[德伯家的苔丝]之苔丝的悲剧透视

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《德伯家的苔丝》之苔丝的悲剧透视

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2016年11 月

1

An Analysis of Tess’ Tragedy of Tess of the D’Urbervilles

Author: Deng Na

Abstract: Thomas Hardy was a famous critical realistic writer at the 19th century in England. Tess of the D’Urbervilles is the most influential one of his works. The novel describes the tragedy of Tess, it can’t be separated from her own weakness in character, because she has the dual nature of the society character obviously--resistance and compromise. Then it describes the two main heroes. The paper describes the environment of the society, and then it begins to analysis the morality of capitalism and the religion factors at that time. Tess tragic life is caused by that society and it’s the result of that time. As a common person, Tess’ fought with that society helplessly. In the end, she turned out to be the sacrificial victim of that society.

Key Words: character; moral ethic; religion; unequal legal system

I. Introduction

Thomas Hardy, (1840---1928), one of the representatives of English critical realism at the 19th century, he was a poet. He is well-known for novels of character and environment. His birthplace was in a country which named Egdon in the Westland. This natural environment came into being the main environment in the Hardy’s writes. There were 20 long novels in Hardy’s early life. The most famous novels are Tess of the D’Urbervilles (1891), Jude the Obscure (1895), The Mayor of Cascetbridge (1901). Hardy’s works reflected the change of that social economy, politics, morality and tradition when the hypocritical bourgeoisie invaded the countries in England, especially exposed women’s tragic life and hypocrisy of bourgeoisie morality, law and religion. His works not only inherited the great tradition of England realism, but also pioneering the way for British literature of 20th century.

Tess of the D’Urbervilles was a great influential work of Hardy, which told the tragic life story of a gorgeous country girl. Tess was a poor farmer’s daughter. Sent by her mother to claim kindred with a prosperous branch of the D’Urbervilles family, she was seduced by the young master of the house, Alec. After giving birth to a child who died in infancy, she went to at a daisy farm in Talbothays. Then she met Angel Clare, a son of clergyman, and he felled in love with her. Soon after, he married her. On the wedding night, Tess and Angel told each

2 other about their pasts, after hearing Tess’s confession, Angel left her abruptly for Brazil. Poverty forced Tess to seek for work and she worked for a long time at a capitalist farm in Flint where she was insulted and oppressed by the master. Then the terrible things of her father’s death and the expulsion of her family from their cottage forced her to seek for assistance from Alec, and the latter, the preacher, Alec, soon tempted her and resumed his former illicit relations with her. Angel Clare returned repentant and ready to reconcile with Tess. Therefore, Tess found that her living with Alec hinders her from returning to Angel. She killed Alec. Finally, she was arrested speedily, tried and hanged.

T ess of the D’Urbervilles can be regarded as one of the greatest tragedy in prose in the history of English literature. The subheading of D’Urbervilles is “A Pure Woman”, Hardy regarded Tess as a symbol of beauty and love. However, a pure woman’s fate was so tragic. Tess was a daughter of a country vendor, she was pure and pretty and kind and hard-working. She was forced to do farm work in a distant relatives just for improving her poor family. She was a young girl that just learned a little knowledge and dangerous things. Then she was seduced by Alec and pregnant. Her baby was died after born. Therefore, Tess was destroyed in mental and physical. At last she walked in a road with despair and indignation. At last, she was died by hanging. The transient and miserable life of Tess shocked everyone. It’s regret. What lead to the tragedy of Tess? Through the study of it, we can find out there are many reasons.

II. Reasons of Tess’ Tragedy

2.1Tess’ Character

2.1.1Vanity

Tess was a vanity woman. She refused to afford for money from Alec when she was invaded. She went away from him with disgust and contempt. She can’t get along with ignoble Alec because of her vanity and pure. It is valuable that Tess don’t endorse classical notion of chastity with pure concept what reflected her simple and honesty from her nature. But because of it, Tess told her “secret” to Angel and not to care about her mother’s dissuasion. Nevertheless, Angel had not forgiven Tess after he known about the “secret”. Tess should have not to tell the truth and she should have to leave Angel but she hasn’t to do so because of vanity. Tess was willing to divorce or die for Angel. Tess was unwilling to ask

3 Angel’s parents for help because of vanity. If Tess can ask Angel’s parents for help, she maybe hasn’t be caught by Alec.

Th e side of Tess’s social character is resigned to bad conditions. Tess adopts completely another kind of manner to treat Angel. The relationship between lovers should be equal, but Tess constantly disparages herself and raises Angel. At the beginning of love “she loves he extremely, she looks he as the god.”(Thomas Hard, 1891:261)

2.1.2Delicate Tess

Tess was a daughter of poor peasants. Her nature character reflects the industrious and valiant of human nature. It refracted the quality of human nature’s brave benevolence. Tess’s beauty and temperament are harmony with the nature, she was “the nature’s daughter”, and her mind which is contaminated after the common custom has not been good and the rich sympathy. She never hurts even a fly and worms, a little bird in a cage can make she cry. Tess this own character decided she has no ability to protect herself, and the efforts required to pay in excess of her endurance. The tragedy of her fate set the tone early, and the tragedy’s happen only was the problem of time or might different in form.

