International Conference on Education, Language, Art and Intercultural Communication (ICELAIC 2014)

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

D’Urbervilles

Honggang Sun
Foreign Language Teaching Department
Inner Mongolia University for the Nationlities
Tongliao, Inner Mongolia, China

Abstract—Tess of the D’Urbervilles, written by Thomas system, morality and laws, religious belief and ideology to
Hardy, a British critical realist writer at the end of the different degrees, besides, he exposes and criticizes the culture
nineteenth century, is hailed as the gem of British literature and and morality of the bourgeois society mercilessly rather than
the world literature. The author successfully creates many does it superficially. Tess's tragedy is the comprehensive
tragedy characters, in which the image of Tess is the most typical
embodiment of bourgeois regime, patriarchal culture,
one. This paper aims to search for the causes of Tess’s tragedy in
the aspects of social unrest, the patriarchal culture, and the bourgeois religion, morality, love and marriage in Victorian
religious and moral beliefs of bourgeoisie brought by social age. As the Soviet literary critic Anikst said: "The real reason
transformation in Victorian age and the practical significance. for the destruction of Tess is of realistic nature. The poverty
and helplessness of the heroine as well as the prevailing social
Keywords—Tess; roots of tragedy; practical significance customs determine the tragic fate of this woman". [2]
Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), British critical realist writer,
was born in a declined noble family in southern England. He I. THE VICTIM OF THE TIMES
lived in the period of social transformation. As the capitalist The British capitalism industrial revolution reached at the
economy penetrated the British countryside, peasant economy peak in Victorian times. Economy developed rapidly and soon
collapsed and the peasantry gradually perished, trying to find a penetrated the rural areas. The wide use of agricultural
new way out. Capitalism invaded the British countryside and machinery gradually brought the peasant economy to ruin.
caused changes in the social economy, politics, ethics and Aristocratic palace-style manor life and peasants’ dilapidated
customs. Such source material fulfilled his literary creation. cottage contrasted each other like the heaven and hell. The
Hardy had published many novels and collections of poems. peasants living by a small amount of land must find a new way
"Tess of the D’Urbervilles" is the most outstanding work, of living. The heroine Tess was born in a poor peasant family
hailed as the treasure of English literature and the world decayed from a noble one in the special period of the transition
literature. In 1891, the novel had been translated into many from the old system to the new. Her father was an alcoholic,
languages after its publication and became the classic work greedy, lazy and incompetent haggler. As the eldest daughter
widely studied by scholars and critics. Scholars interpret the in the family, Tess drove the cart to make delivery for her
novel from different perspectives and have made fruitful drunken father. The destiny teased the pure, kind-hearted and
research achievements. As there are a thousand Hamlets in a beautiful girl unexpectedly. The Cart crashed with a mail cab
thousand people's eyes, there are various views towards the accidentally, killing the old horse which was the only source of
character of Tess. This paper aims to search for the causes of living for her family. Tess suffered from the heavy mental
Tess’s tragedy in the aspects of social unrest, the patriarchal burden after the old horse died. However, the vain father and
culture, and the religious and moral beliefs of bourgeoisie secular mother put the family life burden on Tess. This 16-
brought by social transformation in Victorian age and the year-old girl had to bear part of the responsibility to maintain
practical significance. Aesthetician Gao ertai said: "The culture the livelihood of families. At the instigation of her parents, she
of each nation, age and society has its characteristics went to curry favor with the rich, noble D’Urbervilles and
distinctive from that of other ethnic groups, age and society, claimed relatives with them in order to get a job. Because of
which display unique national characters, spirit of the times her remorse for the death of the old horse, Tess went to the
and social trend of thought". "The great works of art always manor and took the job of raising the chicken against her will.
involve profound philosophical concepts. It is not only the This transaction ruined Tess's beautiful life. She was lured by
product of national character, the spirit of the times and the dandy Alec D'Urberville in every possible way and lost her
social ideological trend and so on, but also in turn actively virginity. The pregnant Tess coming back home received no
participates in the formation of them, which is the concern or sympathy from parents but complaints. They
representative of their own nation, age and society". [1] The thought the reason that Tess failed to secure the relationship
enduring charm of Hardy's novel "Tess of the D’Urbervilles" with the rich relatives was entirely due to her "stubborn"
lies in that Hardy reflects and views such aspects as the social character. Their hope of becoming rich was completely ruined

