Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)
English novelist and poet
Family Background
• His father Thomas (d.1892) worked as a
stonemason and local builder.
• His mother Jemima (d.1904) was well-read. She
educated Thomas until he went to his first school
at Bockhampton at age eight.
• a family of Hardy's social position lacked the
means for a university education, and his formal
education ended at the age of sixteen when he
became apprenticed to James Hicks, a local
architect.[2]
Life as an Architect
• Hardy trained as an architect in Dorchester
before moving to London in 1862; there he
enrolled as a student at King's College, London.
He won prizes from the Royal Institute of
British Architects and theArchitectural
Association. Hardy never felt at home in
London. He was acutely conscious of class
divisions and his social inferiority.
Hardy’s Cottage
Literary Career
• Hardy's first novel, The Poor Man and the Lady,
finished by 1867, failed to find a publisher
• Desperate Remedies (1871) and Under the
Greenwood Tree (1872) were published
anonymously.
• In 1873 A Pair of Blue Eyes, a novel drawing on
Hardy's courtship of his first wife, was published
under his own name.
• Far from the Madding Crowd (1874) was successful
enough for Hardy to give up architectural work and
pursue a literary career.
Major Works
• Far from the Madding Crowd (1874)
• The Return of the Native (1878)
• The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886)
• The Woodlanders (1887)
• Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891)
• Jude the Obscure (1895)
Reception
• Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891) attracted
criticism for its sympathetic portrayal of a
"fallen woman" and was initially refused
publication. Its subtitle, A Pure Woman:
Faithfully Presented, was intended to raise
the eyebrows of the Victorian middle-classes.
• Jude the Obscure met with even stronger
negative outcries from the Victorian public
for its frank treatment of sex, and was often
referred to as "Jude the Obscene".
Impact on Hardy’s Life
• Despite this criticism, Hardy had become a
celebrity in English literature by the 1900s,
with several highly successful novels behind
him, yet he felt disgust at the public reception
of two of his greatest works and gave up
writing fiction altogether
Literary Themes
• Hardy critiques certain social constraints that
hindered the lives of those living in the 19th
century.
• Nineteenth-century society enforces these
conventions, and societal pressure ensures
conformity.
• love that crosses the boundaries of class
• Hardy's main characters often seem to be in the
overwhelming and overpowering grip of fate.
Hardy and Tess
• Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman
Faithfully Presented, also known as Tess of the
d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman, Tess of the
d'Urbervilles or just Tess
BBC 2008 Version of Tess
More about Tess
• Though now considered an important work
ofEnglish literature, the book received mixed
reviews when it first appeared, in part
because it challenged the sexual mores of
Hardy's day.
• The original manuscript is on display at the
British Library, showing that it was originally
titled "Daughter of the d'Urbervilles."
Phase 1: The Maiden
• Tess is the eldest child of John and Joan
Durbeyfield, uneducated rural peasants.
Phase 2: Maiden No More
• Raped by Alec at the woods
• Tess goes back home and gave birth to a sickly
baby
• On his last night alive, Tess baptises him
herself, after her father locked the doors to
keep the parson away.
• Tess buries Sorrow in unconsecrated ground,
makes a homemade cross and lays flowers on
his grave in an empty marmalade jar.
Tess and Alec
Phase 3: New Start as Milkmaid
• Tess seeks employment outside the village,
where her past is not known, and secures a
job as a milkmaid at Talbothays Dairy.
• Tess re-encounters Angel Clare, who is now an
apprentice farmer and has come to Talbothays
to learn dairy management. Although the
other milkmaids are sick with love for him,
Angel soon singles out Tess, and the two
gradually fall in love
Phase 4: Marriage with Angel
• Angel goes back to visit his family and
discusses his marriage prospects with his
father.
• Angel tells his parents about Tess, and they
agree to meet her.
• Angel returns to Talbothays Dairy and asks
Tess to marry him.
• Tess is in a dilemma and wrote a letter to
Angel about her past, which failed to be
noticed by Angel. They were married in a
hurry.
Phase 5: Split with Angel
• Tess confessed about her past after their
wedding while Angel finds it hard to accept.
• Angel abandons Tess and takes ship
for Brazil to start a new life.
• Tess returns home for a time but, finding this
unbearable, decides to join her former
milkmaid friends to work on a farm.
• Re-encounter with Alec
Phase 6: Marriage with Alec
•
•
•
•
•
Alec asks Tess to marry him
Tess’ family is in big trouble
Alec tells Tess that Angel will never be back
Tess becomes Alec’s mistress unwillingly
Angel, sick in Brazil, gets back to England and
repent his treatment of Tess.
Phase 7: Tess Commits Crime
• Angel gets back home and tries to find Tess
• He asks Tess for forgiveness but Tess says it’s
too late
• Tess blames Alec for causing her to lose
Angel's love a second time, and stabbed him
• Tess runs away with Angel, and was arrested
• Tess was imprisoned and executed
The Evolution of Tess
•
In the novel Tess of the D’ubevilles, the
protagnist Tess has undergone a process of
evolution: from a maiden of a poor
peasant’s family to a criminal that was
executed.
• How do you comment on the fate of Tess
as a woman?
• Is she a victim?
• How does Tess face death?
Discussion
• Tess as a tragic figure
• What caused the tragedy and victimization of
Tess?
• weak points in Tess’ personality her family,
especially her parents
• Patriarchy (父权制)
• conventional ideas about pure woman
• the fragility of love and passion
• love in the form of possession
• .....
Possession
• Possession by A.S.
Byatt
• 《无可救药爱上你》
Aims of Marriage
• How do you comment about the aims of
marriage in Tess of the D’ubervilles?
• marriage for wealth & social status?
• True love?
• Is true love invicible ?
In view of Tess, How do you
comment on this incident?