DIPLOMSKI RAD
DIPLOMSKI RAD
Tess of the D’Urbervilles as a Wessex Novel
Tess of the D’Urbervilles as a Wessex Novel
Chapter I Chapter I Chapter II Chapter II Chapter III Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter V Chapter VI Chapter VI Introduction Introduction
Heroine of Wessex country Heroine of Wessex country A portrait of nature in Wessex A portrait of nature in Wessex
Tess of the D’Urbervilles as a Wessex novel Tess of the D’Urbervilles as a Wessex novel Conclusion Conclusion Bibliography Bibliography Page 3 Page 3 Page 7 Page 7 Page 11 Page 11 Page 14 Page 14 Page 23 Page 23 Page 26 Page 26
Chapter I Chapter I Chapter II Chapter II Chapter III Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter V Chapter VI Chapter VI Introduction Introduction
Heroine of Wessex country Heroine of Wessex country A portrait of nature in Wessex A portrait of nature in Wessex
Tess of the D’Urbervilles as a Wessex novel Tess of the D’Urbervilles as a Wessex novel Conclusion Conclusion Bibliography Bibliography Page 3 Page 3 Page 7 Page 7 Page 11 Page 11 Page 14 Page 14 Page 23 Page 23 Page 26 Page 26
Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Introduction Introduction
Ha
Hardyrdy, , ThThomomas as (18(184040-19-1928)28), , EngEnglislish h novnovelelist ist anand d popoet et of of tthehe naturalist movement, who powerfully delineated characters, portrayed in his naturalist movement, who powerfully delineated characters, portrayed in his na
natitive ve DoDorsrsetet, , strstrugugglgling ing hehelplplelessssly ly agaagaininst st ththeieir r papassssioions ns anand d exexteternrnalal circumstances.
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Hardy y was was born in born in HighHigher Bockhamper Bockhampton, Dorsetton, Dorsetshireshire, , June 2, June 2, 1840,1840, and educated in local schools and later privately . His father, a stonemason, and educated in local schools and later privately . His father, a stonemason, apprenticed him earty to a local architect engaged in restoring old churches. apprenticed him earty to a local architect engaged in restoring old churches. From
From 1862 to 1867 Hardy worked1862 to 1867 Hardy worked for an architect in London and laterfor an architect in London and later continued to
continued to practice architectpractice architecture, despite ure, despite ill ill health, in health, in DorsDorset. Meanwet. Meanwhile,hile, he was writing poetry with little success1874 he was able to support himself he was writing poetry with little success1874 he was able to support himself by
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to wrwritite e hihis s cocollellectction ion of of popoemems s calcalledled Veteris VestigiaeVeteris Vestigiae. He then turned to. He then turned to nove
novels as ls as mormore salable, and bye salable, and by FlammaeFlammae (Ves(Vestigetiges s of an of an Old Flame). TheseOld Flame). These po
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she wrote his biography after he diegraphy after he died in Dorchester, on d in Dorchester, on January 11, January 11, 1928.1928. Hard
Hardy y anonanonymouymously sly publpublisheished d two two earlearly y novenovels.ls. DesDespeperatrate e RemedRemediesies (1871) and
(1871) and Under the Greenwood TreeUnder the Greenwood Tree (1872). The next two,(1872). The next two, A Pair of Blue A Pair of Blue Eyes
Eyes (1873) and(1873) and Far from the Madding Crowd Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), in his own name, were(1874), in his own name, were well received.
well received. Far Far frofrom m ththe e MaMaddidding ng CrCrowowd d was adapted for the screen inwas adapted for the screen in 1967
novels. Some lesser works followed, including The Woodfanders (1887) and two volumes of short stories, Wessex Tales (1888) and Life's Little Ironies (1894).
Along with Far from the Madding Crowd, Hardy's best novels are The Return of the Native (1878), which is his most closely knit narrative; The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886); Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891), made into a movie called Tess in 1979; and Jude the Obscure (1895). All are pervaded by a belief in a universe dominated by the determinism of the biology of Charles Darwin and the physics of the 17th-century philosopher and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton. Occasionally the determined fate of the individual is altered by chance, but the human will loses when it challenges necessity. Through intense, vivid descriptions of the heath, the fields, the seasons, and the weather, Wessex attains a physical presence in the novels and acts as a mirror of the psychological conditions and the fortunes of the characters. These fortunes Hardy views with irony and sadness. In Victorian England, Hardy did indeed seem a blasphemer, particularly in Jude, which treated sexual attraction as a natural force unopposable by human will. Criticism of Jude was so harsh that Hardy announced he was "cured" of writing novels.