© 2014. The authors - Published by Atlantis Press 650

in her hand. In the eyes of the secular people, Tess had become perspective, instead, she was pushed to a much harder time.
a typical case in offending public decency and regarded as an Her beauty did not bring happiness to her. When she fell in
example of being alert to lasciviousness against bourgeois love with Clarke, Tess was the victim and the pure moral
ethics, After losing her virginity, her mother persuaded Tess to devotee. Clarke maintained his male power and clang to the
lure the hypocrite Eric to marry her: “And yet th'st not got him moral hypocrisy, choosing not to forgive poor Tess. He was
to marry 'ee!" “Any woman would have done it but you, after the one who took control of love completely. This showed that
that!” [3] (112) Tess, "a pure woman", had fallen victim to the male accounted for the main status in Victorian times and
capitalist hypocritical morality. The bourgeois were egoistic, women were just subordinate to men’s will, Tess became the
selfish, ruthless, cunning and mercenary which destroyed the slave both physically and mentally in patriarchal society and
natural social order and led to the tragedy of Tess. she suffered double hardships both in body and spirit.
Every age has its wonderful time, rotted time and victims
III. THE VICTIM OF RELIGION AND MORALITY OF BOURGEOIS
too. In Victorian era, the capitalist economy developed rapidly
and social customs changed too. People were busy making a In Marx's view, religious belief of bourgeoisie and feudal
living and getting around. There was a lack of solicitude ethics are the tool which prevents women's liberation and the
between people, which was embodied in Tess’s family and her pseudo religion provides the theoretical basis for the
hardship of making a living. The Crick milk factory described bourgeois’ insulting and defiling women. In this novel, Hardy
in the novel reveals the mode of production at that time. The holds critical attitude towards the bourgeois’ religion and
bankrupt farmers became workers. They lost the land which morality. The plot that Alec played with Tess shows the
they had lived on. They had to get round to do hard labor and religious hypocrisy of the bourgeois. The sinful Alec excused
odd jobs. Women had to do the same job as men did. The for his wrongdoing with "Bible" and turned into a priest
experience that Tess and his family suffered and that of other conducting benefactions. When he met her, he revealed his
dairymaids’ did were the real portrayal of the tens of thousands true color and haunted Tess casting aside humanity, justice and
of bankrupt farmers. Despite her strong, optimistic turn of morality. Tess met Angel in the big milk factory in Crick, and
mind, her tragic destiny was irreversible. Even if she had been deeply fell in love with him. However, Angel was seemingly
given more choices, she wouldn’t have escaped from the tragic enlightened, refined infidel. In the tide of reform he despised
fate this era had brought to her. She was the microcosm of class prejudice, sense of hierarchy, "giving up all ambition to
farmer hirelings and miserable life under the influence of win a wife with social standing, with fortune, with knowledge
bourgeois wave, which was doomed for the Victorian farmers. of the world " and willing to accept new ideas, not willing to
Tess was the victim of the times. serve "God", but the traditional ethics ingrained in his mind
made him unable to tolerate his lover's flaws. In his eyes, Tess
II. THE VICTIM OF PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY was "daughter of nature", he only loved her purity, sweetness
and virginity. On their wedding night, after listening to Tess's
In the ancient Greek's views, the origin of the world was
ramble words of her story, he said: the woman I have been
male and female were only the appendages of male. Male were
loving is not you. "Another woman in your shape." [3 (313-
greedy and lewd which caused tragedies of numerous female
314)] His secular ideas stifled his true love for Tess in his heart.
and Tess was the typical victim of male supremacy. Tess lived
If Alec gave her physical trauma, Angel gave her blow
in the time when women had low status. The employees had
spiritually. The ruthlessness of Angel is a manifestation of the
no stable income so that the basic economic living conditions
feudal view of virginity. It is a pair of chains for women given
couldn’t be guaranteed. She could not evade the prejudice
by the society and the product of the patriarchal society.
against women by the "hegemony" patriarchy and the harsh
Although Angel had lived a life of debauchery in London, he
social etiquette. She had been presented to Alec by her own
refused to forgive her losing virginity. Angel left her in trouble
father as a valuable woman to exchange for his desirable value.
again and she suffered a heavy blow spiritually once again.
Alec, the representative of bourgeois upstarts, was dissolute by
Angel was the embodiment of pseudo morality of the
nature and a philander master. He was having an affair with
bourgeoisie. He was egoistic and does not measure himself
the Queen of Spades and Queen of Diamonds in the village,
with moral yardstick. He believed that it was an unalterable
which symbolized cruel carnal under the disguise of Western
principle for man to do such a thing, but he cannot forgive the
civilization. Tess’s beauty in his opinion was the bait inducing
innocent Tess, compelling her to die. She killed Alec which
the sensual desire of man. From the perspective of male
implied that she began to resist. She continued to fight and also
supremacy, he seemed to indicate that his insulation of Tess
compromised. She was brave and she dared to fight against the
was due to her beauty enticement. He said shamelessly: `Tess,
old system, contempt religion, go against the traditional
my girl, I was on the way to, at least, social salvation till I saw
morality, pursue love and happiness boldly, but her revolt was
you again [3] (447) Alec said, "Because you have driven away
not thoroughly and she cannot shake off the traditional yoke on
my faith, you pretty thing, you just wait for the day of
her own. When her child died, she secretly gave him baptism
reckoning". [3] (449) which not only suggested Tess's tragedy,
in hope that the child can ascend to heaven. She couldn't get
but also exchanged the perpetrators with victims. The innocent
rid of the secular concept and the shackles of feudal ethical
Tess was pushed into a doomed eternally abyss, becoming a
principles. She scared herself with "a cloud of moral
witch causing men to commit crimes. Tess left Alec, but this
hobgoblins by which she was terrified without reason", she
did not mean that she was free from fetters under male’s

