An Analysis Causes of Tess’s Tragedy in Tess of the D’Urbervilles

【Abstract】Thomas Hardy is an extraordinary writer in 19th century. Tess of the DUrbervilles is his famous novels which is also a typical work of critical realism. The most important achievement of the novel is shaped the character of protagonist successfully and it has enduring literary. This novel tells that a pure， beautiful and innocent woman lost chastity and became a killer in the end. Causes of Tesss tragedy are various. This paper aims to analyze causes of Tesss tragedy from external causes and internal causes. The external causes are consisted of causes of social background， causes of morality， fatalism and the influence of other characters. The external cause is Tesss own character. Hardy gave a satirical portrayal of the bourgeoisie and all ruling class， but also showed profound sympathy for common people. Analysis Causes of Tesss Tragedy can make people understand the novel deeply and have comprehensive perspective to regard life. This study has both theoretical significance and practical significance.

【Key words】Tesss tragedy; external causes; internal causes

【摘要】托馬斯·哈代是十九世紀杰出的作家。《德伯家的苔絲》是他其中一部非常有名的批判現實主義的著作。這部小說最大的成就是成功塑造了主角形象，在文學史上有著不朽的價值。這部小說講述了一個純潔、美麗又清純少女苔絲失去清白后，變為殺人犯的故事。導致苔絲悲劇的原因多種多樣，本片論文旨在分析導致其悲劇的內、外在原因。外在原因包括苔絲生活下的社會背景，社會道德，宿命論和其他角色的影響;內在原因就是苔絲自身的性格原因。這是哈代對資產階級和所有統治階級的諷刺，同時也表達了對普通民眾深深的同情。分析導致苔絲悲劇的原因，有助于幫助讀者更好的理解小說和用更加全面的角度看待生活。本研究具有理論意義和現實意義。

【關鍵詞】苔絲的悲劇;內在原因;外在原因

【作者簡介】李楷文，山東中醫藥大學。

1. Introduction

Tess is one of the important novels written by the famous novelist Thomas Hardy. At the time of Tess of the DUrbervilles publication， it was received both praise and criticism among the readers in the Victorian era. With the development of the society the influence of Hardy and Tess has become more and more extensive in the world， and readers understanding of Hardy and Tesss tragedy is deepening. Despite our studies on Hardy are just focus on his several important novels， especially the novel of Tesss Tragedy in Tess of the DUrbervilles， but it is enough to see Hardys deep thoughts and the integrity in his personality from this representative work. He is a warrior who declares war on the old world with novels and poetry as weapons. This paper analyzes the causes of Tesss tragedy from the perspective of internal and external factors， and helps readers to understand the novel better and have a more comprehensive views of life. The external causes are mainly consisted of social background reasons， moral reasons， fatalism and the influence of other characters. The internal cause is mainly consisted of the weakness of Tesss own personality. It is the key to their inevitable failure to fight against society.

First of all， for the social background， Tess lived in the heyday of the development of British capitalism which we called the golden age. But there are many stereotypes and red tapes in this proud area， which is the objective reason for Tesss tragedy. Tesss tragedy also has its social moral root which is Male Predominance and Sexual Harassment. Women couldnt refute in front of the unjust treatment. Hardys pessimism comes from his fatalism. No matter how human civilization developed， we can do nothing when fate wants to play tricks on us. The main cause of Tesss tragedy is the weakness of her character， and the kind Tess cant be competing with strong capitalism. But what the most valuable thing is that Tess became more brave and resolute after losing chastity， and she had a spirit of resistance.

This paper is a summary and supplement to the previous research， but also a reflection on the current society.