At the age of 55 Hardy returned to writing poetry, a form he had previously abandoned. Wessex Poems (1898) and Poems of the Past and Present (1901) contained poems he had written earlier. In The Dynasts, written between 1903 and 1908, Hardy created what some consider his most successful poetry. An unstageable epic drama in 19 acts and 130 scenes, deals with the role of England during the Napoleonic Wars. Hardy's vision is
nevertheless dominated by necessity. Hardy's short poems, both lyric and visionary, were published as Time's Laughing Stocks (1909), Satires of Circumstances (1914), Moments of Vision (1917), Late Lyrics and Earlier (1922), Human Shows, Far Fantasies (1925), and Winter Words (1928). Hardy's techniques of rhythm and his diction are especially noteworthy. Among his most successful shorter poems are "Channel Firing, April 1914/nWessex Heights,""!!! Tenebris, I,"Godf s Funeral," and "Nature's Questioning."
Thomas Hardy died in Dorset on January 11, 1928." His heart was buried in the Wessex countryside in the parish churchyard at Stinsford; his ashes were placed next to those of Charles Dickens in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey.
Etched against the background of a dying rural society, Tess of the d'Urbervilles was Thomas Hardy's 'bestseller/ and Tess Durbeyfield remains his most striking and tragic heroine. Of all the characters he created, she meant the most to him. Hopelessly torn between two men— Alec d'Urberville, a wealthy, dissolute young man who seduces her in a lonely wood, and Angel Clare, her provincial, moralistic, and unforgiving husband— Tess escapes from her vise of passion through a horrible, desperate act.
“Like the greatest characters in literature, Tess liyes beyond the final pages of the book as a permanent citizen of the imagination,'. 'In Tess he stakes everything on his sensuous apprehension of a young woman's life, a girl who is at once a simple milkmaid and an archetype of feminine
strength. . . . Tess is that rare creature in literature: goodness made interesting.”
Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891) is generally regarded as Hardy's finest novel. A brilliant tale of seduction betrayal, and murder, Tess of the d'Ubervilles yields to narrative convention by punishing Tess's sin, exposes this standard denouement of unforgiving morality as cruelly unjust. Throughout, Hardy's me and atmospheric language frames his shattering narrative.
The novel centers around a young woman who struggles to find her place in society. When it is discovered the low-class Durbeyfield family is in reality the d'Urbeivilles, the last of a famous bloodline that da hundreds of years, the mother sends her eldest daughter, Tess, to beg money from relations with the desire that Tess wed the rich Mr. d'Urberville, Thus begins a tale of woe in which a wealthy man "i mistreats a poor girl. Tess is taken advantage of by Mr. d'Urberville and leaves his house, returning she has their child, who subsequently dies. Throughout the rest of this fascinating novel, Tess is tormer at the thought of her impurity and vows to never marry. She is tested when she meets Angel, the clever priest, and falls in love with him. After days of pleading, Tess gives in to Angel and consents to marry Angel deserts Tess when he finds the innocent country girl he fell in love whith is not so pure.
Tess of the d'Urbervilles, like the other major works by Thomas Hardy, although technically a nineteenth century work, anticipates the twentieth century in regard to the nature and treatment of its subject matter. Tess of the d'Urbervilles was the twelfth novel published by Thomas Hardy. He began the novel in 1889 and it was originally serialized in the Graphic after being rejected by several other periodicals from July to December in 1891. It
was finally published as a novel in December of 1891. The novel questions society's sexual mores by compassionately portraying a heroine who is seduced by the son of her employer and who thus is not considered a pure and chaste woman by the rest of society. Upon its publication, Tess of the d'Urbervilles encountered brutally hostile reviews; although it is now considered a major work of fiction, the poor reception of Tess and Jude the Obscure precipitated Thomas Hardy's transition from writing fiction to poetry. Nevertheless, the novel was commercially successful and assured Hardy's financial security.
1REFERENCE: Millgate, Michael, Thomas Harday;
His carreer as a novelist (London, 1971)
Chapter 2
Heroine of Wessex country
In the Vale of Blackmoor in rural Wessex lives a teenage girl, Tess Durbeyfield.
