摘 要

托马斯·哈代是英国杰出的诗人及小说家，其作品极大地影响了后世对当时社会的思考及态度。其作品中多次出现新女性的形象，尤其以《德伯家的苔丝》中苔丝的形象为典型。《德伯家的苔丝》描述了一个普通农家女苔丝曲折的一生。

本文主要分析《德伯家的苔丝》中苔丝悲剧的成因。本论文分为两部分。第一部分，从苔丝的个人性格和超前思想揭示苔丝的悲剧成因。其自身性格的服从、自卑、不被接受的超前思想一步步将苔丝推入哈代预设好的悲剧中。第二部分,从三个方面分析《德伯家的苔丝》的悲剧色彩，一是资本主义的入侵和社会的改变使单纯善良的苔丝成为异类；二是苔丝悲剧的不可避免性——苔丝是当时社会的独行者，她的善良、坚强、不屈对当时的社会而言是挑战，因此她被社会抛弃并且毁灭；三是社会的歧视——苔丝的一切都因为失贞而变得廉价，振作并没有唤起社会对她的怜惜。

本文旨在通过对《德伯家的苔丝》中苔丝悲剧成因的研究，揭示维多利亚时期社会的黑暗、不公和伪善以及底层人民的苦难，用苔丝的悲剧警示后世。

关键词: 悲剧；成因；德伯家的苔丝

Abstract

Thomas Hardy is a famous poet and novelist in England. His work has a significant influence on the way people think about the Victorian Age. He puts forward a new concept, “New Woman”, in Tess of d’Urbervilles. Tess is an ordinary girl with a tough life.

This paper focuses on Tess’s tragedy to show the causes in Tess of d’Urbervilles. It is divided into two parts. In the first part, the paper explains the internal causes of Tess’s tragedy in two aspects: Tess’s natural instincts and her advanced ideas. The obedience and self-abasement of Tess, the advanced ideas of Tess all force Tess to drop into the tragedy abyss Hardy prepared step by step. The second part analyzes the external causes of Tess’s tragedy in three aspects. The first aspect is the invasion of capitalism. Tess does not adapt to the transformation of society. The second one is the inevitability of Tess’s tragic fate. Tess’s brave, innocent and undefeated personality is a challenge to the society in that period. As a result, she is destroyed. The third one is the discrimination of society. After she was stained by Alec, nobody appeals justice for her. Tess’s undefeated personality does not arouse the sympathy of public. On the contrary, Tess is banished by the public and ends up with tragic death. The discrimination against women cannot approve the existence of new woman.

The paper aims at exposing the darkness, unfairness and hypocrisy of the society in the Victorian Age, and warning the present society by the tragedy of Tess.

Key Words: tragedy; causes; Tess of d’Urbervilles

Contents

1 Introduction 1

1.1 The Introduction of Thomas Hardy and Tess of the d'Urbervilles 1

1.2 Literature Review 2

2 The Internal Causes of Tess's Tragedy 4

2.1 The Natural Instincts of Tess 4

2.2 The Advanced Ideas about Female of Tess 5

3 The External Causes of Tess’s Tragedy 7

3.1 The Invasion of Capitalism 7

3.2 The Inevitability of Fate 10

3.3 The Discrimination of Society 13

4 Conclusion 14

4.1 Summary 14

4.2 The Limitation and Further Research 14

References 15

Acknowledgements 16

The Causes of Tess’s Tragedy in

Tess of the D'Urbervilles

1 Introduction

1.1 The Introduction of Thomas Hardy and Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Thomas Hardy, born in June 1840 in England, is a novelist and poet. Hardy published numerous poems in his entire life, and his first poetry collection came out in 1898. In the very beginning, he was famous for his novel and welcomed as a writer. The famous novels having been heard for many times include The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), Tess of the D’Urbervilles (1891), and Jude the Obscure (1895). Although Hardy was a fruitful poet, his poems were not identified in his time. It was rediscovered until 1950s. Furthermore, Hardy’s poetry had a remarkable impact in the 1950s.

Being a realist in the Victorian Age, Hardy uncovered the social restraint on the Englishmen who were living in the Victorian Age, and criticized the beliefs they were holding, such as some views towards marriage and religion, which limited people’s lives and caused their unhappiness.

Tess of the d’Urbervilles is a significant novel wrote by Thomas Hardy. It was published in serial at the very beginning by the British illustrated newspaper, The Graphic, in 1891 and as a book in 1892. Though it is now deemed as a major English novel and Hardy’s novelistic master work in 19th century, many heated discussions of different views have been aroused when Tess of the D'Urbervilles was first published, for it sent a signal of challenge to the sexual morals of the late Victorian Age.

