In the play “Antigone”, Antigone’s demise is destined by the Gods of ancient Greece. However, in Tess of the D’Urbervilles” Tess endures many incidents and coincidences of misfortunes that mark the course of her tragic life, in which destiny does not play a role as it does in Antigone. Chance and coincdince can plague or bless any individual at any time.Thomas Hardy portrays chance and coincidence as having very significant roles in "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" continuously. Three such coincidences were quite influential and had significant effects on Tess's future.
The first being that Tess Durbeyfield's father, discovered that their family came from the oldest, and once the most wealthiest family in England. This single decision, of sending Tess to the d'Urberville, and making her leave the sheltered life and town of Marlott that she had known for so long would be the change in her life that would lead to so many other events for her. Had Tess not been sent to the d'Urberville home, she would not have met Alec nor would she have bore his child out of wedlock and her life would have been completely different.
Another event that occurs by mere chance in Tess's life is when Tess slips a letter of confession underneath both her lover's door and (by accident) the carpet, where he could not see it. Thus, Tess marries Angel under the impression that he has been informed of her past, when in fact he is ignorant of her former actions. After their marriage Tess enlightens Angel of her previous affairs when she realizes he has not received her letter and is surprised by his extremely disgusted reaction. Angel is regretful to have been informed of Tess’s past after he has married her, as he now feels he has morally wronged in marrying an impure woman. As they had vowed, Tess and Angel stay married, although Angel cannot forgive Tess for her actions, and thus they separate temporarily. The coincidence in which the letter slipped under the carpet lead to Angel and Tess’s strained relationship. Tess’s self-esteem suffered and she was left emotionally unstable and distressed. Tess’s state of mind allowed Alec to eventually persuade Tess to marry her, and in subsequent connected events leads to Tess’s tragic death.
The final coincidence would be the death of Tess's father, which not only leaves Tess in a state of deprivation, but also the rest of her family, including her mother and six siblings.
Compare how Shakespeare and Hardy present situations where their characters’ love and relationships are influenced by the need to uphold appearances within society, with particular reference to Othello and Tess of the d’Urbervilles
Tess of the d'Urbervilles Through life people may fault, or get on the wrong side of the tracks. Yet hopefully they keep faith and then willingly they may recoup and redeem themselves by recovering. Many believe that, Tess in, Tess of the d'Urbervilles was a great example of this. In Hardy's Victorian age novel, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, he illustrates casual wrong, the will to recover, the growth of love, and death. Almost everybody has done something casually wrong and not think much of it, many call this indifferent nature.
Prince’s death, the rape and her arrest all happen to her whilst asleep. The community and her unsupportive parents’ cold treatment towards Tess following these events emphasize the hegemonic male perspective of society towards women. Furthermore, Hardy shows how women are seen by society through the male gaze as sexual objects, as Tess is blamed for Alec’s lack of self-control. He attempts to justify his cruel actions as he calls Tess a “temptress” and the “dear damned witch of Babylon” (Hardy 316), yet he later says that he has “come to tempt [her]” (340). Tess is also objectified by Alec when he says that if Tess is “any man’s wife [she] is [his]” (325). The narrator’s repeated sexualized descriptions of Tess, such as her “pouted-up deep red mouth” (39), further demonstrate how women are commonly seen through the male gaze in
Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex introduced the one of the most important tragic heroes of Greek literature. First performed in the fifth century B.C.E., the play is centered around Oedipus, the king of the Greek city-state Thebes, and his struggle to conquer his emotions as he seeks out the true story of his life. This work, inspired by a well-known Greek myth, scrutinizes both the tragic flaws of Oedipus and his heroism. Examples of Oedipus’ tragic flaws abound in the play. In his condemnation of Tiresias and Creon, Oedipus is controlled by his emotions. However, the heroism of Oedipus is also an essential theme of the drama, though it is often downplayed. Despite this, careful analysis can uncover many instances in which Oedipus exhibits his heroism by attempting to control his emotions and discover the truth of his origins. In his finest moments, Oedipus is in complete command of his emotions as he searches for the truth, while at his nadir, Oedipus is completely controlled by his emotions and is absolutely unpredictable. This contrast is, in large part, what makes Oedipus a tragic hero. Oedipus, King of Thebes, is among the greatest Hellenistic tragic heroes because of his fight to overcome his greatest flaw, his uncontrollable anger, as he heroically searches for the truth.
setting of the story, how the members of the Hadley family influence the course the plot takes, and how this changes the readers' opinion on the machinery of the house.
From genetic engineering scientist were able to come with a reproductive medicine to help women who could not have kids, conceive and bear children(Designer baies,para.1).Genetic engineering could also help wipe out some of the most serve diseases among babies. For instant, Cystic Fibrosis is a deadly disease with no cure but through genetic engineering it can be cured (Pros and Cons of Genetic Engineering,par.1). Using genetic engineering for this purpose allow for babies to be healthy and strong, which is more important than the looks of the child.This also allows for not only more babies, but for them to live longer by curing
Oedipus the King struggled internally and externally once he discovered that he was the murderer of his own father, and that his mother was also his wife. He demanded exile and knew his death was going to be brutal, but he would not be able to live with himself and his conscious until he was dead. This play has so many intriguing symbols, themes and motifs that it keeps the reader focused at all times. His life as king was his good fortune but his painful undiscovered past led to his death, “Consider his last day; and let none Presume on his good fortune until he find Life, at his death, a memory without pain” (Kennedy 752, lines 297-300).
