A Comparative Study of Tess By Hardy and Cuicui in the Novel of Biancheng by Shen Congwen

Abstract：Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Hardy and Biancheng by Shen Congwen are the representatives of Local Colorism in England and China respectively.Tess and Cuicui are heroines in these two tragic novels.This paper will focus on the reinterpretation of works so as to analysis of the source of the two heroines tragedy.The status and fate of women in the patriarchal society will be discussed，and a comparitive study of the two writers will be developed.

Key words：Tess，Cuicui，tragic，source

Introduction

At the end of the 19th century， the famous British writer Hardy completed his series of works about Wessex. Less than half a century， Chinese border town also had its writer Shen Congwen， building a \" Xiangxi world”. Wessex and Xiangxi are not only the writers’ the name of hometown， but their spiritual home. They were from the countryside ，came to city，and experienced the the ideal lost and lonely soul behind urban prosperity. They became more nostalgic， which made their creation of local literature so handy and famous in the world.

If Tess is a natural woman with vigour and vitality，Cuicui is the pure type，silent and thoughtful. The two daughters of nature，Tess and Cuicui are shaped in their representative works. They are beautiful and innocent， but suffer the pain and misfortune.Causes of this kind of tragedy includes both man-made factors and providence. This paper will start from the intimate relationship between the protagonist and the nature，and then reveals the root of tragedy， showing two writers'creation concepts.

2.The Invasion of Heterogeneous Culture

2.1 The Disintegration of the Natural Economy

In the second half of the 19th century， the British economy changed hugely. With the invasion of industry and modern civilization， the rural economy was moving towards the disintegration and destruction due to the agricultural crisis， bringing huge disaster for farmers.

In Tess’s hometown， harvester and beating machine began to dominate the control over the whole farm.Unemployment and poverty beset peasants. Tess's home，without exception，by bankruptcy，was on the beach.Poverty made Tess meet Alec again and fall in his entanglement when she was finding a job； Poverty made Tess go back into Alec after she was abandoned by Angle Clare ； Poverty made Tess abandon woman's dignity and love， go against her will ，swallow humiliation and bear a heavy load until the last outbreak - kill Alec and embarke on a road of no return.

Therefore，the disintegration of the rural economy and the bankruptcy of agriculture is the root cause for the tragedy of Tess and her family.

2.2 Variation of Natural Humanity

Xiangxi， originally， is a paradise with beautiful natural scenery， harmonious interpersonal relationship and the simple folk customs . But from 1934 to 1946， Xiangxi experienced warlords， uprising and rebellion， It was in turmoil， thus it was never the land of idyllic beauty in Shen's memory.

In a city called Chatung，where Cuicui and her grandfather lived，economic developed and commodity consciousness increasingly disseminated， so human's value changed. The traditional natural humanity was experiencing an impact of \"benefit\". In the novel， since a \"grain mill\" as a dowry in front of two sons of Shün Shün， tragic factors were slowly spread. This \"grain mill\" became an intangible heavy pressure in Cuicui's mind .It also made difficult in judging the value in front of kinship and love.He was so hestitated in doing action that he finally ran away.

3. The Same Fatalism

Biancheng was a place with good humanity， but hid serious superstitious ideas， the destiny.They believed in their nature，but also put all the blame to the external environment； They thought that the evil days are derived from the invisible fate. Shen Congwen interpreted the hidden Xiangxi world with unique and sharp thought，and found its congenitally deficient and fatal weakness -- the fate of the superstition. In front of natural disasters or human misfortune， they adapted it passively ， buried the sadness quietly， accepted calmly， and blamed everything to \"providence\". In the face of flood disaster， people are \"speechless\"， just helplessly stared； Cui Cui mother's death， from the old boatman's view ，everyone was innocent， only \"God\" should be responsible； Tianbao accidental drowning，also\"This. is absolutely the will of God！\".

Hardy and Shen Congwen are similar. They all have the ideology of fate circle and retribution. The legend of d’Urbervilles family ancestors ，following the king from Normandy to England， conquered a lot of places， wantonly， killed a lot of good people， especially the murder event of a woman in a carriage， which seemed to be the original fatal cause for the tragedy of Tess. And like Hardy， Shen Congwen put the fate into the accidental emotional form.Everywhere was full of coincidence and misunderstanding. The accidents and misunderstandings， which can not be interpreted reasonably in the novel， were put in summary to Providence， dominant form of fatalism，as a footnote into character tragedy.

5.Conclusion

In my belief，Biancheng is a character tragedy，while Tess of the d’Urbervilles is a social tragedy.Hardy suggests， somewhat in the manner of the Greek tragedians， that there is a tragic fatality even in being connected with the erring and fallen family of D’Urberville.The”in-cautiousness” is in fact Tess’s tragic flaw.Although I have stressed Tess’s pride and recklessness in the preceding discussion， I must say again that Tess has an heroic and noble nature. Her story is truly a case of the “worthy” being “encompassed by the inevitable”. Tess’s flaws may make her imperfect， but they do not make her unworthy.In contrast to everyone else in the novel， Tess stands out as a superior person.

Works Cited

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Hardy， Thomas. Tess of the D′Urbervilles. Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching and

Research Press，1992.

Kramer， Dale. The Cambridge Companion to Thomas Hardy. Shanghai： Shanghai

Foreign Language Education Press， 2000.

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