The novel is about Tess- her personality, trials, growth, and development. While many novels concern the interaction of characters, Tess of the D'Urbervilles concentrates almost single-mindedly on the life of its
heroine. The other characters are important only insofar as they affect Tess' fate. Some readers see Tess as a detailed story of the psychology of an unchaste woman- how she deals with her own morality.
Few novels concentrate as completely on one character as does Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Hardy traces Tess' life from the age of sixteen until she dies in her early twenties.
Tess is an unusual girl, full of contradictory emotions and actions. On the one hand she's feisty and independent; on the other she's shy and easily victimized. It's helpful to see her as a character caught between the old and new social orders, independence and dependence, spirituality and passion.
“Most readers are divided into two camps on Tess- they see her either as a victim (of fate, society, or her own sexuality) or as a heroic martyr, responsible for her own tragic fate. The best way to deal with such a complicated character is to try to see her in various lights.”
In his portrayal of Tess, Hardy begins with the melodramatic Victorian stereotype of the "innocent seduced"- a girl whose life is ruined by those less sensitive than herself. But Hardy takes his heroine beyond this popular Victorian type, by beginning rather than ending the book with her "fall" and dealing with her will to survive. Instead of committing suicide, Tess tries to go on living and loving, staying true to her intentions and feelings.
Tess is overburdened with responsibilities for her family and her loved ones. Though very resilient, she blames herself harshly for innocent mistakes.
She's affectionate, sensual, and bright, though poorly educated. Tess wants to better herself, not socially but as an individual. This is what attracts her to Angel Clare.
She has many fears, probably because of her superstitious background. Although she tries to live an orderly, modern, life, she finds herself reverting to beliefs in fate and omens. When we compare her to Angel and Alec, she seems fresher, less inhibited, and even wiser. Unlike these men, she tries to combine thought and feeling. She is a daughter of the earth rather than of the intellect.
Tess' character is a combination of her mother's fatalistic peasant beliefs and her father's ancient aristocratic heritage. From the d'Urbervilles she gets her socially rebellious, proud, and temperamental nature. Hardy credits Tess' peasant side for her ability to survive. Her worn-out aristocratic side seems to encourage lethargy and passivity. Sometimes Tess lets people victimize her; as her mother says, she's easy to manipulate.
“Tess is often described as a hunted animal. She's very beautiful and men are always pursuing her, either for purely sexual reasons or because she represents an excitingly unformed life waiting to be molded. People are always judging, pursuing, or rejecting her. Tess doesn't try to change people; she respects their dignity and lets them make their own choices, though she's there to help them in times of need.”
2Gatrell Simon, Hardy and the proper study of Mankind, London, 1993.
Tess' relationships with Angel and Alec are major focal points in the novel. Alec reflects her sensuality but she rejects his love because he has few aspirations and doesn't seem to care sincerely for people. Angel, her true love, is forever striving after the highest and best in life. However, he's too steeped in traditional values and philosophical abstractions to translate his dreams into reality.
Angel calls Tess a heathen, and Alec treats her like one. Tess is religious, though not in a conventional way. She believes in being good and charitable but refuses to believe that God- if there is one- would care more about the letter than the spirit of the Bible. She takes tender care of the wounded animals left in her charge.
Many readers ask whether Tess is the pure woman that Hardy insists she is. Although you'll have to decide that for yourself, you are given one unwavering picture of her- that of a lone woman trying, or at least willing, to do good regardless of the horrors and temptations thrust in her way.
“Tess also has an irrational, violent side that Hardy attributes to her ancient d'Urberville warrior heritage. It's this part of Tess that lashes out against Alec and eventually drives her to murder him. While Hardy blames her noble blood, we can see her fiery temper also as a primitive survival tool.”
Her subservient attitude with Angel is the complete opposite of her fury with Alec. Angel brings out not only her giving, sweet nature but also her lethargic, self-denigrating tendencies. Perhaps one of Tess' big mistakes is to let Angel's disappointment in her affect her so deeply; it nearly drives her insane. Why do you think she puts so much faith in a man who could turn on her so quickly? Tess is a tragic heroine; she's a lofty soul who is destined to suffer and die. From the start of the novel we sense that she's playing a losing game, though we can't help but hope for her each time she picks herself up from despair and moves bravely on.
Most important, Tess is herself. She never tries to be more than she is. Tess always reminds Angel and Alec that she is a poor, simple dairymaid. She's not trying to become a grand lady. Tess' goals are to be happy and to make those she loves happy, to try to live a good and giving life in a difficult world. Do you think she succeeds?
