On the Roots of the Heroine’s Tragedy in Tess of the D’Urbervilles

Abstract

of the D'Urbervilles, written by Thomas Hardy, a British critical realist writer at the end of the nineteenth century, is hailed as the gem of British literature and the world literature. author successfully creates many tragedy characters, in which the image of is the most typical one. This paper aims to search for the causes of Tess's tragedy in the aspects of social unrest, the patriarchal culture, and the religious and moral beliefs of bourgeoisie brought by social transformation in Victorian age and the practical significance. Keywords—Tess; roots of tragedy; practical significance Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), British critical realist writer, was born in a declined noble family in southern England. He lived in the period of social transformation. As the capitalist economy penetrated the British countryside, peasant economy collapsed and the peasantry gradually perished, trying to find a new way out. Capitalism invaded the British countryside and caused changes in the social economy, politics, ethics and customs. Such source material fulfilled his literary creation. Hardy had published many novels and collections of poems. Tess of the D'Urbervilles is the most outstanding work, hailed as the treasure of English literature and the world literature. In 1891, the novel had been translated into many languages after its publication and became the classic work widely studied by scholars and critics. Scholars interpret the novel from different perspectives and have made fruitful research achievements. As there are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people's eyes, there are various views towards the character of Tess. This paper aims to search for the causes of Tess's tragedy in the aspects of social unrest, the patriarchal culture, and the religious and moral beliefs of bourgeoisie brought by social transformation in Victorian age and the practical significance. Aesthetician Gao ertai said: The culture of each nation, age and society has its characteristics distinctive from that of other ethnic groups, age and society, which display unique national characters, spirit of the times and social trend of thought. The great works of art always involve profound philosophical concepts. It is not only the product of national character, the spirit of the times and the social ideological trend and so on, but also in turn actively participates in the formation of them, which is the representative of their own nation, age and society. (1) enduring charm of Hardy's novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles lies in that Hardy reflects and views such aspects as the social system, morality and laws, religious belief and ideology to different degrees, besides, he exposes and criticizes the culture and morality of the bourgeois society mercilessly rather than does it superficially. Tess's tragedy is the comprehensive embodiment of bourgeois regime, patriarchal culture, bourgeois religion, morality, love and marriage in Victorian age. As the Soviet literary critic Anikst said: The real reason for the destruction of is of realistic nature. poverty and helplessness of the heroine as well as the prevailing social customs determine the tragic fate of this woman. (2) I. THE VICTIM OF THE TIMES