“Ache of modernism” is what Hardy’s novels usually focus on, which is outstanding in Tess of the D'Urbervilles. A critic once said that the power of conservative society is destroying them. Tess is a representative of nature according to Hardy’s description. Angel’s middle-class hypercriticism cannot accept what Tess has experienced. Since he leaves Tess and goes to Brazil, Angel becomes so weak and ill that he loses weight and turns into a “mere yellow skeleton” (Hardy, 1891, p.226). All details have been hid as hints of the negative ending of Angel’s separation from Tess’s pure nature.

Another important theme of Hardy’s novel is the double sexual standard for women and men which makes Tess a victim. Tess, a sincere innocent woman, is disdained and driven out by the society after losing her chastity before marriage.

Tess has been widely seen as an incarnation of nature and her interaction with animals throughout the novel emphasizes this idea. Tess’s tragedy begins when she is driving the horse, Prince, to the market and falls asleep, which causes the horse’s death. At Tran ridge, she works as a poultry-keeper; she and Angel are in love with each other; when she is on the way to Flint combe-Ashe, she kills some dying pheasants to help them get rid of their suffering.

In addition, Tess presents a powerful female role because Tess is a typical character in new woman. A writer once said that Hardy’s feelings for Tess were strong, maybe stronger than any other personages he created (Miller, 1982). This paper will analyze the causes of Tess’s tragedy in details. And it will give other researchers comprehensive and precise ideas towards the research concerning the causes of Tess’s tragedy.

1.2 Literature Review

1.2.1 Domestic Research

Ecofeminism is one of the themes in Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Ecofeminism emphasizes the harmony between women and nature (张敏, 2013). As for Hardy’s work, in domestic research, some researchers think that Tess plays a role as nature. Tess is pure, conscientious and brave but she is oppressed by men. Alec and Angel are representatives for selfishness and hypocrisy. What Alec does is the beginning of Tess’s tragedy and what Angel does is a promotion to her tragedy. Industrialization and masculinity lead to Tess's death. She is a sufferer in the society. Hardy intends to appeal to create a world without discrimination against women (魏娅菲, 2012). Some researches emphasize the correlation between Tess and Eve. Tess is lured and raped by Alec, and then becomes a woman marked with infidelity and imposthume, just like Eve is lured by the snake and driven out of the Garden of Eden (江晓霞, 2005). But Tess is different from Eva. At the end of Tess of d’Urbervilles, Tess is strung up because she killed Alec who has been her nightmare after she knew Angel is back.

1.2.2 Overseas Research

Other researchers put forward the idea that Tess’s character and her family are the origins of her tragedy. Tess’s nature urges her to undertake the responsibility of the horse’s death and do something to make up. At that time, Tess accepts what her parents force her to do without resistance. Though Tess does not want to recognize relatives, she agrees. It is the beginning of Tess’s tragedy (Ren, 2013; Bonaparte, 1999). Hardy shapes Tess as a woman living in the Victorian Age. In that period, people were distorted by the society from their behaviors to their minds. They became selfish, material and fickle. Alec shows no guilt or regret for the truth that he raped Tess. Neither does Angel show any sympathy for what Tess has suffered. All these features of the Victorian Age force Tess to death (Tumanov, 2013; Aviram, 2010).

2 The Internal Causes of Tess's Tragedy

The paper focuses on the causes of Tess’s tragedy in Tess of d’Urbervilles. In the whole novel, the causes of Tess’s tragedy are mainly exposed to Tess’s experiences. Firstly, the paper discusses the internal causes of Tess’s Tragedy from two aspects.

2.1 The Natural Instincts of Tess

Human nature is predetermined, so Tess’s tragedy cannot be eluded. Tess’s nature decides the way she will choose when she faces puzzles and difficulties. The most important aspects in Tess’s nature are her obedience and self-abasement. Tess’s obedience is the reason why she obeys what her parents say, and her self-abasement is the reason why she does not pursue her love bravely.

2.1.1 The Obedience of Tess

Tess is a girl with absolute obedience to her parents. At the beginning, Tess drives the horse which her family solely relies on to the market. Unfortunately, she falls asleep and has a careless accident on the way. As a result, the horse is died. Before the horse’s death, Tess’s parents were informed of their family history. So they force her to claim the wealthy kin. Although Tess is not willing to do it, she agrees with her parents out of her self-reproach. She encounters Alec who is a playboy in Chase, thus it is the turning point of Tess’s fate. It is the first time that Tess’s obedience has attributed to her tragedy.