are unbreakable from his mind. So Tess’tragedy is caused by many factors of society.

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B. Hypocritical capitalist moral view and unequal legal system

In the Victorian Era, the period is characterized by a very strict morality, particularly concerning the relationship between men and women. A woman was still the property of her husband or father, and her honor was to be protected and prized until marriage. The sexual morals are rooted in people’s minds: when either man or woman engaged in sexual lapses, the former would be forgiven, but the later would be condemned. The moral outlook in the capital society was designed to protect the benefit of the upper class. The legal system was the premise to help the upper class oppress the lower class.

Tess is a victim, but she is in a lower class, so Tess does not have the equal right as the upper class has. Moreover, in Victorian era, people had firm idea about female chastity. The hypocritical ethics and morality had already become people’s spiritual yoke. So when Tess was seduced by Alec, she was not sympathized or accepted but prejudiced by the society, the happiness in the sense of the other normal people's mind has gone away from her. Although her soul is pure and her morality is noble, in front of the morality of the bourgeoisie, she was considered as harmful to the society’s morality. She was looked down upon as lasciviousness, and the incarnation of crime. She had no right to have a serious relationship and she can not marry to a gentleman. Even Tess herself was deeply influenced by such ethics and regarded herself inferior and unclean. That’s why she was in deep contradiction when her beloved Angel asks her to marry him. She belittled herself, thought herself unworthy of Angel, and even vowed that “she will die unmarried”. Angel was also a victim of that ethics. He abandoned Tess only because of the hypocritical ethics. As a result, he lost his happiness.

We can see English bourgeois social moral ethics view which woman is sexual purity, and adultery is the worst f all possible sins, is mainly due to Tess’ tragedy. In the capitalist society, legal regime was the premise to maintain the benefit of the exploiting class and the authority of acknowledgment exploiting class to oppress people, to service and protect the control of reactionary.

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Alec did all kinds of evil things, he seduced Tess, threatened and cheated her, forcibly occupied her. He did so much evil things to Tess but he was protected by the law. Tess killed Alec to seek her true love but was caught and hanged as a murder. That was the law in the capitalism society, only protected the interests of the upper class. This just explained bourgeoisie politics system reactionary, indicated the unimportant persons in the lower level social class were impossible to obtain the fair treatment in the society.

C. Impoverishment and decay of small farmers

Tess lives in the late 19th century, in which the cruel capitalist exploitation had ruined the English countryside. Capitalism brought a great harm to the old, rural and agricultural place. The self-supporting peasants were displaced and impoverished. The change made many peasants lose their lands and became peasant workers. Lots of peasants were bankrupt. They were extremely poor and lived a very miserable life. It was the same with the D’Urbervilles. The society was so cruel that it did not give the peasants a chance to live and made them discard their children. Tess was born into the family of a poor rural tradesman. Tess' family is too poor to survive; it is the poverty of her family that pushes her in danger.

Tess’ father is a poor peddler in the countryside. He is lazy and ignorant. He drinks excessively. After Tess’father Jack Durbeyfield learned that he is descended from the famous d’Urbervilles family, He felt very proud, and from then on, there might add “sir” before his name, it was glory for him. And then he became more indolent and sluggish, from that day, he ceased doing even necessary work that to supply his family. Tess was obliged to do the difficult job. There happened an accident, and killed their poor horse Prince. The death of the horse destroyed the family’s livelihood and finished the family’s hauling business. From then on, Tess thought that she had dragged her parents into quagmire.

Tess’mother Joan Durbeyfield is an unenlightened happy woman, as her husband full of vanity and stupid. She had a beautiful and lovely daughter, and

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felt that was glorious for her family. She tried Tess’ fate in the Fortune-teller, and it brought out that every thing, Tess’ skin was as sleek as a duchess’, so she was sure that Tess likely enough to marry a noble gentleman. The unrealistic thought led her to persuade her oldest daughter, Tess, to visit the Stoke-D’Urbervilles which was the claim kin .The first time , Tess left home for work at Alec’s family, as Tess’ mother, she did not tell her anything about a man maybe danger for a woman, at that time Tess was only 17 years old girl, but her mother full of vanity mind and did not think over it much, her only hope was that Tess would make a good impression on the rich D’Urbervilles and perhaps a good marriage with one son of the family.

