“Tess of the D’Urbervilles” can be seen as a straightforward love tale. However, the book covers many topics that Hardy and the society of that time could view as rather debatable. It includes the humanity of people in that society, the social morals, religion, and their conflicts. Hardy only shows us the paradoxical conditions of life in such a society. This essay will represent Hardy’s original ideas about societal values and humanity through the story of the main character, Tess.
Meaning of Place and Movement
The sad masterwork of Hardy is thought to be Tess of the D’Urbervilles. It tells the terrible tale of a farm girl initially depicted as an innocent child. Tess is not to blame for her actions and suffers a string of setbacks that systematically erode her personality. The book is divided into seven chapters, each focusing on a different stage of Tess’s development. Tess battles through life despite the misfortunes that come with it; she refuses to be a victim. In the melancholy novel Tess of D’Urbervilles, Tess, a young country girl, goes through numerous hardships and ultimately finds herself violated by one man and left by another (Hardy, 2008). Tess’s father learns that he is a member of the d’Urbervilles, a Norman noble family, and that she is a lowly country girl. Tess is taken to the newly discovered relatives by her parents, who want her to marry a nobleman but are quite impoverished.
Moving of any type, including walking, traveling, and journeying, is one of Hardy’s most inquisitive interests. His vision deeply understands what may be referred to as the mystery of motion. In reality, Tess of the d’Urbervilles is a heartfelt story about its mercurial cast of individuals. His daughter Tess Durbyfield is constantly on the pedestal of mobility from one location to another, from town to town, and from man to man. The story begins with a guy named John Durbyfield going down a road. Tess is indescribably kind and compassionate by nature, and she is moved to tears at the sight of sorrow or agony. Tess is a selfless lady at heart and is unaware of the insecurities faced by women in a world dominated by males. She needs to get over her negative impressions of males to learn all there is to know about living in a world where men rule.
In Tess of the d’Urbervilles once more, at the beginning of the third phase, Tess travels by leaving her house for the second time (Hardy, 2008). At first, the voyage appears simple and pleasant, but soon she gets out and walks, and her journey once more leads her into portents of the life ahead of her. Every time Tess moves, it is generally to harsher and more punishing terrain, and Hardy always ensures we can see her. Tess is shown as a desolate lady carrying just a basket and a bouquet in her porterage after Angel banishes her as a bride (Hardy, 2008). She later makes the unsuccessful trip to see Angel’s parents by walking to Emminster Vicarage. She begins briskly, but towards the end, she is worn out, and there are also omens. For instance, she may see countless fields below her from a hill that seem as many from above as a net’s meshes (Hardy, 2008). She continues and crosses another stone cross that marks the location of a miracle or a slaughter.
There is no one home after this trek, and Tess then loses her walking boots, which serves as another more tangible illustration of how difficult life’s walking becomes. Hardy (2008) describes it in that way: “Her journey back was rather a meander than a march. It had no sprightliness, no purpose; only a tendency (p.320)”. The fact that it gradually gets darker relieves Tess as she continues her trek. As a result, when she was asked to return to her family, she fled into the cold shadows under the light of the stars for fifteen kilometers (Hardy, 2008). Furthermore, later on in this stroll, looking down from another hill, she caught a glimpse of Vale on the opposite side of her birthplace. She is making her way back home, much as Oedipus did after his many travels. When Tess goes after Angel after killing Alec, her fate may have been reduced to its most basic elements.
Tess is shown in both instances as a moving point in a white void. Moreover, the core of Hardy’s vision appears to be this radical graphic reduction. His art exudes a sense of the human form’s gradual destruction and eventual obliteration. Tess’s natural tendency is calmness, and she shudders at sudden movements. However, she occasionally finds herself in men’s vehicles or machinery. Prince, the horse, is murdered as she is forced to operate her father’s cart to the market (Hardy, 2008). The slightest movement bothered her; at this point, Alec was unsettling and agitating blood that would only be stilled in death. Alec pushes her into his carriage and drives it wildly at high speeds. In contrast, Angel drives Tess to the wedding in a carriage that simultaneously evokes brutality, punishment, and a funeral.
