Analysis of Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

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Analysis of Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

The depth of artistic unity found in Thomas Hardy's Tess of the

D'Urbervilles pervades every chapter of the novel. No one chapter is

less important than another because each is essential in order to tell

the tragic tale of Tess Durbeyfield. There is never an instance in

Hardy's prose that suggests frill or excess. Themes of the Industrial

Revolution in England, the status of women during Victorian England,

Christianity vs. Paganism, matters of nobility, and the role that

fatalism plays in life weave together with various symbols to create

an amazing flow to his novel.

At the beginning of chapter thirty-one, Joan Durbeyfield has just sent

a letter with her advice to Tess. She tells Tess to keep her past from

Angel a secret. Tess' mother is a practical woman who knows that Angel

will be like most men and will reject Tess once he discovers the

truth. It is important that Joan makes an appearance in this chapter

because Tess' parents' influence on their daughter is integral to the

plot of the novel from the beginning. In fact, a line can be traced

from Tess to her parents to the effect of the Industrial Revolution on

the peasantry of England.

At the beginning of the novel, Tess offers to go Casterbridge to

deliver the beehives that her father was supposed to deliver. John

Durbeyfield is unable to make this delivery because he has yet again

inebriated after having made a visit to Rolliver's Inn. Tess' father

is just one example of the many victims of the Industrial Revolution.

He and Joan are "representatives of the disaffected and drunken

villagers whose houses will soon fall to larger farms mass-producing

crops for mass consumption."[1]The villagers...

... middle of paper ...

...By Thomas Hardy.

N.p.: Unversity of Michigan, n.d. 417-427.

Shaw, Bernard. Man and Superman. Cambridge, Mass.: The University

Press, 1903; Bartleby.com, 1999. www.bartleby.com/157/.

Tess of the D'Urbervilles. 37th ed. New York : Penguin Group, 1980.

Tess of the D'urbervilles/ HARDY. Masterplots. N.p.: n.p., n.d.

Thomas Hardy." Critical Survey of Long Fiction. N.p.: n.p., n.d.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] Bishnupriya Ghosh, "Critical Evaluation" Tess of the

D'Urbervilles/HARDY, Masterplots

[2] Charles E. May, "Thomas Hardy," Critical Survey of Long Fiction

[3] May 1509

[4] George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, August 1999, November 10,

2003, http://www.bartleby.com/157/100.html

[5] Donald Hall, Afterword on Tess of the D'urbervilles, Tess of the

D'urbervilles, Peguin 1980 ed.

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