Both of them are vain and incapable. The terrible parents also cause Tess’s tragedy. Her disjoint from the country leads to her later tragedy:

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Chapter 3 Character Analysis in the Novel

A. Tess’ Character

Tess is a pure、innocent、kindness and pure-heartedness girl. But she is a sacrifice of the time. Tess is an example of the destructive effect of society’s pressure and conventions upon a nature、pure and unstained. Her character is an important element causes her tragedy.

Tess’ tragedy is the tragedy of her character. On the one hand, Tess struggles bravely against her destiny and the conventional morality. She desires for happiness and true love. On the other hand, she can not completely get rid of social conventions and moral standards of the day, which makes her believe that she has to pay for what she has sinned. She yields to the arrangement of the fate. The latter is the weakness in her character.

Tess is industrious and thrifty, in order to support her family, she bears the burden and makes so many sacrifice for her family. At the beginning, she is unwilling to claim kinship with Alec, but she doesn't insist for her family's survival. When she asks for help from Alec, she thinks she can work on her hand to support her family. Because of her innocent and ignorant, she gets into the trap and let her happy life slip from her. She loses her chastity. Can't imagine that so big a girl know nothing about man and woman! She even doesn't know the thing between man and woman, just as she tells her mother after that. Although she became a disgrace woman, she always holds an inviolable attitude

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to Alec. She doesn't stay with Alec to enjoy the luxurious life but goes back to her poor family. It's because of her purity. She doesn't love him.

Her lips lifted slightly, though there was little scorn as a rule in her large and impulsive nature. “I have said I will not take anything more from you, and I will not—I can not! I should be your creature to go on doing that; and I won’t!”

“I have said so often, it is true. I have never really and truly loved you, and I think I never can.”She added mournfully: “perhaps all things a lie on this thing would do the most good to; but I have honor enough lift, little as its, not to tell that lie. If I did love you I may have the best causes for letting you know it. But I don’t.”

The second time Tess meets Alec just her lives in the most difficult time. Faced every enticement of Alec, her basic faith is unmoved, Tess will not compromise. The disaster arrived, Tess’s father died and her family is expelled from the village. Tess knows she doesn't like Alec, but she still returns to him for clear purpose of her family' survival. She entrusted her body once again in Alec for her mother and little brothers and sisters can have a place to live, but the compromise is only temporary.

In the end, Because of impulsion, Tess kills Alec to seek for her true love. This is inevitable result of her innermost feelings revolt. Though Tess is a pure and innocent girl, she lacks of experience about iniquitous society and the cruel of the environment especially that makes Tess walks into ruin.

She believes in true love, but she is deeply influenced by the hypocritical traditional ethics to regard herself as a degenerate woman in her deep heart. The relationship between lovers should be equal, but Tess constantly disparages herself and raises Clare. At the beginning of love “she loves he extremely, she looks he as the god.”(Thomas Hard, 261)This is a how strong love which is blazing her. In front of love, Tess has lost herself, has lost the dignity. Just this kind of blind, unequal love makes Tess dropped the happy right as a wife, deepened her tragedy.

She is a pure and faithful farm girl. It's because of her purity and honest

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that she always tries to tell Angel her“crime” although her mother writes to her and asks her not to say anything about her past. On the wedding night, she doesn’t pay attention to her mother’s advice, reveals her miserable experience to her beloved Angel and thinks Angel would forgive her for she has forgiven his wrong-doings. Finally, she makes her happy life into foam.

Clare is a defender of the traditional morals and traditional moral principles, his “new mind”demands Tess to forgive and abide his profligate behavior in the past, Tess has done, but the tragic past of Tess, can not be tolerable. Tess has not done revolts slightly face Clare’s heartless abandonment. Oppositely, she said:” I certainly like a low pitiful slave of yours, absolute obeys you, if you ask me not to be able to fall to the ground, suicide killed, and I do not violate you.”

Tess' purity and her sense of family responsibility push her in danger, while her belief in and pursuit of true love push her to death. Finally, Tess does get a short-time true love and happiness, but her death is the high price she pays for that!

B. Alec’s and Angle’s Characters

1. Alec

Alec is a representative of the emerging bourgeoisie; he is representing the bourgeois society's authority, the wealth and the evil. Tess’ tragic life begins from him. Alec is a fraud as well as a morally corrupt person. “I suppose I am a bad fellow — a damn bad fellow. I was born bad, and I have lived bad, and I shall die bad in all probability.” His viciousness is revealed completely when he sees Tess of the first time. He calls Tess “beauty”and intends to show her around his mansion. When he picks strawberries up, he puts them into her mouth in person regardless Tess’s refuse. While Tess has her meal, he is watching her all the time. As soon as Tess leaves, he plans how to get her. When Tess has to work for his family, he does everything that can help him to seduce her.