Tess seemed in danger from these manufactured vehicles, including the menacing train and the oppressive threshing machine. She may not have a home, yet she is compelled to engage in perilous mobility and travel. Tess becomes a homeless wanderer and walks here and there in quest of refuge but does not find any place as a living blossom on the soil and seldom encounters death (Hardy, 2008). She is in the same situation as these Durbyfields since they are extinct families and reside nowhere. Tess relies on others throughout the book—first on their parents, then on Alec and his family, and last on Angel Clare—but she receives no consolation from them. Tess does not have a place to call home; Angel abandons the one house she finds, and she ties herself to Alec. He drives her to Sandbourne, a neighborhood with detached mansions opposite the community, but he only gives her a place to stay.
Tess, a cottage girl, has no place in there. She is being uprooted, pushed onto the streets, evicted from homes, and pounding on doors still locked to her (Hardy, 2008). She remains a drugged interlude during her time at Sandbourne. Tess is already ill, split, and almost dead due to the motion anomalies that have caused her to be tugged in so many different places. Tess is under too much pressure and suffering ever to reach the completeness of being, and Hardy is highly interested in this kind of divided person. Therefore, Tess of the d’Urbervilles is a massive work of subjectivity in various ways. Hardy’s unique perspectives on the world inspire the reader more until he finally reaches a new degree of fear for life. In another sense, the author’s imaginative eye strengthens the reader’s strong-looking gaze.
Social Context
It has been referred to as the Second English Renaissance, and Britain was the world’s largest economic force throughout this incredibly complicated period. The “Victorian age,” termed in honor of Queen Victoria, runs from 1837 to 1901 (Yuan-yuan & Rao, 2018). Colonialization and industrialization were two historical factors that impacted nineteenth-century English society. Both of these led to significant growth in wealth, elevating Britain to the top position in the world economy at the time (Peels, 2020). It was a period of considerable political change, imperial expansion, and wealth. Over time, the system of individuals working from their own homes or small businesses was gradually replaced by the industrial system (Peels, 2020). The social structure underwent significant changes; as a result, giving businesses and tradespeople more influence.
Female and child labor was in high demand throughout the industrial revolution, and these workers were frequently required to put in twelve or more hours every day. During that time, some intellectuals and authors voiced their opposition to it. Despite their legal gains, the changes did not alter the working class’s situation. Significant population migration from rural to urban regions occurred in the eighteenth century. People abandoned everything in pursuit of jobs in major cities to provide their families with better living circumstances. They had extremely poor living conditions and hard workdays. Since individuals believed that life had little to offer them, alcoholism and abuse were common in family settings.
Different inconsistencies between the characters and the social environment are what cause tragedy. Either the character is the dominating element, the environment is the primary influence, or the outcome of the interplay between the two is the cause of the tragedy. Tess is inevitably going to be influenced by certain outdated moral and fatalistic beliefs because she was born into a peasant family land lives in a new and ancient era. The book is one of Hardy’s “Character and Environment” series. Tess is portrayed as a contemporary woman, a new farm worker, subjected to the same old moral persecution. Tess serves a typical purpose in exposing and accusing the entire establishment of that historical period.
The reader should identify the time and location of the narrative as they read it. To put it another way, the reader must be engrossed in the story’s pacing and chronological and geographic settings (Trezise, 1993). Due to their perceptual skills, the reader might become emotionally involved in fiction. Reading, then, is a mental activity connected to how the reader experiences the time and place of the story. The encounter of place or space is irreducibly complex in any version, including fiction (Trezise, 1993). It is available to the individual who understands that place, not as a tourist, but as one who stays there long enough to comprehend it within the time frame and human history (Trezise, 1993). In light of the fact that the narrative space of fiction is the characters’ actual physical spatial location and that the characters are the genuine inhabitants of fiction, readers see the narrative space as they have experienced it personally.
As a product of a peasant background, Tess had a weak spot in her resistance to conventional morality due to outdated moral and fatalistic beliefs. She believed she was guilty when attacked by society and conventional morality. The latter catastrophe was caused by her lover’s virginity complex and the deeply ingrained feudal view of society. She saw herself as the embodiment of sin and was certain that the entire world was taking notice of her plight. More than anybody else, she was unable to forget her humiliation. Tess contained herself in a net made of her morals. Her awareness of self-binding has a rich historical foundation and is the tangible manifestation of all social consciousness. As a person living in a particular historical era, Tess unavoidably developed her social awareness and moral concept, and her thoughts and deeds were unavoidably constrained by the social mores of the day.
