TheAnalysisofTess’sTragedy.doc

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1、The Analysis of Tesss TragedyAbstractThomas Hardy is a famous critical realistic writer at the turn of the 19th century. Tess of the DUrbervilles which was published in 1891 is the most influential masterpiece of all his works . In this novel , Hardy demonstrates his deep sense of moral sympathy for

2、 Englands lower class , particularly for rural woman. Under Hardys pen, the herorine Tess is created as a beautiful, innocent and pure woman, who has the quality of endurance and self-sacrifice. Tess has long been regarded as the most exceptional woman character in English literary history. However,

3、 the life of this pure woman is tragic. First, she is seduced, then abandoned and finally driven to murder for which she is hanged. Tesss tragedy is not accidental. Living in a society overwhelmed by capitalist law, hypocritical morality and ethics ad social evil forces, Tess, a poor peasant girl, i

4、nevitably leads a tragic life and finally goes to her collapse. In addition, two persons who are very closely related to Tesss fate, Alec and Angel, directly and indirectly affect her. Moreover, the weakness in Tesss character also responsible for her tragic ending.Tess fights against the society he

5、lplessly. In the end, she turns out to be the sacrificial victim of the society like all other things which disobey the morality and ethics. Thus, in this paper, the author tries to analysis the various causes of Tesss tragedy.Table of ContentsI. Introduction 1.1. Introduction of Thomas Hardy1.2. In

6、troduction of Tess of the DUrbervillesII. Causes of the Tragedy of tess2.1. Social Causes2.1.1. Hard Life for Peasants2.1.2. Unequal Morality for Female2.1.3. Unequal Legal System2.2.Analysis of the Major Character2.2.1. The Direct MurderAlec DUrberville2.2.2. The AccessoryAngle Clare2.2.3.Tess Hers

7、elf2.2.3.1. Her Sense of Responsibility2.2.3.2. Her Resistance and CompromiseIII.ConclusionBibliographyI.IntroductionThe Introduction of Thomas HardyThomas Hardy (1840-1928), the writer of Tess of the DUrbervilles(1891) was an English novelist and poet and one of the greatest English writer in the 1

8、9th century. The son of a stonemason, Hardy was born near Dorchester, the area that later became th famous “wessex” in many of his novels. He derived a love of music from his father and devotion to literature from his mother. However, Hardy can not afford to pursue a scholarly career as he wishes an

9、d was apprenticed to John Hicks, a local church architect in 1856. Six years later, he went to London to work for a famous architect, Arthur Blomfield. During his spare time, he studied widely: language, literature, history, philosophy and art. he even won two prizes for essays on architectural subj

10、ects, but architecture was never his desired profession. Soon he was writing poetry, but due to not have the good fortune to publish, he changed the matter for novel creation. In 1871, his first novel Deperate Remedies was published and well received.his early novels as Under the Greenwood Tree (187

11、2) and A Pair of Blue Eyes (1873) met with small success. After the publication of Far From the Madding Crowd (1874), critical acclaim enabled him to devote himself exclusively to writing. Hardy wrote many novels, including those he referred to as romances and fantasies, most of which are firis seri

12、alized in popular magazines. There are 17 long novels in Hardys life, major works are The return of the Native (1878), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), Tess of the DUrbervilles(1891), and Jude the Obscure(1896).Hardys novels are all Victorian in date. Most of them are set in Wessex, the fictional p

13、rimitive and crude rural region which is really his home place. They are known for the vivid description of the vicissitudes of people who live in an agricultural setting menaced by the forces of invading capitalism. His works reflected the change of social economy, political, moral and tradition wh

14、en the hypocritical bourgeoisie invaded he countries in England, especially exposed womens tragic life and hypocrisy of bourgeois morals, law and religion.1.2. Introduction of Tess of the DUrbervillesTess of the DUrbervilles is often considered as Hardys masterpiece. The story happens in 19th centur

15、y in England. Tess is a beautiful, innocent peasant girl. Because of the poverty of the family, she is forced to claim kinship with the rich DUrbervilles. The young master of the DUrbervilles, Alec seduces her and impregnates her. Tess returns home in disgrace and later gives birth to a baby, who di

