...the society; he uses juxtaposition. In chapter 52 hardy shows that tees is on the journey towards the end, such as her family heritage. There is a sense of Tess being apart of a family about to become extinct. 'Mind this, you'll be civil yet'- Alec's grasp of control over Tess. Also in chapter 52 hardy what's the reader to feel sympathy for Angel, as he had come back looking that he had suffered. Hardy does this as he needs the reader to feel the full impact of the loss of their relationship, through social and moral rules. Angel being perfectly suited husband for Tess, makes the loss of the relationship all more devistating. There is a sense of Angel being a maytr, the suffering for what he had gone through, he looks very gaunt when he comes back: 'sunken eyes' and having a 'morbid hue'. Chapter 45; the convert is the title, which is ironic, as Angel hasn't been converted. Chapter 53; 'fulfilment' - this is the fulfilment of Tess's fate, her destiny of her destruction has been fulfilled. It is ironic as there is no fulfilment of Tess and Angels marriage. Tess and Angel have scarcity of time together, as they are on the run and Tess will inevitably die soon. Chapter 54, page 323 in the opening of the chapter, it mentions :'he was driving up the hill out of which three or four months earlier in the year, Tess had descended with such hopes and ascended with such shattered purposes.' This is indicative of how Angel retraces Tess's steps and her journey, in order to replenish...
Words: 371 - Pages: 2
...motifs in"Tess of the d'Urbervilles" Themes The Injustice of Existence Unfairness dominates the lives of Tess and her family to such an extent that it begins to seem like a general aspect of human existence in Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Tess does not mean to kill Prince, but she is punished anyway, just as she is unfairly punished for her own rape by Alec. Nor is there justice waiting in heaven. Christianity teaches that there is compensation in the afterlife for unhappiness suffered in this life, but the only devout Christian encountered in the novel may be the reverend, Mr. Clare, who seems more or less content in his life anyway. For others in their misery, Christianity offers little solace of heavenly justice. Mrs. Durbeyfield never mentions otherworldly rewards. The converted Alec preaches heavenly justice for earthly sinners, but his faith seems shallow and insincere. Generally, the moral atmosphere of the novel is not Christian justice at all, but pagan injustice. The forces that rule human life are absolutely unpredictable and not necessarily well-disposed to us. The pre-Christian rituals practiced by the farm workers at the opening of the novel, and Tess’s final rest at Stonehenge at the end, remind us of a world where the gods are not just and fair, but whimsical and uncaring. When the narrator concludes the novel with the statement that “‘Justice’ was done, and the President of the Immortals (in the Aeschylean phrase) had ended his sport with Tess,” we are reminded...
Words: 1669 - Pages: 7
...Male Dominance in Tess of the D’urbervilles The Victorian era, as described by Professor of History and Women's & Gender Studies Nancy Reagin in her essay “Victorian Women: the Gender of Oppression”, witnessed the ideology of separate spheres in which society viewed men as independent and reasonable while viewing women as passive, dependent on men, emotional, and submissive. Men were given the governing role in which they would dominate society due to their ability to make rational decisions while women were expected to unquestionably fill the social roles that men decided for them, and those roles usually revolved around a woman’s duties as a mother and a wife. In marriage, a woman was expected to abide by the orders and views of her husband, and man and wife became one in terms of a woman’s rights, property, and identity. In Tess of the D’urbervilles, a book written in the Victorian Era, Hardy conveys this ideology of separate spheres in his portrayal of men and their dominance over women in society, primarily Tess. Their dominance is shown in how the men act as the masters of society, but it is also seen in how the women in Tess unquestionably view the men as the dominant gender. Often, the women are blindly influenced and act passively when interacting with male characters such as Alec and Angel. They are also seen to be very dependent on the men, and the men acknowledge that, for that is expected of a woman in that age to not be able to make a living for herself. The...
Words: 2406 - Pages: 10
...Throughout the Victorian Era, writing provided a passage, a gateway, to manipulate a shifting society. Since the family and domestic life were fundamental parts of that society, reading became a source of pleasure attained by staying at home. These Victorian readers had been powerfully affected by the political, fiscal, societal, and religious modifications that had been taking place. They basically revolted in opposition to the development that was taking place, by holding responsible their troubles on religious uncertainty, Darwin and the climb of science, class disparity, poverty, and industrialization. Additionally, Victorians and their obsolete obsession with ‘purity’ spoke out against sex, the liberation of women, and tough individuality in women, considering that they would direct the end of well-built ethical and moral values in the family and in community all together. As a consequence of all of these debates leading to controversies, people gave in to a remarkable horror of transforming and condemned any idea or work that exposed their sense of steadiness. Such condemnation gave rise to many novelists and poets who saw this oppression negatively affecting their imaginative and artistic natures and hence decided to stand against it. One of the writers whose work best exemplifies the Age of doubt was Thomas Hardy, he was an English novelist and poet writing at the end of the 19th century, but for today's readers, his novels frequently appear more modern than Victorian...