Shift of Conception
People’s standards of social evaluation underwent a significant transformation with the changes in society. British society exclusively defends profits throughout the Industrial Revolution, with little consideration for anything else (Peels, 2020). Employers just see their employees as living tools. Before the development of steamers, companies were located in remote locations, and employers maintained tight relationships with their staff by paying great attention to their daily needs, such as food and lodging. The interaction between employers and employees altered once steamers were invented. As factories relocated to urban areas, employees were forced into unstable housing. After they lost their employment, no one was interested in how they were living. Humanity’s social ties were utterly severed, and a powerful segment of society gave little thought to individual worth. Profits were their main concern. Additionally, poverty was seen as a personal issue, and unemployment as a means of maintaining low salaries and lowering production costs both contributed to economic progress.
Second, the old social morals and faiths appeared to be at odds with the circumstances of society at that time because people placed greater weight on the real worth of social standards and were exposed to new ideas. Victorian religious thought is where traditional ideals originate. The conventions of church and state, and subsequently society, are formed by this arrangement (Yuan-yuan & Rao, 2018). They are based on fundamental presumptions. These include the conviction that humankind can arrive at a single, unchanging set of truths about all facets of life. It includes the belief in a predictable universe governed by a good God and the insistence on maintaining unchanging standards based on a radical division between what is considered human and an animal.
One of the traits of Victorian writing was the battle against those absolute facts, which was also a result of this bedrock of assumptions (Yuan-yuan & Rao, 2018). On the other hand, modernism and even postmodernism highlight that there are only partial truths and no absolutes. As the Modernist movement rejected the notion of permanent facts and superior leadership around the turn of the century, conflicts over presumed truths began to weaken established values.
A serious value system, as opposed to the leisurely and graceful manner of the 18th century, forms the basis of Victorian philosophy. The complex and diverse ideas of the Victorian era resulted from Queen Victoria’s lengthy reign. It is indisputable that the Victorian era was rife with paradoxes of all kinds. Women were highly esteemed then, but one could purchase a 13-year-old girl for just a few pounds (Yuan-yuan & Rao, 2018). During that time, the sacredness of marriage and the value of virginity prior to marriage are relentlessly promoted in every sermon altar, newspaper, and public address. However, more people than ever before—from crown princes to dignitaries—have a covert private existence. At that point, kissing is the warmest description that can be found in any book, play, poem, or other well-known literary work. The most fundamental part of human activity—personal desire—requires management, even when other aspects have made significant progress and been liberated.
Sometimes it looked as though the conventional values and faiths were incompatible with the new social order and developments, and those who insisted on adhering to them risked running afoul of them or perhaps becoming their victims. Tess of the d’Urbervilles, a book by Thomas Hardy, expressed the uncertainties. It is clear through the study that Tess, the protagonist, has an endearing and provocative persona. Women’s worth in patriarchal societies is based on how virginal they are. Tess is viewed as a reprobate woman since she was seduced, lost her virginity, and was once degenerate and eternally corrupt.
Naturally, Hardy is against such a conventional idea that regards a woman’s virginity as the only valid criterion for assessment. The conventional approach of determining a woman’s value based on basic physiological truths is incorrect, as Hardy demonstrates by empathizing with Tess and pointing it out. Hardy refutes conventional societal inequity in this book and maintains that Tess is a perfect lady. Despite harsh criticism, Hardy overcomes customary Victorian social prejudice, demonstrating his modern thinking. He can only create an aesthetic image for Tess, who must perish at the end because a man’s point of view still constrains him. Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy critically examines secular morality, religious morality, hedonism, and other moral principles, exposing the brutality of society at the time on several levels and fronts. Hardy simultaneously advances his moral principles and highlights the significance of accepting responsibility as the core of an amoral moral principle.
Features of the Characters
Tragedy is the expression of a man’s state; the fatal outcome will result from his instinct and desire. Compromise, inferiority, selfishness on the part of Clare, and harshness on the part of Alec turn Tess to death little by little. Tess was an innocent, lovely, hardworking country girl who sought the genuine goodness of life but was always under attack by false and wicked. Tess was the brand-new robust lady model. She possesses two personalities. She dared to challenge conventional morality and bogus religion but could not free herself from their constraints. The latter, in particular, has a direct bearing on her unfortunate outcome.