3Bullen, J.B., The expressive Eye: Fiction and Perception in the work of Thomas Hardy, Oxford, 1986. 4Gregor, Ian, The Great web: Hardy’s major Fiction, London, 1974
Chapter III
A portrait of nature in Wessex
Tess takes place in rural southern England in an area called Wessex that roughly corresponds to present-day Dorset county. Wessex includes a variety of landscapes, from fertile valleys to arid limestone beds, bordered by heaths, sands, and the sea.
The countryside is almost a character in Tess. Much of the time the settings reflect what's happening to Tess and the characters who influence her life. Marlott, her hometown, is as secure as a mother's womb. Talbothays, where she meets Angel, is fertile and expansive- the perfect place for growth and romance. Flintcomb-Ash, where she waits hopelessly for her husband to return, is an abject wasteland. Each station or place where Tess stops is a testing place for her soul. Hardy's Wessex is so varied that it can be seen as a microcosm of the world. Notice, however, that the novel excludes large urban centers, though their influence can certainly be seen in the market towns and railroad trains buzzing through the
Tess abounds in natural imagery. Few books are as lush with descriptions of natural life. To Hardy nature, like sexuality and society, has its good and bad points. Nature can be wonderful, as it is at Talbothays Dairy, where the land is fertile and life-renewing. It can also be harsh and grueling, as it is at Flintcomb-Ash Farm, where the soil is thoroughly inhospitable to growth.
Notice how nature also reflects the characters' emotions and fortunes. For example, when Tess is happy, the sky is blue and birds sing. When events turn out badly the earth appears harsh and coldly indifferent to her agony. Nature is also depicted in the many journeys that take place in Tess. Both traveling and the rhythms of nature are seen as causing fatigue. You'll notice that as Tess nears the end of her life she doesn't want to move at all. At the same time the natural rhythms of growth and seasonal change are vital to earthly continuity.
Hardy's belief in the constant movement of human feeling between pain and pleasure is also reflected in the seasonal nature of life. As you read Tess be aware that Tess' life begins and ends in the spring, that she falls in love during the fecund summer months, and that she marries, ominously, in the dead of winter. Even her story is divided into seven phases. Rather than calling these sections of the novel parts, Hardy uses the word phases to emphasize that Tess' life is part of a cycle that includes all of nature.
Hardy's primary stance on nature is that it is the core of our existence; regardless of individual fates it can and must strive forward.
"...Most of the things that make Hardy's novel fascinating get sugared over in Karen Louise Hebden's adaptation and production; in particular the ever-present sense of nature and of Tess as a trapped animal.”
Usually, we can look at the setting of a novel as a small portion of a work. With Tess, however, nature is a close second only to the main characters. Therefore, the reader is obligated to examine Hardy’s use of setting and environment in Tess. Tess of the d’Urbervilles takes place in Wessex, a region encompassing the southern English county of Dorset and neighboring counties Hampshire, Wiltshire, Somerset, and Devon. The setting consists of more than the location, however, particularly in this novel. Nature, as a part of the setting, is an essential element in understanding the novel. In addition, the countryside and the folk who inhabit the area provide more than a mere backdrop upon which Hardy tells his tale. They are, in fact, unnamed characters in the novel.
In Tess of the d’Urbervilles, the characters and setting mirror each other. Tess moves from a world that begins in the beautiful regions around Marlott. She goes to The Slopes to “claim kin” and the environment is lovely and formal, but also contrived (consider the new house where she expected to find an old one). The setting at Talbothays, where Tess experiences her greatest happiness, is lush, green, and fertile. Flintcomb-Ash, on the other hand, is a barren region, reflecting the harshness of the work and the desolation of Tess’ life. The story ends in the equally mysterious Stonehenge region.
5Grundy, Isabel, Hardy and the sister arts, London, 1979.
Chapter IV
With his Wessex novels (Tess, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Far From the Maddening Crowd, and Jude the Obscure), Hardy documented a way of life, a pattern of speech, and a pattern of thought that serves as a historical account of life in southern England at the end of the 1800s. As Simon Gatrell notes in Kramer’s The Cambridge Companion to Thomas Hardy, “He had begun to understand that he was the historian of a Wessex now passed, the recorder of a series of unique micro-environments, ways of life and speech, which together had formed a cultural whole.” This element makes Hardy’s notation about Wessex life timeless. Also, we see a type of existence that dated back several hundred years, possibly back to ancient times. Thus, Tess, even though it is set within a specific timeframe, has an ethereal quality that seems to transcend time.
