苔絲》悲劇成因探析

1、.IntroductionTess of the DUrbervilles, published in 1891, was Thomas Hardys last and most significant work. In this novel, Hardy reached the height of his achievement as a novelist. The novel can be regarded as one of the greatest tragedy in the history of English literature. This book became one of

2、 the greatest works in the late of Victorian era, because it boldly exposed hypocritical moral in the Capitalist society and condemned the Capitalism in the late 19th century that caused impoverishment and decay of small farmers in rural England.Tess was a poor peasant girl who wanted to rely on her

3、 hands to pursue individual happiness right, but the powerful social forces cant let off a weak girl, in the end caused her tragedy. In this novel, we can see that Tess resisted her unjust fate again and again, suffered setbacks again and again, but she was destroyed at last. The purpose of the thes

4、is:The cause of Tess tragedy has always been the concern of people, such a beautiful, noble and pure woman as Tess should suffer inevitable ruin. To research this novel, we know the view of morality in the hypocritical bourgeoisie in the Britain's Victorian era; Tesss tragedy is due to the moral

5、 root of society and the unequal legal system. In this paper, I try to make a detailed analysis on the novel, to show the various causes of heroines tragedy.Chapter 1 Thomas Hardy and his masterpieceA. Thomas HardyThomas Hardy was born on June 2, 1840, in the village of Higher Bockhampton, near Dorc

6、hester, a market town in the county of Dorset. Hardy would spend much of his life in his native region, transforming its rural landscapes into his fictional Wesses. Hardy's mother, Jemima, inspired him with a taste for literature; while his stonemason father, Thomas, shared with him a love of ar

7、chitecture and music (the two would later play the fiddle at local dances). As a boy Hardy read widely in the popular fiction of the day, including the novels of Scott, Dumas, Dickens, W. Harrison Ainsworth, and G.P.R. James, and in the poetry of Scott, Wordsworth, Byron, Shelley, Keats, and others.

8、 Strongly influenced in his youth by the Bible and the liturgy of the Anglican Church, Hardy later contemplated a career in the ministry; but his assimilation of the new theories of Darwinian evolutionism eventually made him an agnostic and a severe critic of the limitations of traditional religion.

9、At the age of eight, Hardy began to attend Julia Martin's school in Bockhampton. However, most of his education came from the books he found in Dorchester, the nearby town. He learned French, German, and Latin by teaching himself through these books. At sixteen, Hardy's father apprenticed hi

10、s son to a local architect, John Hicks. Under Hicks' tutelage, Hardy learned much about architectural drawing and restoring old houses and churches. Hardy loved the apprenticeship because it allowed him to learn the histories of the houses and the families that lived there. Despite his work, Har

11、dy did not forget his academics: in the evenings, Hardy would study with the Greek scholar Horace Moule.In 1862, Hardy was sent to London to work with the architect Arthur Blomfield. During his five years in London, Hardy immersed himself in the cultural scene by visiting the museums and theaters an

12、d studying classic literature. He even began to write his own poetry. Although he did not stay in London, choosing to return to Dorchester as a church restorer, he took his newfound talent for writing to Dorchester as well.From 1867, Hardy wrote poetry and novels, though the first part of his career

13、 was devoted to the novel. At first he published anonymously, but when people became interested in his works, he began to use his own name. Like Dickens, Hardy's novels were published in serial forms in magazines that were popular in both England and America. His first popular novel was Under th

14、e Greenwood Tree, published in 1872. The next great novel, Far from the Madding Crowd (1874) was so popular that with the profits, Hardy was able to give up architecture and marry Emma Gifford. Other popular novels followed in quick succession: The Return of the Native (1878), The Mayor of Casterbri

15、dge (1886), The Woodlanders (1887), Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891), and Jude the Obscure (1895). In addition to these larger works, Hardy published three collections of short stories and five smaller novels, all moderately successful. However, despite the praise Hardy's fiction received, m

16、any critics also found his works to be too shocking, especially Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure. The outcry against Jude was so great that Hardy decided to stop writing novels and return to his first great love, poetry.Over the years, Hardy had divided his time between his home, M

17、ax Gate, in Dorchester and his lodgings in London. In his later years, he remained in Dorchester to focus completely on his poetry. In 1898, he saw his dream of becoming a poet realized with the publication of Wessex Poems. He then turned his attentions to an epic drama in blank verse, The Dynasts;

18、it was finally completed in 1908. Before his death, he had written over 800 poems, many of them published while he was in his eighties. Hardy also found happiness in his personal life. His first wife, Emma, died in 1912. Although their marriage had not been happy, Hardy grieved at her sudden death.