Following Tess’s life, it becomes evident that red is the one true predictor of her fate. Typically, the color red is linked to passion, lust, sex, and feeling (Tanner, 1968). When the horse is unintentionally stabbed, Tess rushes up to him and covers the wound with her hands despite being drenched by the red droplets from head to skirt (Tanner, 1968). Tess makes futile attempts to stop Prince’s blood from flowing with her palm. As a representation of her shock and inherent purity, she becomes pale, nearly white (Tanner, 1968). Tess was an unyielding opposition even though she dared to defy conventional norms and fearlessly pursue her pleasure.
Tess did, however, not free herself from the constraints of conventional morality. She was aware that she was a victim of assault, but she also felt guilty in the eyes of the people because of their criticism. Consequently, she became the victim of suffering and criticism (Hardy, 2008). Her parents urged her to join an aristocratic family when their horse died. Her gut was straightforward, and she declined to go despite having a tremendous sense of guilt and obligation. She had to complete this, and her pale face, without expression, appears to assume her murder (Hardy, 2008). This pivotal moment in her life will forever shadow her future.
Tess welcomed Alec’s assistance while knowing that he was harmful to her. She could have refused to go to Alec’s parent’s house, but she was powerless. She consented to live with Alec out of consideration for her family and her duty to the living. She invited Clare to become her sister’s wife when she realized her love for Clare was flawed. Her friendship with Clare served as a manifestation of this personality. Lovers’ rights should be equal, yet Tess constantly denigrated herself and supported Clare. Clare could not stand her terrible past. She offered no opposition in the least to Clare’s recklessness. A string of fervent letters failed to win Clare’s heart back. Tess forfeited her dignity in the face of love (Yuan-yuan & Rao, 2018). Tess lost her ability to pursue happiness as a result of this type of blind, unequal love. Instead, it made Tess’ tragedy even more deplorable.
Deep Inferiority and a Simple Mind
Tess had a lovely personality but was shallow in her self-worth. Her suffering was heightened by her feeling inadequate. Clare’s focus was diverted from other women by this lady, who would never consciously allow any guy to marry her at this time and had religiously decided that she would never be enticed to do so. She struggled to express how she felt when she wanted to tell Clare about the entire incident that happened to her. On the one hand, she wanted to be free of herself (Yuan-yuan & Rao, 2018). However, she believed that she was to blame for this. She feared Clare would not pardon her and would consider her inferior. Clare’s inferiority vanished, though, as she revealed something awful for her. This was fair to both of them, in her opinion. She was therefore resolved to be honest; Alec abandoned her. She frequently skewed her psychological condition by basing her decisions on established norms.
Tess was bound by its morals when she fearlessly rebelled against the norm. She occasionally fought for conventional morals while taking their side. Tess wrapped herself with a thick net and fastened it; she tried to escape but could not. This feeling of self-control had a rich historical foundation and represented the entire community (Yuan-yuan & Rao, 2018). Tess’s conclusion can only be dismal, representing Hardy’s innermost ideal of purity. Tess is a typical character since she is so striking and noticeable. However, due to the sense of accountability. She started to understand Alec’s plan’s objectives, but she was still too innocent. That is to say, and she dies because of her impoverished intellect.
Alec’s and Clare’s Characters
Alec, the affluent businessman’s son, flaunted the riches and influence of his family in the countryside. His dissolute visage was openly obscene the first time he met Tess. He constructed a trap for Tess to fall into and then crushed her hopes for a lifetime of bliss. Even though he eventually sought forgiveness from a preacher and wanted to travel to Africa to preach, his abuse persisted. The regeneration of evil came when he ran into Tess again, but she rejected him. This did not kill him; instead, Alec constantly ensnared her. Tess was ultimately compelled to serve his mistress. Alec’s indulgent lifestyle saw Tess as its largest casualty.
An open-minded worker, Clare was keen to dedicate his life to farming. He aspired to succeed as a great farmer. He, therefore, anticipated a quiet, natural, and pure existence in the countryside. Rich ladies were not Clare’s ideal brides. His pulse raced when he saw Tess, who was so hardworking (Hardy, 2008). However, his love was more idealistic and whimsical than she felt for him with all of her heart. He was capable of ferociously loving but with a love that was more oriented toward the fantastical and otherworldly. Tess would demolish Clare’s idol when she openly admitted to him her prior insults. Clare showed no compassion, saying he could not tolerate Tess. He ignored Tess’s generosity and turned a blind eye (Hardy, 2008). Tess was left in sorrow and despair due to his abandonment, and the flame of love in his heart was released.