2. Literature review

Tess is a pure， beautiful girl from rural area. Although she was born in a poor family， she pursued kindness and real love. One day， Tesss father was told that he was the descendent of nobility DUrbervilles. He was very complacent and asked Tess to find their rich relatives so that They could live a better life with the help of their relatives. This was the beginning of Tesss tragedy. Before Tess found her rich relatives， she encountered Alec， a so called gentle man. She thought this was a new and amazing experience at first， but she was deceived and seduced by Alec. And then she was pregnant. Shes life was totally changed. People looked down her and criticized her. Tess and her family was under the pressure of the gossip. In fact， she didnt do anything wrong. She was just an innocent girl before she met the terrible man. In order to make a living， Tess found a job as a milkman in a distant dairy farm. She met Angel Clare who loved deeply for Tess. They fell in love with each other. But Tess always had a sense of guilty for Angel because of her unhappy experience. They got married finally. Angel didnt know Tess was lost her chastity until their Wedding night. Angel thought that they must be honest and loyal to each other and he confessed his crime to Tess at a night. Tess was not angry at all and she forgave Angel at once. Actually， she was excited because she also had a thing to confess to Angel. She was eager to get forgiveness from Angel. After she told Angel her experience， she was not got forgiveness from angel. In contrast， Angel got away from her. Angel maintained that he felt shameful of getting married with Tess. Tess was sorrow but she must get money to bring up her sisters and brothers. She found another job. The landlord was a person which was similar to animal. All of the people worked in there was hated the beast of the landlord. Tess was compressed every day. During this time， Alec was came back and found Tess and told her he can help her unless Tess did the mistress for him. Tess was submitted to him in the end because of living. After a long time， Angel came back and made an apology to Tess and told Tess he had forgiven her. Tess thought all of her misfortune was come from Alec. She killed Alec in the end and eloped with Angel. Finally， Tess was arrested and Angel got married with Tesss sister.

3. External causes of Tesss tragedy

3.1 Social background

Thomas Hardy was born in late 19th century from a lower social class. He lived in a rural area and he was familiar with the life of peasant. Naturally， figures in his novel were almost the prototype of this area. He showed great sympathy for the poor people.

In the late 19th century， a tremendous change took place in England. England had become the leading country in the world after the industrial revolution. The small – scaled peasant economy was collapsing. Some habits of agricultural society was changed which caused many poor famers suffered pains. They were exploited. With the development of the society， the value and idea of people was changing. Some people were fought for unjust legal system and religious hypocrisy. Because these people were at the lower social status， its difficult for them to win. Tess was lived in the condition of this society. She got the compression from the whole society. When she worked in dairy farm， she did the hardest work and was reated unfairly. Tesss tragedy was due to the lower social status， the unjust legal system， the religious hypocrisy. She was the victim of the society.

3.2 Causes of morality

In the Victorian age， people thought that moral dogma is sacred and cant be violated. Bourgeois controlled the whole society. They were advocated trivial formalities and religious hypocrisy. Whats more， they thought that male can dominate female. If a woman lost her chastity before the marriage， she was unforgivable. After Alec seduced Tess， Tess was criticized by all of the people， but Alec lived free and easy. In the end， Tess killed Alec showed that her spirit of the rebellion. But Tess was very weak in front of the bourgeois. She lost her life in the end.

3.3 Fatalism

Hardy presents a world in which circumstances beyond the control of Tess determine her destiny. Luck， chance， coincidence， and environmental forces continually work against Tess to entangle her in one predicament after another. For example in the first chapter， Tesss mother asked Tess to deliver hives by carriage. The horse driven into an unlighted wagon and dead. She came across the Alec on the road and was seduced by Alec. And then Tess was left by Angel and killed Alec which is the reflection of Hardys fatalism. If Tesss father wont drink lots of water Tess wouldnt deliver hives. If she didnt deliver hives， she didnt come across Alec and was seduced. If she wasnt seduced， she maybe live a happy life with Angel and she wasnt arrested. The destiny of Tess is determined in the first time. Man proves impotent before fate. Its obvious for her to have a tragedy ending.