Words: 3023 - Pages: 13
...This outlook on societal pressures ultimately leads to Tess’ demise in ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’ as she falls from the ideal image of a women in the Victorian era and her “selfless” acts does in fact end in her death. Hardy presents ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’ as a bildungsroman where we see Tess’ life unfold from innocence to regret and follow her as she is metaphorically ‘kicked’ down the social ladder. In ‘Pride and Prejudice’ Lizzie, the female protagonist, is represented as a strong and defying character by Austen. However despite her lack of care for societal pressures she and her sisters are chained down and ultimately need a man, the “governing sex” to set them free. Both Hardy and Austen use societal context to shape the female protagonists lives and show the patriarchal influence on women in the Victorian period. In the first phase of the novel, “The Maiden” and the first phase of Tess’ life she is presented as a “girl” naïve and unaware. Hardy separates the novel into sections to represent Tess’ development and also to foreshadow the later events that will change her life. The term “maiden” in a traditional sense simply means virgin symbolising how Tess is still a young girl and has not been a victim of societies expectations so far. At the mayday dance when Tess if first introduced to the reader, Hardy uses physiognomy to describe Tess. The phrase “she wore a red ribbon in her hair” is used to isolate Tess from the other girls referred to as “white...
Words: 1564 - Pages: 7
...events. Prince was vital to the Durbeyfield family as the only form of transport and manual labour they had, and without it John Durbeyfield can no longer make a living from buying and selling goods at the market. His death brings devastation to the family, and means that they need to find another source of income. Tess sees that she is now the only source of money for the family and feels duty-bound to help. Tess is driven by intense guilt to make amends “Tis all my doing” which prompts the acceptance of her parents wish for her to go to the D’Urbervilles to seek a portion of the family fortune. This shows the true significance of the death of Prince as it forces Tess to help her parents as she feels she killed prince and ‘ought to do something’. Moments before the death of Prince, Tess tells Abraham that they live on a ‘blighted star’ and that there is little chance of happiness for them. As if almost to reinforce the point, Princes death proves the fragility of life as poor working families (and therefore the lack of stability they need to have a successful living) and shows them as a victim of fate and the ‘blighted’ world they live on. The fact that Tess is dreaming of her ‘shrouded knightly ancestry’ before Prince is killed by a large shard of metal could relate back to medieval times where jousters would receive similar injuries. It is almost like the features of Tess’s ‘extravagant’ dreams become a parallel reality as a ‘Prince’ suffered a twisted yet heroic death...
Words: 863 - Pages: 4
...Throughout the two novels, Thomas Hardy’s “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” and Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness,” the common theme of oppression by using psychological methods prevails. Tess’ parents and Alec can control her by leveraging guilt as a way of victimization which ultimately seals her fate. Mr. Kurtz in” Heart of Darkness” takes control over the weaker African natives to force them into submission. Both stories have this underlying theme of power and domination resulting in feelings of slavery and victims of fate. “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” is a tale of the tragic life of Tess that results when she accidentally kills Prince, the family horse. Tess’ parents use the guilt that she feels to exploit her and force her to work for the family. Therefore, she encounters Alec, who ultimately rapes and impregnates Tess. Instead of Alec being condemned for his actions, Tess is publically criticized and cast aside for this act, even though she was the victim. The cruel hand of fate hangs over all the characters and actions of the novel, as Tess’ story is defined by the bad things that happen to her. Thomas Hardy himself, as the author of the book, naturally causes the many unfair coincidences and plot twists that beset Tess, however as the person telling the story, he also manages to appear as her only champion against an unjust world. Tess's difficult situations are described as mere sport for the "President of the People who will never die," which is very...
Words: 1438 - Pages: 6
...tall and strong in the face of opposition. Nothing is more evident than in the novels Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Though each book is written in a different era and continent from each other, both authors have taken a profound look into the lives of women who, in submission of the society they live in, persevere and carry on their lives no matter what. Though Hardy’s Victorian countryside and Hosseini’s war ridden Afghanistan have very different plot lines, both novels develop the theme of inner strength of women through the protagonist’s characteristics, the conflicts in the plot and setting. In 1891 Hardy wrote Tess of the d’Urbervilles. The novel received a public outcry and was criticized for its taboo topics and insight into a ruined woman’s private life. The passionate and intense Tess Durbeyfield, whom the novel is centralized around, faces more tragedy and injustice in her adolescent years than any women could bear and perseveres through out. Tess’s character, as well as the women around her, shows the true inner strength women possess. From the early days of Tess’s journey, the inner strength of her character is shown as she plays caretaker to her large family. Hardy presents Joan Durbeyfield, Tess’s mother: as superstitious, faintly childlike, and essentially harmless, and he had remarked that between her and Tess ‘there was a gap of two hundred years as ordinarily understood’...Hardy encourages us...