19、In 1914, he married Florence Dugale, and she was extremely devoted to him. After his death, Florence published Hardy's autobiography in two parts under her own name.By the last two decades of Hardy's life, he had achieved fame as great as Dickens' fame. In 1910, he was awarded the Order

20、of Merit. After a long and highly successful life, Thomas Hardy died on January 11, 1928, at the age of 87. His ashes were buried in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey.Hardy is one of the few writers (D.H.Lawrence was another) who made a significant contribution to English literature in the form

21、 of the novel, poetry, and the short story. His writing is full of delightful effects, beautiful images and striking language. He creates unforgettable characters and orchestrates stories which pull at your heart strings. It has to be said that he also relies on coincidences and improbabilities of p

22、lot which (though common in the nineteenth century) some people see as weaknesses. However, his sense of drama, his powerful language, and his wonderful depiction of the English countryside make him an enduring favourite.B. The novel Tess of the DUrbervillesThe poor peddler John Durbeyfield is stunn

23、ed to learn that he is the descendent of an ancient noble family, the dUrberville. Meanwhile, Tess, his eldest daughter, joins the other village girls in the May Day dance, where Tess briefly exchanges glances with a young man. Mr. Durbeyfield and his wife decide to send Tess to the DUrbervilles man

24、sion, where they hope Mrs. dUrberville will make Tesss fortune. In reality, Mrs. dUrberville is no relation to Tess at all: her husband, the merchant Simon Stokes, simply changed his name to dUrberville after he retired. But Tess does not know this fact, and when the lascivious Alec dUrberville, Mrs

25、. dUrbervilles son, procures Tess a job tending fowls on the dUrberville estate, Tess has no choice but to accept, since she blames herself for an accident involving the familys horse, its only means of income.Tess spends several months at this job, resisting Alecs attempts to seduce her. Finally, A

26、lec seduced her in the woods one night after a fair. Tess knows she does not love Alec. She returns home to her family to give birth to Alecs child, whom she christens Sorrow. Sorrow dies soon after he is born, and Tess spends a miserable year at home before deciding to seek work elsewhere. She fina

27、lly accepts a job as a milkmaid at the Talbothays Dairy.At Talbothays, Tess enjoys a period of contentment and happiness. She befriends three of her fellow milkmaidsIzz, Retty, and Marianand meets a man named Angel Clare, who turns out to be the man from the May Day dance at the beginning of the nov

28、el. Tess and Angel slowly fall in love. They grow closer throughout Tesss time at Talbothays, and she eventually accepts his proposal of marriage. Still, she is troubled by pangs of conscience and feels she should tell Angel about her past. She writes him a confessional note and slips it under his d

29、oor, but it slides under the carpet and Angel never sees it.After their wedding, Angel and Tess both confess indiscretions: Angel tells Tess about an affair he had with an older woman in London, and Tess tells Angel about her history with Alec. Tess forgives Angel, but Angel cannot forgive Tess. He

30、gives her some money and boards a ship bound for Brazil, where he thinks he might establish a farm. He tells Tess he will try to accept her past but warns her not to try to join him until he comes for her.Tess struggles. She has a difficult time finding work and is forced to take a job at an unpleas

31、ant and unprosperous farm. She tries to visit Angels family but overhears his brothers discussing Angels poor marriage, so she leaves. She hears a wandering preacher speak and is stunned to discover that he is Alec dUrberville, who has been converted to Christianity by Angels father, the Reverend Cl

32、are. Alec and Tess are each shaken by their encounter, and Alec appallingly begs Tess never to tempt him again. Soon after, however, he again begs Tess to marry him, having turned his back on his -religious ways.Tess learns from her sister Liza-Lu that her mother is near death, and Tess is forced to

33、 return home to take care of her. Her mother recovers, but her father unexpectedly dies soon after. When the family is evicted from their home, Alec offers help. But Tess refuses to accept, knowing he only wants to obligate her to him again.At last, Angel decides to forgive his wife. He leaves Brazi

34、l, desperate to find her. Instead, he finds her mother, who tells him Tess has gone to a village called Sandbourne. There, he finds Tess in an expensive boardinghouse called The Herons, where he tells her he has forgiven her and begs her to take him back. Tess tells him he has come too late. She was

35、 unable to resist and went back to Alec dUrberville. Angel leaves in a daze, and, heartbroken to the point of madness, Tess goes upstairs and stabs her lover to death. When the landlady finds Alecs body, she raises an alarm, but Tess has already fled to find Angel.Angel agrees to help Tess, though h

36、e cannot quite believe that she has actually murdered Alec. They hide out in an empty mansion for a few days, then travel farther. When they come to Stonehenge, Tess goes to sleep, but when morning breaks shortly thereafter, a search party discovers them. Tess is arrested and sent to jail. Angel and

37、 Liza-Lu watch as a black flag is raised over the prison, signaling Tesss execution.Chapter 2 the Social Circumstance of the NovelA. The social backgroundThe economic elements from 19th century to the 20th century played an important role in Tess life. During the long period of the Victorian Era, th

38、e Industrial Revolution had changed the economy significantly. The capitalism infringed countryside, many people bankrupted and petty farm economy disjointed and the peasant tended to the poor and bankruptcy. The quiet countryside was damaged and the economy of petty farm was collapsing. The most ru

39、ral of areas witnessed some kind of mechanization. Tess lived in the end of 19th century during the period of the Victoria age in England. Tess tragedy is a production between human beings and society. Her tragedy is inevitable in that society, so that her tragedy is a social tragedy. She is a sacri