2.2Alec and Angel

2.2.1 Alec

In this novel, the description of male leading characters has reflected the capitalist society darkness and hypocritical capitalism morals view at that time. Alec is the represent of eme rging bourgeoisie’s, he represented the bourgeois society’s authority, the wealth and the evil, the reason to Tess’ tragic life.

2.2.2 Angel

The traditional ethics morality survives on Angel devastates to Tess is invisible, the more fearful spirit injures. In nature bosom, he feels the village life is simple and fresh when he stays with the innocent peasant family young girls. He was mild-mannered and cultivated, serious and earnest. He starts to recognize Tess could be a good steward in the future slowly. If we say because the Alec’s ferocious adversary caused the chastity lost and to bring the deep pain to Tess, but it has not been able to disappear the desire and the future hope of her live.

III. Analysis From Tess’ Family and Society

3.1Poor Family of Tess and Incapable Parents of Tess

4 Tess’ father was a poor countryside hawker, whose natural disposition is lazy and even benighted, Tess’ mother was a dairymaid, who was sloppy superstition and mind simply. They were pitiful creature who chart praise the vanity and depended on the time wind and rain willfully to devastate. Just as such terrible parents became the setter of a bad example of Tess’ tragedy.

In order to showed off own so-called “aristocrat” status and satisfied mere vanity, Tess’ parents wanted to improve own status by “acknowledges as relatives”, “marries”. Although Tess obnoxious parents’ hypocrisy, despised the noble origin, and persisted herself is peasant family’s daughter who living on own labor, but she was the oldest child in the family, parents’ incompetent made the heavy burden on herself early. She loved her little sisters and brothers deeply and she cannot cruel enough to looked they suffer hardships. Unfortunately, when the old horse what her family living on died, Tess obeyed the aunt to assign to go for shelter richly adulteration relative with same surname reluctantly. In the result, she suffered devastating, and she became the sacrificial victim and the Confucianism criminal which the beast wants. Afterwards, in order to her family, Tess was forced to leave native place, the wooden scoop anchors everywhere, she experienced every hard vicissitudes. At last, Tess came back to Alec again for family, in order to receive family member’s warm by her own human body.

3.2Vanity Morality of Capitalism and Religion

Tess’ tragedy is belonging to the 19th century. She is a figure of tragedy that be desecrated and damaged. Tess’ life time belongs to the patriarchal society and it has come to an end. With the rapid development of capitalism, the bourgeoisie had not satisfied with the city. Capitalism destroyed the village of pastoral peace. Traditional way of agricultural production was replaced by the agriculture of capitalist business. The peasant class went bankrupt and the old small peasant economy collapsed thoroughly. In order to survive, farmers had to do workers. This trend forced to Tess’ resistance. She can only use her poor power to show the dissatisfaction of the status.

Tess lived in Victorian era, Men and women’s love in marriage was never equal. There were triangle relationship and divorce, an affair, extramarital relations and so on. It is also considered unethical behavior. Tess is the victim of this unfair ethics and morality, her whole life is to survive under force and violence. During that period, philandering men was

5 not popular. But accused and insulted women was more serious. This is the era of the lower women’s unfortunate fate.

3.3Unequal Legal System

Economic foundation for Tess ’ family is very important. Tess o f the D’Urbervilles shown, originally prominent futurity of the family of D’Urbervilles, they lost ancestors of real estate and reduced to owner-peasant. Their life all relied on small businesses of their father. Mentioned in the novel the property of D’Urbervilles, which is Alec’s house. Because of the British inheritance tax, they should pay high inheritance tax when land barons in replacement time. Thus, a lot of inability to pay taxes feudal nobility had abandoned ancestral homes. For Tess home in terms of lost homes, they fell to the bottom of society, it began a tragic fate.

IV. Conclusion

A lot of reflection was left by Hardy through his creation of Tess’ tragedy. Tess’ tragedy was as a result of action of other people or as a result of the social convention and laws. Yet in the novel Tess herself could have changed the course of events. Her pride and submission was also added to her tragedy. In the sight of the world, she condemned, she was a fallen woman and finally a murderer. And yet, allowing for the society in which she exits was never tempted to laugh at her or to censure her. As a matter of fact, the poor girl is ruined by the external forces, which should be responsible for her tragedy. Through Hardy’s view of nature, Women in the light of ecofeminism as well as Tess’ relationship with the nature and the emergency of feminism among male chauvinism, which will give reader a new nature angle to understand the novel. Meanwhile, we can have a good understanding of ecofeminism.

In conclusion, Tess has shown a powerful woman’s image to common people with her unyielding spirit of revolt. She had carried on the strongest revealing and criticism to the moribund society, traditional morals, hypocritical religion, and capitalist marriage system. It is worth savoring about her kindhearted enlightenment, noble emotion, strong personality, and her resistance in imbuing all rooted in the heart of people forever.