Words: 4291 - Pages: 18
...ASSESS THOMAS HARDY “TESS OF THE D’URBERVILLES AND MORAL”. THOMAS HARDY- TESS OF THE D’URBERVILLES (NON-AFRICAN) Pre-Occupation Thomas hardy first in his career became an apprentice to John Hicks. A Dorchester Architect for several years, his practice architecture in Dorchester, he also simultaneously studied Greek and Latin. It was during this period that he began written poetry. In 1862, Hardy moved to London ad worked as a Architect for Arthur Bloomfield. He continued to write poetry but was unsuccessful in getting it published. In 1871, his first novel, Desperate Remedies, was published, and a year later, under the greenwood tree was published DICTION Diction entails the use of words or language style use in the poetry. The style use in this poetry is narrative technique employed by the writer is the third person or omnipresent, through this technique the writer is able to present the various, no matter where they occur. • Imagery Bird: Image of bird recall throughout the novel evoking their traditional spiritual associative with higher Realm of transcendence. • Biblical Allusion The book of Genesis: the genesis story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is evoked repeatedly throughout Tess of the d’urbervilles, giving the novel a broader metaphysical dimension. • Symbols Prince: When Tess dozes off in the wagon and loses control, the resulting death of the Durbey field horse, price, spurs Tess to seek aid from the d’Urbervilles, setting the event...
Words: 1373 - Pages: 6
...Concept of Self-realization in Pride and Prejudice, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Great Expectations and Lord Jim. The words self-realization is often used in literature to refer to the liberation of an individual from the sense of limitation brought about by identification with conditioned beliefs, opinions, fears, desires, and habits. The main objective of this paper is to show concept of self-realization in Pride and Prejudice, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Great Expectations and Lord Jim. It has also been tried to add some new concepts regarding these novels. Necessary and related information has been collected from various books and internet. Austen's serene world, in Pride and Prejudice which harbours dynamic action, goes unnoticed by the readers who read her novels on the surface level. But the readers who fathom the depths of her creativity can realize that active forces are working, reforming and psychologically molding the characters in her novels. Tess of the D’Urbervilles is one of the most famous novels of Thomas Hardy. In this novel we see a tragic end of Tess with an ultimate realization. Great Expectations was one of Dickens’ best-known novels and was written in 1860. Great Expectations is a Bildungsroman and follows the progression of Pip from child to adult; from humble blacksmith to gentleman; from innocence to experience; from rags to riches and on his journey, Pip meets a range of interesting characters, from the comical Wemmick, to the cruel Estella....
Words: 11486 - Pages: 46
...Compare and contrast Wilde’s presentation of the fallen woman in A Woman of No Importance with Hardy’s presentation of the same issue in Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Say how far you agree with the view that Hardy provokes more sympathy through his portrayal than Wilde. Wilde and Hardy both present their heroines as the ‘fallen woman’ against the backdrop of Victorian society. This portrayal by the authors of their heroines and the contrasting ways in which each character deals with their own situation leads us to empathise with their burdens and gain a deeper insight into their thoughts and emotions. As we witness the deepening punishments and tragedies unfolding for each character, both authors also succeed in eliciting our sympathy for these women as they enable us to experience the unfairness and injustice of the world as it was then. Wilde demonstrates the sheer devastation for a woman, of becoming ‘ruined’ through his character Mrs Arbuthnot as she expresses her demoralising thoughts and deep feelings that she has not spoken of before. We witness the destruction foisted upon her state of mind by the label of ‘fallen woman’ that was bestowed upon Mrs Arbuthnot, through the way that she scrutinises herself and expresses that she is a “tainted thing”. This metaphor implies that she believes her actions are so horrendous that she has been de-humanised and should be regarded as something impure. When describing her emotional burdens she states “I will bear them alone”. This simple...