Harm others to benefit him, resort to all means to satisfy own absurd fleshly desires, and not only display the countryside landlord class' essential character,

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but also manifest the property realistic character.

Four years later, when Alec comes across with Tess, he seems to have undergone a remarkable transformation from a rake into a pious and religious man, a preacher. But his wickedness comes to life at once when he sees Tess again. He deceives Tess that her husband will not come back forever. He even pesters and threatens her, “Remember, my lady, I was your master once! I will be your master again. If you are any man’s wife you are mine!” (Tess, 390 ) Alec in order to control Tess even uses the money、the power and the influence to submit Tess to him.

He further enhances the deceit by telling her that even if her husband returns, she should never look upon him as a husband. After waiting a long time without Angle’s reply, Tess gives up all hope, becomes Alec’s mistress for the sake of her starving family. But soon, Angel returns with his repentance for Tess. Tess can not bear Alec’s insult any more and puts all her anger on him, stabbing him to death, as well as going to her own end—finally, Tess is punished as a murder to hang, destroyed completely by Alec.

Tess is hurt both physically and mentally. She is not a maid any more. She belittles herself in her own heart. She leaves Alec with scars in heart. Alec is the first criminal of Tess tragedy.

2. Angel.

Angel’s circumstance is more complex and volatile. On the one hand, he is a capitalist with a freedom of mind. He looks down upon the material distinction of rank and wealth, and scorns the class’ prejudice and other concepts. He dislikes the life of busy section of the city, and goes to the countryside to study the agricultural skills. In the nature life, he gets acquainted with Tess who is pure as the nature .I can say it affirmatively that Angel loves Tess at first, because he gives up his parents’ arrangement to marry Mercy Chat, even that is a marriage between the families that are of equal social rank.

On the other hand, Angel has an idea of egoism, even though, he is not a

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pure man. He could not accept Tess as a really pure bride. On their wedding night, Angel makes a confession about his past dissipation and is readily forgiven by Tess, but when Tess reveals her own past, Angel just wouldn’t forgive her and deserts her that very night. He says to poor Tess: “Forgiveness doesn’t apply to the case! You were one person; now you are another.”Obviously, his case is almost the same as hers, why “forgiveness doesn’t apply to the case”? Only one Tess, pure Tess, no matter what happened in the past, she is still pure Tess. What’s the difference of Tess with the past story and without it? Tess’s tragic experience doesn’t get any sympathy from Angel but just disdain. He considers her as a “fallen woman”. He still judges “purity” with the conventional value and moral standard that are implanted in him when he was a boy. He is the slave to the custom and conventionality. He still upholds the decadent bourgeois social customs and hypocritical moral.

Obviously, what he loved was not Tess, but another in her shape. He abandons his wife for Brazil, which is a deathblow to innocent woman Tess. Tess is abandoned by Angel even she says to him: “I will obey you like your wretched slave.” Angel’s abandonment is a fatal shock to Tess, which deprives her hope for true love and life.

When a person you don’t care much hurts you, you feel sad; when a person you care so much hurts you, you even lose the heart to live. Alec deceives Tess’s chastity, begins her tragedy, but it is Angel who destroyed Tess’ hope for true love and whole life.

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Conclusion

Hardy created Tess as an attractive and warm-hearted pure woman who has the quality of endurance and self-sacrifice. She is attractive, and distinguished by her deep moral sensitivity and passionate intensity. Her beauty and temperament are harmony with the nature; she is “daughter of nature”. Tess did so much sacrifice for her family, in the end, she has become the victim of her family and the society in which she exists. Tess is the victim of the controversial morality. It is the unfair class system that allows a rich nobleman to impregnate and abandon a low-class girl without consequence. It is also the Victorian moral of the pure virginal bride that unfairly keeps Angle from accepting Tess as his wife, despite his past dissipation. These social injustices make undeserved suffering to her.

Tess is a strong woman through the novel. She fights against the capitalist system, but in her deep minds, she submits to the society. She pursues true love, but regards herself as a degenerate woman in her deep heart. In fact, it is the time she lives that invested her in this poor situation. Wicked Alec is the direct cause for her death. Hypocritical Angel indirectly kills her but cruelly. Besides, the weakness of her character becomes the accomplice of her tragedy.

Through the above analysis and the summarization of Tess’tragedy, it is obvious that the time and the cruel society which she lives in is the real and deeply rooted cause of Tess’s tragedy.

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