3.4 The influence of other characters

3.4.1 The influence of Tesss family

Tesss family is another important reason to make her tragedy. Tesss father is a drunker and lazy vendor. Tesss mother is a wash worker. She has seven sisters and brothers to bring up. Her family is so poor that it is difficult to maintain a simple life. She must find jobs to uphold her family. Meanwhile， Tesss parents are vain persons and they always show off they are the descendent of nobility. They would like to live a decent life. If they didnt care about those， Tess wouldnt come across Alec. In other words， Tesss parents are the blasting fuse of Tess tragedy.

3.4.2. The influence of Alec

Alecs father was a wealthy business man. The rich young man used his fathers money and power to dominate people. He is a fraud as well as a morally corrupt person and he thought Money can buy everything. It is obvious that embodiment of the capital. When he first saw Tess， he had the evil thought for Tess. Because Tess was young and had fewer life experiences， it is difficult for her to protect herself. He ruined her maiden chastity and her happiness of life. Although he had left the evil thoughts by following god， but when he met Tess again， the evil thought was occurred again. Alec harassed and badgered her. Tess would rather endure the cruel exploitation and burdened heavy manual labor in farm than submit for Alec. However， when Tesss father died of illness and her mothers health was not in good condition and her brothers and sisters were out of school and the houses lease was expired， Tesss mother accepted the help from Alec in desperate time. Tess was forced to be his mistress. What the Alec doing is one of the important causes of Tesss tragedy.

3.4.3 The influence of Angel

Angel was different from Alec. He was an intellectual with an open mind. Although he came from a family of priests， he did not want to be a priest， but rather to engage in farming. Angel despised class prejudice and hierarchy， and rejected the bustling life in the city， and volunteered to work in the countryside. He was not afraid of hardship， and he wanted to be an agricultural worker engaged in heavy manual labor， and mastered all kinds of agricultural technology， in order to achieve his ideals that became a farmer. He was not willing to marry the young lady of rich family， and wanted marry girl from countryside. In his eyes， Tess was the “new-born daughter of nature”， the symbol of purity， the masterpiece of perfection. However， when Tess confessed her past experiences to him honestly. Angel was angry and he couldnt forgive her. Not only did Angel had no sympathy for Tess， but even could not tolerate Tess. He abandoned her， put Tess in pain and despair. After abandoning Tess， Angel went to Brazil. He suffered a lot in the foreign country and he understood life and he hurt both Tess and himself. His despair for Tess came to a climax. Her came back and found Tess. Tess killed Alec. After five days of escaping， Tess was arrested and hanged. According to Tesss will， Angel married Tesss sister began a new life.

Angel was a typical image of bourgeois intellectuals. He despised class bias， but he couldnt get rid of conventional morality totally.

4. Internal causes of Tesss tragedy

4.1 The character of Tess

Tess was a pure and a beautiful woman. She looked forward to the true and kind life， but she always suffered misfortune. Tesss tragedy began when she made a living for the whole family. Although she was seduced by Alec and criticized by public， she didnt give up rebellion. She had a dual personality. On the one hand， she had braved to revolt conventional morality and hypocritical religion. On the other hand， she couldnt get rid of the traditional morality.

First， she was goodness and innocence which decided she couldnt get alone with Alec.

Second， Tess was lack of education which determined that she couldnt tell tricks of Alec.

Third， Tess born from a family of lower class. Its easy to have weak points in her character. For instance， she was loyalty and persistence for Angel， but Angel left her alone. Her view of morality made her become the sacrifice in the end. The weakness in her character decided that she cant win in front of the bourgeoisie.

5. Conclusion

The Soviet literary critic Anikst said： “the real reason for the destruction of Tess is the nature of reality. The heroines poverty， independence， and the social conditions at that time， all decide the womans tragic fate”. The tragedy of Tess is inevitable because it is a trend of society under the environment of rapid development of capitalism. Tesss tragedy caused by internal and external aspects， such as her social status， different people she encountered， her own character and the unknown fate. Analysis Causes of Tesss Tragedy ， we will have a better understanding towards life.

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