...e messenger mentioned. Upon his arrival, King Oedipus threatens to torture and kill him if he did not spill answers. By then, it had all become too apparent to Jocasta. The dreadful prophetic oracles had all came true. She begged Oedipus to cease from seeking out more facts of his birth, but failed to, and took her own life. The servant Oedipus sent for revealed what Oedipus feared most. They pieced and tied together the ankles of the child, which helped explain the scars on Oedipus’s ankles, and that child he was instructed to abandon in the mountains, was a child conceived by Jocasta and Laius. Orders were to leave the child in the mountains to die, but out of pity, he gave the child to a messenger who said he would take him to a foreign land. In agony, Oedipus dug out his own eyeballs and banished himself in the mountains where he was to be left for dead as child.
...cept her. ?Unadvisable? gives the impression that Angel does not really care one way or another. All of this is unfair to Tess, as Alec?s decision to rape her was not her fault in any way. Also, Angel?s sexual history is more promiscuous than Tess?s, and yet he sees only her flaws. Hardy uses specific word choices and diction to thoroughly inform the reader of the injustice of Tess?s circumstances.
Antigone is a tragedy written by Sophocles with a general theme of fate versus free will. Within the play, there is a character named Creon who is the king of Thebes. Creon is Antigone’s uncle, and makes the decision to not allow the burial of Antigone’s brother, Polyneicês. This outrages Antigone, the female protagonist, and causes her to decide to bury Polyneicês herself. Antigone is then left to face her future that may be controlled by fate or free will. The concept of fate versus free will is contrasted throughout the play and is demonstrated through the characters of Antigone and Creon. Fate is essentially the will of the gods, and Antigone understands this concept. Although Antigone and Creon may believe they have acted on their own
Tess Being a Victim of Fate in Tess of the D'Urbervilles “The president of the Immortals had done his sport with Tess” In his novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles Thomas Hardy expresses his dissatisfaction, weariness, and an overwhelming sense of injustice at the cruelty of ‘our’ universal fate disappointment and disillusionment. Hardy puts out an argument that the hopes and desires of Men are cruelly saddened by a strong combination of fate, unwanted accidents, mistakes and many sad flaws. Although Tess is strong willed and is clearly educated emotionally and mentally she soon becomes a victim of ‘fate’. Many people would say that Tess was just unlucky, “Had a stroke of bad luck,” others would prefer to differ and argue that she has fallen into fates hands.
Oedipus and Jocasta both share a bondage of love and partnership that soon gets taken away because of Oedipus’s blindness to Jocasta’s warning. Jocasta warns Oedipus to let his past be and not to keep digging for he may get more than he bargained for. When Oedipus ignores this and continues, he soon finds out about his past, killing his father and soon realizing that Jocasta is his mother as well as his lover. When she finds out that Oedipus knows his past, she commits suicide because of her sinful acts of incest. This is another prime act of blindness that has resulted in a death. Oedipus continues to ignore the advice from his elders and because of that he is responsible for both his parents death at his hand. Though he may not be physically blind, his ignorance has caused his actions to have a negative out come. Oedipus’s goal is to not be blinded by his ignorance and to actually “see” the importance and relevance of every situation rather than on
The Victorian Age was a virtuous era, full of chaste women and hard-working men. As with any seemingly utopian society, there are the misfits: those who always seem to go against the grain. Hidden in the shadows of towns were bastardized babies and public outcasts. The flourishing literature of the era attacks the societal stereotypes and standards that make for such failures and devastating tragedies. In Tess of the d'Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy, Tess Durbeyfield's initial loss of innocence brings her down to an insurmountable low, and the victorian society, of which she is a part, dooms her to a horrible fate with its "normal" shunning of her innocent misbehaviors. Tess' rapid downward spiral to her death is caused by the chauvinistic actions of the men in the story, solidified by society's loss of acceptance of Tess based on the actions taken against her, and brought to home by Tess' imminent doom to the rigid ways of the Victorian society.
Throughout the tragic tale, the troubled young Oedipus is faced with many opportunities to give in to fate and throw his life away- all of which he accepted and executed proudly. After having been informed of his undesirable fate, the young man finds himself at a crossroads, pestered by another traveler. In a blinding flash of rage, Oedipus murdered the very man he was trying to avoid, as he later recounts to his wife and mother, “My stick had struck him backwards from the car and he rolled out of it. And then I killed them all”. While fully aware of the possibility that he may know not the true identity of his parents, he was not at all concerned that he may fulfill his prophecy in any violent act he commits. Oedipus took the prophecy seriously enough to uproot his life and leave his home in Corinth, but not seriously enough to even attempt to take up a life of pacifism. His misplaced efforts placed before him a choice between a bruised sense of self worth and uncalled for brutality, his inability to discern the difference between a necessary evil and an absurd liability lead him to begin fulfilling his prophecy. Since first discovering the foul outcome the divine had planned for him, Oedipus was disgusted with the thought of marrying and taking to bed his mother, but in a moment of excitement and thoughtlessness he mar...
Hardy’s novels are ultimately permeated upon his own examination of the contemporary world surrounding him, Tess’s life battles are ultimately foreshadowed by the condemnation of her working class background, which is uniquely explored throughout the text. The class struggles of her time are explored throughout her life in Marlott and the preconception of middle class ideals are challenged throughout Hardy’s exploration of the rural class. Tess of the D’Urbervilles revolves around Hardy’s views of Victorian social taboos and continues to be a greatly influential piece from a novelist who did not conform to the Victorian bourgeois standards of literature.