The two main farms, Talbothays and Flintcomb-Ash, represent the best and worst of farm life. The farm is the only world that Tess knows. She never travels more than 50 miles from her place of birth. The whole of the work is rurally set, and with the level of detail, we can see Hardy’s intimate knowledge of the inner workings of a nineteenth-century farm.
Little evidence of machinery invades the novel and the main form of transportation is either the horse or the horse cart. Draft animals are necessary for survival and prosperity; we see evidence of Prince’s death and the effect his passing has on the Durbeyfields. A new horse is very important to the existence of the family. The entire series of chapters that follow Prince’s death, with Tess going to The Slopes, is based on the economic need for a horse. Only twice do we see “modern” machines in the novel, the train delivering the Talbothays milk to London and the threshing machine
used at Flintcomb-Ash. Otherwise, modern farming equipment is not a key component of farming techniques practiced in Wessex.
A further comparison is the setting of the two farms. Talbothays is portrayed as a beautiful place, in a rich agricultural region of southern England—“the valley in which milk and butter grew to rankness, and were produced more profusely, if less delicately, than at her home—the verdant plain so well watered by the river Var or Froom.” We cannot help but be charmed by the life of the dairy, with milking, churning butter, and making cheeses. Furthermore, only positive things happen to Tess while she is there. Flintcomb-Ash, on the other hand, with part of the name being “ash,” is mired in mud, rocks, poor conditions, and near starvation. Marian, formerly of Talbothays, has come to Flintcomb for work and calls the new farm “a starve-acre place. Corn and swedes [rutabagas] are all they grow.” Alec reappears at the farm to begin his renewed “courtship” of Tess. Farmer Groby’s treatment of his hired hands is not as sympathetic as Dairyman Crick’s as he tells Tess, “But we’ll see which is master here.”
Taken as a whole, the villages of Marlott, Emminster, and Trantridge are small towns easily managed by visitors and townsfolk alike. The vast countryside of the novel, the rich farmland or the poorer farm areas, outline an important part of nineteenth-century English agriculture, one where the newly founded Industrial Revolution has yet to take hold. It is upon this framework that Hardy writes one of his best novels.
Some writers draw little from their birthplace. For Thomas Hardy, however, the Dorset region of England (known in his novels as Wessex) where he was born, raised, and lived nearly all his life, was the vital
wellspring and setting of most of his novels. Born in 1840, he spent his childhood in a fertile rural region, full of old folk superstitions, ballads, and fatalistic beliefs. At the same time, modern industrial life was creeping into Dorset and its old-style agrarianism (farming life) was fast fading. In many ways, Thomas Hardy lived between the old world and the new, trying to fashion a truce between the two in his fictional creations.
The Victorian Age in which Hardy lived was alive with contradictions and conflicts. While people were supposed to live in accordance with the Bible and its ethics, they all too often took the sacred words in a harsh, literal sense rather than with a spirit of mercy and compassion. At the same time many of these social and religious dogmas did more to keep the poor serving the new wealthy middle classes than to promote the good of humanity. We’ll see how unjustly Tess is treated by a society that obeys the letter rather than the spirit of the law. We’ll also see in Hardy’s novel how money and power can cause people to compromise human dignity and liberty.Like the fictional d’Urbervilles, Hardy’s family had been prominent in the past, with a number of philanthropists, famous generals, and barons. But by the time Tommy, as his parents called him, was born, his family, like Tess’, had lost its wealth, power, and prominence. Hardy’s father, a mason and house-builder, was a craftsman. His mother’s family members, once part of the landed gentry, were now poor servants. From his mother, Hardy inherited a fascination for old, extinct families, a love of classical books, and a certain plainfolk fatalism in which “what will be, will be.” His father was a boisterous man who loved playing the fiddle with Tommy at church affairs and local folk festivities, like the ones we’ll see in Tess. Hardy’s love for music is obvious in the melodic, ballad-like quality of his finest works. The
story of Tess is very much like the oldtime ballads Hardy heard as a Dorset boy. These traditional songs abound with fair young maids murdering their seducers and star-crossed lovers lying dead- but still embracing- under greenwood trees.The Hardys were avid churchgoers, and the Bible was probably Tommy’s first reader. You’ll notice when you read Tess that Hardy quotes the Bible extensively. Like Angel Clare, a major character in Tess, Hardy was originally bound for the clergy, but his family’s economic needs, as well as his own religious doubts, caused him to become an architect instead. He loved Shakespeare and followed with interest all the newest evolutionary creeds, as well as the determinist philosophies of his times.