Crucial Attributes in the Story
More factors contributed to Tess’s tragedy besides the major players. Capitalism swept into a rural British town and brought about significant changes in social economy, politics, morals, and customs, as in Hardy’s writing. This situation exposed the hypocrisy of bourgeois religion, laws, and morals. This section will cover Tess’ upbringing and the world she lived in.
Tess was born into a substandard farming family. Her terrible end was predetermined by the demise of a noble family, the financial circumstances of the family, and negligent parents. Her parents were materialistic and haughty. Tess’s mother could not take her sentiments into account. Tess’s mother just had thoughts of herself during the entire process. She wished Tess would wed a wealthy guy and lead a pleasant life. In actuality, Tess’s mother’s conceit pushed her into a pit and paved the way for her tragedy.
Following the industrial revolution, capitalism’s commercial model gradually spread to rural regions. Individual farmers went bankrupt due to new agricultural practices being widely used. Tess and her coworkers served as the hired employees’ representatives. To support themselves, they toiled everywhere. They waited till the fall to go. They endured suffering and carried out the same tasks as men. One of the victims of this authentically brutal portrayal was Tess, who experienced severe social deprivation.
When Tess of the D’Urbervilles was released, it was considered vulgar, uncharitable, and disloyal. Women’s and men’s rights were not equal throughout the reign of Victoria. Even divorcing was seen to be sinful. Tess was the ideal person to suffer from this moral. Her entire existence was spent surrounded by force and violence. Tess could not defend herself since society, and the law deemed it acceptable to disrespect her (Hardy, 2008). Additionally, those individuals who had already declared their love for Tess ran away just in time. Males who bullied women did not think it was wrong because of their false morals. Nevertheless, women would experience greater suffering than just discomfort.
Males in the Victorian period valued women’s purity, particularly personal property. A lady losing her virginity is considered impure in this society. She should be punished if she loses her virginity. Clare served as the standard example in this novel. He wanted Tess’ forgiveness because he had overstepped his bounds. He was unable to pardon Tess, who was innocent. Although he had an open mind, he was nevertheless bound by conventional morals. The ruling elite upheld all national laws in the late nineteenth century. Naturally, the judicial system was not an exception. Tess was not given society’s or the law’s protection when Alec had Tess under his control. Alec was not spared punishment even though she confronted the rumor alone. However, Tess was hung by the authorities after she killed Alec in a rage. It appears that the law was unjust. The aristocratic society does not prefer a renter. Tess was doomed to experience injustice since she lived in a poor culture, and this injustice would bring ill karma to her.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy serves as a vehicle for his scathing criticisms of Victorian England in the late 19th century. Because the novel gives such a wide range of social commentary and brutally criticizes several societal institutions, understanding the whole and full degree of Hardy’s critiques would necessitate a thorough explanation of the novel itself. Although Hardy covers a wide range of concepts in the book, the one that dominates it and serves as a major point of focus is the sexual double standard that haunts Tess, the female heroine, and the way that gender injustice permeates her sad story. Hardy severely exposes and critiques Victorian England’s social morality in Tess of the D’Ubervilles by questioning how it justifies and validates a male-dominated society. He challenges his audience to examine their moral and ethical principles in light of Tess.
References
Hardy, T. (2008). Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Oxford University Press.
Peels, R. (2020). How literature delivers knowledge and understanding, illustrated by Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Wharton’s summer. The British Journal of Aesthetics, 60(2), 199-222. Web.
Tanner, T. (1968). Color and movement in Hardy‘s “Tess of the d’Urbervilles”. Critical Quarterly, 10(3), 219-239. Web.
Trezise, S. (1993). Places in time: discovering the chronotope in “Tess of the D’Urbervilles”. Critical Survey, 5(2), 136-142.
Yuan-yuan, P., & Rao, Y. (2018). An analysis of tragedy of “Tess of the D’Urbervilles”. English Language Teaching, 11(7), 71-75. Web.