16、es soon. She is then rejected by the society around her as a fallen woman. Peoples gossips force her to leave home to work on a dairy farm as a dairymaid. There she meets Angel Clare, son of a clergyman, and then they fall in love with each other. On their wedding night, Angel makes a confession abo

17、ut his past dissipation and is forgiven by Tess, but when Tess reveals her past, Angel can not forgive her. He leaves for brazil and that causes Tess to fall in the troubles again. With the great poverty of her family, Tess has to work under the hardest condition at Flintcomb-Ash farm. Then misfortu

18、nes heap upon her again: her father dies and her family is expelled from their cottage. To support her family, Tess is driven to go back to Alec, now a preacher. Before long, Angel returns from Brazil, being chastened and repented of his cruel treatment of Tess, but now Tesss relation with Alec stop

19、s her from living with Angel happily. In stong despair, Tess stabs Alec to death, the man who is the source of all her miseries. After a short happy life with Angel, Tess is arrested and Finally hanged.II. Causes for the Tragedy of TessSocial Causes 2.1.1. Hard Life for PeasantsIn Tesss time, the so

20、ciety is full of tremendous changes in almost every respect. The industrial revolution 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 grow rapidly

21、, driving more peasants, hand spinners and weavers to the crowded 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

22、and live a miserable life. Wessx is not immuned from destruction. Capitalism brings a great harm to this old, rural and agricultural region. The self-supporting peasants are displaced and impoverished and live a extremely poor life. The family of Tess is no exception. As a daughter of a poor village

23、r, and a wage-laborer later, it is very difficult for Tess to live a better life. It is under the capitalist exploitation that Tess is seduced and ruined badly. The poor life pushes Tess into the trap of the wicked man, and it is the capitalist exploitation that brings about their poor life.2.1.2. U

24、nequal Morality for FemaleThe highest virtue of the Victorian woman is sexual purity, and adultery is the worst f all possible sins. Her dress concealed her whole body except he hands and face, and to show an ankle or a shoulder is considered improper. Public notions on sexual morals are that woman

25、must remain virgin before marriage, but men could have their fling. The sexual morals are rooted in peoples rational minds: when either man or woman engaged in sexual lapses, the former would be forgiven, but the later would be condemned. Tess is so innocent that she is just a girl when she first me

26、ets the terrible man, Alec, and knows nothing of men. But people do not condemn Alec, only reject Tss as a fallen woman. Then, with the same sexual experience, Angel is pardoned but Tess is abused. It is a classic statement of social double standard, which judges mens sexual behavior leniently and p

27、unishes women for the same behavior. It is unequal that and kinds of sexual encounter would earn a young woman moral rebuke and social condemnation, regardless of how the man involved conducted himself. Furthermore, the whole society turns against Tess , which aggravates her miserable life.2.1.3. Un

28、equal Legal SystemTess lives in the Victorian era which capitalism invade the rural region. In the capitalist society, law is served for the capitalist class. Farmers are at the bottle of the society, they have never equal rights as the capitalist class. Alec ,the representative of capitalist power

29、and violence dares to do what he desires, not only because he has money and power, but also because his evil behavior is protected by the capitalist law and rules. In the eyes of Victorian people, the young upstart is noble, while Tess is considered to lure Alec in order to acquire his money. Tess b

30、ears all that injustice silently all along, however, when she defends herself for the first time, she is hanged for paying for that. As Hardy says at the end of the novel :“Justice was done, and the President of the Immortals, in Aeschylean phrase, had ended his sport with Tess.”(Tess, 467) Obviousl

31、y, she is the victim of the unjust, hypocritical law. Analysis of the Major Character2.2.1. The Direct Murder Alec DUrbervilleIn the novel, as a bourgeoisie gilded youth, Alec is the vicious incarnation, directly causing Tesss tragic life.The young Alec is a spoiled, almost evil person, a high class

32、 snob. He is the son of a rich merchant who adds the name of DUrbevilles to his own name, Stoke. Alec is a fraud as well as a morally corrupt person. His viciousness is revealed completely when he sees Tess of the first time. In Chapter 3,he calls Tess “beauty” and intends to show her around his man

33、sion. When he picks strawberries up, he puts then into her mouth in person regardless Tesss refuse. While Tess has her meal, he is watching her all the time. As soon as Tess leaves, he plans how to get her. In Chapter 4, when Tess has to work for his family, he does ererything he can to seduce her.