You’ll see all these influences in Tess. Hardy was always a shy, reclusive individual who loved the solitary, naturefilled life of the Dorset countryside. He never felt at home in cities. He became seriously ill and depressed during both his extended stays in London. Even as a boy he was fascinated by the grotesque, which figures largely in the ancient forests and d’Urberville crypts of Tess. He observed two hangings in his childhood. He viewed one hanging avidly from the top of a hill with a telescope. This hanging is memorialized in Tess. Roman and Druidic ruins were all around Hardy in Dorset, and their rough majesty and wild paganism sent his vivid imagination soaring, as we’ll see in the Stonehenge sequence of Tess.
Primitive edifices turn up throughout Tess, forcing us to see Hardy’s characters within an historic and universal framework. Hardy took great pride in restoring old churches, in which 500 years of varying architectural styles might be present in one building. His work on such churches may have taught him how to combine and intermix several eras in his literary
forever floating back and forth between daily humdrum existence and noble pasts.
Hardy’s job as an architect entailed meeting many colorful local folk who spoke the rich and rough Dorset dialect. Hardy uses this dialect in Tess to represent the common folk and lend a special, lyrical rhythm to the novel. Tess herself, like Thomas Hardy, spoke the dialect as well as the Standard English that was just beginning to be taught in the schools. Like Angel, Hardy was emotionally tied to rural England, but was too well educated to feel he completely belonged there.
Everyone, after reading Tess, has to wonder if there was a real-life model for its fascinating heroine. No one knows for sure, but there is some well-founded conjecture that Tess is based on Hardy’s beautiful, mysterious cousin, Tryphenia Sparks. Hardy may have once been in love with Tryphenia, who died just months before Hardy began writing Tess. After her death, Hardy wrote impassioned poems to her on the theme that “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” Angel Clare expresses similar sentiments in Tess.
Many readers see Tess as a social novel in which the heroine represents the old agrarian order battling against the new industrial order. These readers focus on her relationship and irreconcilable conflict with Alec, who represents the new middle-class rulers of Britain. Men like Alec have much money and power, but unlike the old rulers (such as Tess' d'Urberville ancestors), their power comes not from the land but from industry. As a symbol of the new order Alec is depicted as estranged from nature,
irresponsible, unfocused, and insensitive to those he rules. Tess, as a representative of the old agrarian order, is seen as warm, charitable, in harmony with the land, but also exhausted.
We often see Tess at the mercy of machines, particularly the thresher at Flintcomb-Ash with its ghoulish engineer. Hardy actually traps his heroine between serving the incessantly moving thresher and falling off into Alec d'Urberville's waiting arms. When Tess and her family are driven from Marlott, they encounter hoards of other transient farm families forced to live a nomadic life under the new factory-like agricultural system. Uprooted from their stable lives they lose their sense of individuality and community tradition; they are treated worse than machines. As you read Tess try to decide if Hardy thinks that the new system is completely bad, or that the old one is completely good. You'll probably find that he's trying to honestly examine both systems to discover the best in both, in order to develop, as Angel Clare desires, a more ideal new system.
The narrative technique of an author in any novel is crucial to the readers understanding of the narrative. The way in which a novel is written influences the way in which the reader interprets the events which occur throughout the novel and allows the author to convey the feeling of time, place, and people in the society in which the author is attempting to impart to his or her readers. In Tess of the D'Urbervilles, author Thomas Hardy uses a variety of narrative techniques in order to convey his own impressions of the society in which both he and his character Tess lived. Hardy's use of a third person omniscient narrator who is all knowing adds to the vulnerability of Tess by the reader's knowledge of what other characters say and do,
extensive description of setting by Hardy allows the reader to interpret the action, reactions, and moods of the characters in relation to the specific atmosphere in which they exist at the time and the influence which such a setting has on the character's feelings and emotions. Hardy's use of religious and mythological allusions and metaphysical symbols allow the reader to reflect on the religious and sociocultural environments in which the narrative is set so as to allow the reader to better understand and interpret the actions and emotions of the characters due to the reader's knowledge of their environmental influences. An effective narrative technique used by Hardy is the provision of a more direct means of communication between his characters and the reader. This is achieved through the use of dialogue, letter writing, and songs and poetry. Dialogue between characters allows Hardy to present his characters to his readers in a more direct way. It permits Hardy to allow his readers to interpret the characters in a way which is less influenced by his own narration and by which the readers are able to judge for themselves the characters by how they speak and communicate with others as well as the content of their converse. Letter writing and songs and poetry allow the reader to be directly informed of the actions and their rationale as well as the feelings of a specific character by which the reader is able to interpret these being influenced by the specific character rather than Hardy himself, and also allows the reader an insight into the social and cultural backgrounds of the society as reasoning for the characters behaviour and emotions. The way we read, interpret, and reflect on a novel is greatly influenced by the author and his or her use of narrative techniques in order to appropriately convey the characters and their society.