Words: 1886 - Pages: 8
...Explore how Hardy presents Alec D'Urberville In Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Alec is perceived to be the villain as he is the catalyst for the destruction of Tess's life after he rapes her. Even though certain acts convey Alec as a villainous character, others suggest Alec is not wholly evil in the novel. The first presentation of Alec the reader receives is when Tess travels to Trantridge to claim kin after the death of the family horse, Prince. The description of Alec's appearance upon his first arrival in the novel is rather appealing to the reader, but before any description of his appearance, the reader is given an automatic feeling of threat by this character as he firstly appears from the darkness of an outdoor tent “A figure came forth from the dark triangular door of the tent, it was that of a young man smoking”. Appearing from the dark makes him look mysterious and the act of smoking is seen as a devilish activity, suggesting that Alec is devil like. Alec is further described as a dark character through the dark imagery of his features such as “swarthy complexion” which in the context of the novel, was also considered to be a feature of a lustful and sexual nature. Hardy also describes Alec as having a “well groomed moustache” which is Hardy perception of the typical stereotypical villain and being “well groomed” also suggests to the reader that Alec wealthy which possibly suggests that he is controlling over those lesser to himself. Arguably the most effective...
Words: 1207 - Pages: 5
...from ... the work and exploitation which she knew, relatively speaking, better than other novelists.' Gaskell was the wife of a Unitarian clergyman in Manchester. She devoted her time to setting up homes for fallen women, and after Mary Barton women became her central characters, her novels primarily seen through women's eyes. Thomas Hardy, since his career began, has been notably associated with his portrayal of female characters. Erving Howe even writes about 'Hardy's gift for creeping intuitively into the emotional life of women.' (Boumelha 1982: 3) From this point of view, I intend this essay to establish a comparison between Gaskell's 'fallen woman' in Mary Barton and the way in which Thomas Hardy frames his central female character in Tess of the D'Urbervilles.In the context of the nineteenth century, there emerged an increasingly ideological 'rethinking' of sexuality, particularly of the female. Darwin's Origin of Species in 1859 and The Descent of Man later in 1871 argued that men and women were somehow mentally different. Darwinian sociology led to sexual stereotypes such as Clement Scott's 'men are born "animals" and women "angels" so it is in effect only natural for men to indulge their sexual appetites and, hence, perverse, "unnatural" for women to act in the same way.' (Quotation from Boumelha 1982: 18). The centrality of the female characters in both novels brings into question the problems concerning the female nature.The first time we are introduced to the 'fallen...
Words: 2804 - Pages: 12
...In: English and Literature Tess of the D'Urbervilles Male Dominance Male Dominance in Tess of the D’urbervilles The Victorian era, as described by Professor of History and Women's & Gender Studies Nancy Reagin in her essay “Victorian Women: the Gender of Oppression”, witnessed the ideology of separate spheres in which society viewed men as independent and reasonable while viewing women as passive, dependent on men, emotional, and submissive. Men were given the governing role in which they would dominate society due to their ability to make rational decisions while women were expected to unquestionably fill the social roles that men decided for them, and those roles usually revolved around a woman’s duties as a mother and a wife. In marriage, a woman was expected to abide by the orders and views of her husband, and man and wife became one in terms of a woman’s rights, property, and identity. In Tess of the D’urbervilles, a book written in the Victorian Era, Hardy conveys this ideology of separate spheres in his portrayal of men and their dominance over women in society, primarily Tess. Their dominance is shown in how the men act as the masters of society, but it is also seen in how the women in Tess unquestionably view the men as the dominant gender. Often, the women are blindly influenced and act passively when interacting with male characters such as Alec and Angel. They are also seen to be very dependent on the men, and the men acknowledge that, for that is expected of...
Words: 671 - Pages: 3
...Darkness and Tess of the D’Urbervilles. In the novel Heart of Darkness, oppression is demonstrated by human’s desire to control others through slavery. Oppression is also demonstrated in the novel Tess of the D’Urbervilles as viewed in the treatment of Tess and women of that time period. Oppression is the underlying theme within these books that demonstrates power and domination which results in the situations of slavery and victims of fate. These two novels give a better understanding of the theme of oppression that’s presented within the characters and the heart of the stories. Tess of the D’Urbervilles is a story about tragedy and oppressive events that Tess faces. These events begin to occur after the death of Prince, the horse of the Durbeyfield’s. With the death of Prince, Tess knew her family would face economic devastation. With Tess feeling guilty about the situation that happened, her parents decided to use her guilt against her to ultimately agree to work for Mrs. D’Urberville (Chap V). The Durbeyfield’s knew that they had a form of power over Tess because of her feelings of guilt and Tess allowed her parents to control her decision based on her guilt. Tess was so blinded by the death of Prince and the guilt that resulted, that she forgot what her brother Abraham warned her about her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Durbeyfield had plans and expectations for Tess which included her marriage to a wealthy man that would help them financially. The decision to make Tess work for...
Words: 707 - Pages: 3