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thought of herself as the incarnate of evil. She measured her
innocence according to the traditional chastity view. She
cannot forget her disgrace more than anyone else. She can't
forget the past, unable to remove heavy mental cross on her
mind. She tortured and accused herself. She always held an
unforgivable sense of sin. She was afraid of the secular public
opinion. She was far from the family member and moved to
the remote area to avoid meeting those villagers who actually
barely remembered her sufferings. She did not look up to see
people and even turned to the extreme means of ‘nipped her
eyebrows off' to issue the slight resistance. This is a weakness
in her character. The time she suffered from the world public
opinion and traditional morality, she also viewed herself with
the moral standards. She killed Alec out of her hatred and on
the other hand, she wanted to redeem her sins in order to
safeguard her lover’s interest. Before her death, she was no
longer worried, "now I shall not live for you to despise me!"
Therefore, Tess's religious consciousness and the feudal ethics
strengthen the tragedy to a certain extent.

IV. CONCLUSION
Tess is the typical character embodying Hardy’s criticism
of old morality. The uncontrollable age, patriarchal culture,
bourgeois religion and morality lead to her degeneration from
purity and kindness to murder. Although she has not gained
happiness, she strives for women's social status and challenges
the patriarchal ideology, the pseudo religion of bourgeoisie and
feudal ethics. This is a big step on the road to the fight for the
liberation of women.

REFERENCES
[1] He Jiefang. The Analysis of the Tragedy of Antipov in Doctor Zhivago
and its Significance [J]. The Appreciation of Masterpiece. 2012.6
[2] Hou Yanling. The Roots of Tess’s Tragedy[J]. Teaching and
Research,2002.05.
[3] Hardy Thomas. Translated by Zhang Guruo. Tess of the
D’Urbervilles[M]. people's Literature Publishing House. 1984.07.

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