Setting in this case refers to the specific surrounding environment and it's atmosphere in which a character exists at a specific point in time. The particular setting in which a character exists reflects the character's moods, actions, reactions, and their rationale for these, whilst the setting also influences how a character behaves. Hardy's comprehensive description of these settings also conveys to the reader the insignificance of individual characters in relation to the social atmosphere in which they live as a whole. Upon the commencement of chapter two, Hardy describes the county of Marlott and the surrounding Vale of Blackmoor in terms of its rural beauty and cultural atmosphere whereby a May Day dance is being held. This description of setting reflects the peaceful atmosphere of the county at that time, much like that of Tess and her family, creating suspense for the events to come. Prior to Alec's violation of Tess, Hardy describes the setting of Chaseborough as "a decayed market town" (Chapter 10) where Alec, Tess, and their companions have chosen to spend their evening drinking. An atmosphere of chaos and disorder has thus been set with Tess's intoxicated and unruly companions turning into "satyrs clasping nymphs" (Chapter 10). This creation of a embroiled and uncomfortable environment for Tess alerts the reader to advancing events. Hardy makes note of the fog in the woods which is regarded as a metaphorical representation of entrapment. It is during this tumult that Alec takes advantage of the sleeping Tess. In the second phase of the novel, Tess is seen making her way back to Marlott at which point she is overtaken by Alec. Tess refuses converse with him and leaves him to go down the "crooked lane" (chapter 12). It is here where we realise that Hardy's created topography of Wessex represents the moral condition of the characters. Two distinct setting placed in stark contrast to each other are Tess's journey to The Slopes where Alec lives and Tess's
journey to Talbothay's dairy. Upon departing for The Slopes, Tess is reluctant and indisposed to her impending situation. She does not enjoy the journey in the least, feeling that her excursion will result in unwanted
consequences. However travelling to Talbothays Tess's ride is swift and pleasant. Tess feels a sense of purpose in beginning a fresh new chapter of her life, and considers the journey more of a "pilgrimage" (chapter 16). Upon arriving at the dairy, Tess observes that this a place of good spirits where "she appeared to feel that she really had laid a new foundation for her future" (chapter 16). Hardy juxtaposes the residences of both Alec and Angel, contrasting Alec's estate on The Slopes and Angel's elevated dwelling. This contrast in setting reflects Tess's respective relationships between herself and both Alec and Angel. In the midst of the blossoming relationship between Tess and Angel at the dairy, Hardy describes the setting as "oozing fatness and warm ferments... the hiss of fertilisation...
Hardy's characters are greatly influenced by the religious and social environments in which they live. Religious and mythological allusions enable Hardy to convey these aspects of his society to his readers. In the opening of the novel, the first character the readers are introduced to is Parson Tringham. No physical description is given and his dialogue is limited, creating an alluding and mysterious figure. The parson represents the religiosity of Hardy's society and communicates to the readers that this is a religious society, whilst also setting the scene for Tess's introduction to the readers and for the events to come. At the commencement of the second phase of the novel "maiden no more", Tess is seen burdened with a heavy basket and a large bundle. This can be regarded as the metaphysical symbol of oppression and hardship. Some time later as Tess and Angel depart from
the dairy after their wedding ceremony, a cock is heard crowing. Such is an omen of bad luck, and according to biblical references, the cock crowing three times as it had done intensifies the omen even more. This religious allusion represents the religious implications and consequences for Tess's decision not to inform Angel of her past, whilst also creating suspense for the reader as to the events to come.