34、Tess is innocent and has no experience, and her living environment is so dark that no one comes to help her and no law protect her. So Alec takes advantages of Tesss helplessness, settinga trap to seduce her. Consequently, Tess becomes a “fallen woman”, the object of ridicule and rejection. This is

35、the first blow Alec made to tess.The second blow happens four years later. When Alec comes across with Tess after four years, 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 agai

36、n. 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 mans wife you are mine!”(Tess, 390 ) He further enhances the deceit by telling her that even if her husband retu

37、rns ,she should never look upon him as a husband. After waiting a long time without Angles reply, Tess gives up all hope, becomes Alecs mistress for the sake of her starving family. But soon, Angel returns with his repentance for Tess. Tess can not bear Alecs insult any more and puts all her anger o

38、n him, stabbing him to death, as well as going to her own endfinally, Tess punished for the murder is hanged, destroied completyly by Alec.Besides,without conscience, morals and feeling no remorse for his vices, Alec even does not hide his bad qualities. In Chapter 12, he bluntly tells Tess,“I suppo

39、se 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.”(Tess, 90 ) There is frank acceptance in this admission and no shame. Alec is a symbol of evil, he can escape legal sanctions , unaffected. He, who represents a larger moral principl

40、e rather than a real individual man, symbolizes the base forces of life that drive a person away from moral perfection and greatness. Therefore, it is Alec who kills Tss directly without mercy. 2.2.2. Accessory Angel ClareIt can be said Alec represented evil force is the direct reason to cause Tesss

41、 tragedy, whereas the traditional ethics morality survives on Angel devatates Tess is invisible, and much severer spiritual injures. On Angels body, not only has the enlightened thought, but also remains the traditional moral prejudice. It is Angel who kills Tess inderectly but more curely.Angel Cla

42、re, the youngest son of a provincial parson, is the direct opposite of Alec. He is educated, reserved, subtle, sad, differing. He looks down on the material distinction of rank and wealth. He determines to go to the countryside to study the agricultural skills intead of going to Cambridge like his c

43、onformist brothers. He is a secularist who yearns to work for the “honor and glory of man” rather than for the “honor and glory of God” in a more distant world.(Tess, 137) Because, as a typical young nineteenth-century progressive, Angel considers human society as a thing to be improved, and he firm

44、ly believes in the nobility of man. Angle, a freethinking youth, rejects the value handed to him, and set off in search of his own. It can be showed that he loves Tess who is a mere milkmaid and enjoys inferior social status, and does not suit him both socially and culturally. However, it must be po

45、inted out is that he departs from this social class extremely limitedly, he does not really jump out of his area against the old moral values. On the wedding night, Tess tells him all her past with Alec, thinking that Angel would forgive her as she does, but she is disappointed. Angel can not accept

46、 the fact, for him, the lover who is beloved has been transformed in his mind from the embodiment of purity into the tarnished reality of an “fallen woman”. He judges “purity” with the coventional value and moral standard that are inculcated into him when he is a boy. Although he claims to be indepe

47、ndent judgment opinion, once the thing is very crucial, he is still upholding the decadent bourgeois social customs and moral hypocrisy. His love for Tess may be abstract. Tess may be more an archetype or ideal to him than a flesh and blood woman with a complicated life. He says to Tess,“the woman I

48、 have been loving is not you, but another woman in your shape.” The next day, he leaves for Brazil, leaving Tess in hot water again. Enduring the abandoned life, Tess struggles against the hardship ,exhausted both physically and mentally. To make matters worse, after her farther died, her family are

49、 evicted. Tess has no other means to choose, only to turn back to the wicked man, Alec. Angels hesitatin on crucial moment is unbearable. Alec destroys Tess physically, while Angel makes a fatal blow to Tesss mental. The lose of chastity does not kill all Tesss desire for love and hope, but Angels desertion and her hopelessness of love for Angel make her lose courage to live. Becaus