40、fice of the time, under the despotic force, she loses her virtue for her pure and innocent and becomes a vicious woman; she misses her happiness for her kindness and pure-heartedness and becomes a deserted wife. Even more, her insistence of the true love leads her to a Nemesis and a prisoner finally

41、. We all are touched deeply by Tesss tragic fate: “a pure and beautiful girl is damaged by two men”. One is Alec, wealthy but spurious - he is a sacker of Tesss body; the other one is Clare, wisdom and thinking open.The representative of national machine is Alec. He is a merchant princes son. When h

42、e saw Tess on his first sight, he wanted to own her. He made use of Tess innocent and ignorant to rob of her virtue. At the same time, Tess is so innocent that she cant control the situation and foresee the future at all. When Tess met Alec again, Tess marriage is ruined. What she can do is return t

43、o Alec for her familys survival. Both moral rule and ethic take an important part in Tess tragedy. Alec represented the social violence and national machines which ruined Tesss body.Tess is a victim of moral rule and social ethic. Clare is the symbol of the morality and convention. He is a represent

44、ative of hypocritical religion. Though he is an open-minded man, the ethic and moral rules are deep-rooted in his mind. Tess and Clare love with each other deeply, at the wedding night, however, Clare abandons Tess for her past, he is a sacker of Tess mentality. Tess first miserable experience is a

45、hatching which holds her whole life. “Once you are to be a victim, you will always be victim.” This is a rule. When he knows Tess is not a virgin, he abandons her so cruel, no matter how Tess begs for his pardon. He said: “she was another woman than the one who had excited his desire.” Even if he st

46、ill loves her, he cant accept the truth, so he leaves her for Brazil. When he faces Tess imploration, he thinks that “different societies, different manners.” When he looked upon Tess as a pure girl, he loved her very much. “Nothing so pure, so sweet, so beautiful as Tess had seemed possible all the

47、 long while that he had adored her. But the little less, and what worlds away!”(Hardy 297) An important reason is that the viewpoint of the convention and moral are unbreakable from his mind. So Tess tragedy is caused by many factors of society.B. Hypocritical capitalist moral view and unequal legal

48、 systemIn the Victorian Era, the period is characterized by a very strict morality, particularly concerning the relationship between men and women. A woman was still the property of her husband or father, and her honor was to be protected and prized until marriage. The sexual morals are rooted in pe

49、oples minds: when either man or woman engaged in sexual lapses, the former would be forgiven, but the later would be condemned. The moral outlook in the capital society was designed to protect the benefit of the upper class. The legal system was the premise to help the upper class oppress the lower

50、class.Tess is a victim, but she is in a lower class, so Tess does not have the equal right as the upper class has. Moreover, in Victorian era, people had firm idea about female chastity. The hypocritical ethics and morality had already become peoples spiritual yoke. So when Tess was seduced by Alec,

51、 she was not sympathized or accepted but prejudiced by the society, the happiness in the sense of the other normal people's mind has gone away from her. Although her soul is pure and her morality is noble, in front of the morality of the bourgeoisie, she was considered as harmful to the societys

52、 morality. She was looked down upon as lasciviousness, and the incarnation of crime. She had no right to have a serious relationship and she can not marry to a gentleman. Even Tess herself was deeply influenced by such ethics and regarded herself inferior and unclean. Thats why she was in deep contr

53、adiction when her beloved Angel asks her to marry him. She belittled herself, thought herself unworthy of Angel, and even vowed that “she will die unmarried”. Angel was also a victim of that ethics. He abandoned Tess only because of the hypocritical ethics. As a result, he lost his happiness.We can

54、see English bourgeois social moral ethics view which woman is sexual purity, and adultery is the worst f all possible sins, is mainly due to Tess tragedy. In the capitalist society, legal regime was the premise to maintain the benefit of the exploiting class and the authority of acknowledgment explo

55、iting class to oppress people, to service and protect the control of reactionary. Alec did all kinds of evil things, he seduced Tess, threatened and cheated her, forcibly occupied her. He did so much evil things to Tess but he was protected by the law. Tess killed Alec to seek her true love but was

56、caught and hanged as a murder. That was the law in the capitalism society, only protected the interests of the upper class. This just explained bourgeoisie politics system reactionary, indicated the unimportant persons in the lower level social class were impossible to obtain the fair treatment in t

57、he society.C. Impoverishment and decay of small farmersTess lives in the late 19th century, in which the cruel capitalist exploitation had ruined the English countryside. Capitalism brought a great harm to the old, rural and agricultural place. The self-supporting peasants were displaced and impover

58、ished. The change made many peasants lose their lands and became peasant workers. Lots of peasants were bankrupt. They were extremely poor and lived a very miserable life. It was the same with the DUrbervilles. The society was so cruel that it did not give the peasants a chance to live and made them

59、 discard their children. Tess was born into the family of a poor rural tradesman. Tess' family is too poor to survive; it is the poverty of her family that pushes her in danger.Tess father is a poor peddler in the countryside. He is lazy and ignorant. He drinks excessively. After Tess father Jack Durbeyfield learned that he is descended from the famous dUrbervilles family, He felt very proud, and from then on, there might add “sir” before his