An effective narrative technique used by Hardy is dialogue between characters. How a character speaks and what they say allow a greater insight into the nature of their individuality. It permits the reader to judge the characters on the basis of their own communication with other characters rather than on Hardy's own interpretation of their converse. Dialogue also informs the reader of a specific character's thoughts and feelings as well as their intentions and rationale for previous actions.
Hardy's use of an omniscient narrator, descriptive setting, allusion and metaphysical symbols, and letter writing and songs in Tess of the D'Urbervilles enables Hardy to influence the way his readers understand an interpret the events of the novel. These narrative techniques are highly effective in establishing a relationship between the characters and the reader and also in conveying to the readers the various aspects of Hardy's society. An understanding of these religious, social, and cultural aspects allows the reader to rationalise the actions and emotions of the characters in relation to the society in which these characters live. It is crucial for the readers to comprehend the background and aspects of Hardy's society in order that they be able to realistically explicate the plot of the novel in relation to the environment in which the characters exist.
Chapter V Conclusion
Tess is also one of the few tragic novels in the Victorian fictional tradition. A tragic novel is one in which a noble character is pitted against unfavorable fates and fights for her ideals against a world that is primarily beyond her control.
The most unusual thing about the structure of Tess is the way in which Hardy uses many narrative techniques. He uses balladry and folk tales one moment, and realism the next, sprinkling in weepy melodrama, poetry, dogmatic philosophizing, and classical Greek tragedy. As you read Tess, notice how sharply these different approaches collide. One moment Hardy brings us a close-up shot of insects and plants to teach us a parallel lesson
on humankind and nature; the next moment he gives us a panoramic view of how a dairy farm operates. Yet we never feel that Tess is a hodgepodge of styles and sensations; it is a richly interwoven story of all humanity and the miraculous enormity of life.
Tess is written from an omniscient (all-knowing) narrator's point of view. Sometimes the narrator reflects what the characters- particularly Angel and Tess- are thinking, feeling, or experiencing. Other times the narrator shows us aspects of their personalities or situations of which they aren't yet fully aware.
Many times Hardy takes us away from the immediate story of the novel in order to make philosophical comments on how his characters' situations illustrate far-reaching problems affecting society, religion, nature, or the universe. The tone of these philosophical sections is very different from that of the rest of the book, where poetry and storytelling share a visual beauty. Many readers have found Hardy's asides interruptive and distracting from the meat of the novel- as if he were afraid that the story couldn't be trusted to make his moral points for him. Other readers find these philosophical tracts necessary to take the novel beyond the confines of melodrama or balladry in which a pure woman falls from virtue and is condemned. They feel that Hardy's asides force the reader to deal with far-reaching social and cosmological considerations.
Hardy's poetic voice is his most enchanting and hypnotic. He describes landscapes as if they were metaphors for human experience. This poetic voice pulls us away from the story just as Hardy's philosophizing does, but it also makes us feel rather than think about all the pleasure and pain of life.
Violated by one man, forsaken by another, Tess Durbeyfield is the magnificent and spirited heroine of Thomas Hardy's immortal work. Of all the great English novelists, no one writes more eloquently of tragic destiny than Hardy. With the innocent and powerless victim, Tess, he creates profound sympathy for human frailty, while passionately indicting the injustices of Victorian society. Scorned upon its publication in 1891 by outraged readers, Tess of the d'Urbervilles is today one of the enduring classics of nineteenth-century literature.
Tess of the D'urbervilles is an incredibly well written novel that uses so many allusions, symbolism, and allegory that each idea presented is expressed in the most artistic way.
Tess of the D’Ubervilles is a tragedy that relies on abnormal behavior in order to make the novel work. In it hardy wanted to show the faultiness of the belief that women who have premarital sex are impure, and he also wanted to show the unfairness of the double standard between men and women.
Hardy’s intentions are noble. He tries to show the reasons for giving more could freedom to everyone, females in particular, but compromises their characters in the process. The novel would benefit by far if there was a more spontaneous atmosphere and the characters were allowed free reign to develop unhindered, but the novels could result in the loss of such powerful moral messages. So, changing the characters could endanger tle novel’s importance in history, but would definitely improve the overall reading experience.
The beauty of the novel lies in the language and style of the novelist. This novel is such a warming piece of literature envoking real emotions in human beings. Tess of D'Urbevilles is indeed a great work & no doubt the best of Hardy. The novel is not only a tragic masterpiece but has its beautiful moments. Overall Tess of D'Urbervilles is a novel that once read can never be forgotten.
