Thomas Hardy’s novels typically follow this formula: the woman protagonist is sought in marriage by two men who are polar opposites. She is granted the “freedom” of choice of a marriage partner; however, she invariably chooses the wrong man.

Angel recognizes that Tess is torn between “self-sacrifice and self-preservation.” Explain how this description applies to Tess.

Reverend Clare is an Evangelical.
Evangelicals are “conservative, moralistic, and usually anti-intellectual” (Hardy 395).

“Evangelicals believe that, despite baptism and confirmation, members of the Church…must be converted – saved by a personal act of faith in Christ’s atonement – in order to go to heaven” (Hardy 395).

So Rev. Clare values the emotional act of faith over the scientific and rational approach toward religion. What side would he choose in the Religion vs. Science debate?

Arthur Schopenhauer:
“a nineteenth-century German pessimistic philosopher who held that the universal will urges individuals to satisfy goals which can never be satisfied, resulting in an endless cycle of birth, suffering, death, and rebirth, escapable only be resignation” (Hardy 395).

Hardy’s philosophy resembles Schopenhauer’s in that Hardy presents a fatalistic view of mankind. Influenced by Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species which challenged the traditional theories of the Church, Hardy “found it difficult … to reconcile the idea of a beneficent, omnipotent, and omniscient deity with the [existence] of omnipresent evil and persistent tendency of circumstances toward unhappiness” (Force 7). In other words, how can a “good” god exist when there is so much evil and unhappiness in the world?

“In Tess the greatest conflict is between her inherent will to enjoy and the circumstantial forces which are indifferent to her wishes and efforts” (Force 7).

Fatalism – “all action is controlled by the nature of things or by Fate, which is a great, impersonal, primitive force existing through all eternity, absolutely independent of human wills and superior to any god created by man” (Force 8). Man is removed from the picture so to speak. Man is meaningless, “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” (Anderson 324).

Determinism – acknowledges that man does indeed struggle against will, fate, destiny, what have you; however, that struggle “is to no avail” (Force 8). Man’s struggle against nature, fate, or destiny is futile.

Hardy’s philiosophy of fatalism combines these two concepts.

 

 

Examples of Fate in the novel:

• Born into the Durbeyfield family “the little captives”
• Discovery of the family name
• The death of Prince
• Folk-tales (the fiddler and the bull and Jack Dollop)
• Superstition (The Compleat Fortune Teller, the butter not churning, the rooster crowing…)
• Undelivered letters
• Overheard conversations
• The death of Jack Durbeyfield
• Angel’s return too late

If only Angel had danced with Tess at the May Day dance in Marlott when she was 16!!
If only Angel ignored the D’Urberville portraits on their wedding night.

Another fatalistic motif is the influence of nature on the lives of the characters. While hardy appears to be pro-nature - “Those who are most in harmony with their environment are usually the most contended and those who can appreciate the joys of nature can find solace in it from their cares” (Force 8) – he also shows the indifference and cruelty of nature.

Time is another fatalistic motif. Why are the seasons so important to Tess’s happiness? How doe they correspond to her bleak periods of despair and her (fleeting) periods of happiness? Time suggests transitions in life. Joys can become sorrows. Love can change over time.

Also, consider the man-made destructive forces working against Tess. Fate, nature, and time exist outside of man (forces beyond our control); however, man DOES create social laws that work against him. For example, Victorians harshly punished “fallen women” and valued purity and perfection. Tess also struggles against social status. She is a peasant girl, and Alec and Angel ARE from “better” families, albeit Alex is an imposter (nouveau riche). That fact alone would guarantee a destiny of hardships and inferiority. Think of Joan Durbeyfield.

Characterization

Tess: Tess is the central figure in the novel. The plot revolves solely around her. Tess’s greatest faults are her sense of duty towards her family and her honesty. In spite of all her weaknesses (and who can truly see these as faults!), she possesses a noble spirit fitting of a descendant of the once noble D’Urberville family. She IS unlike the other dairymaids for she possesses a sense of dignity (she disagrees with the story of Jack Dollop and she prevents anyone from criticizing Angel even after he abandons her) and she loves Angel completely.

Alec: The “bold, roving eye” suggests Alec is a predator; however, he does “rescue” Tess after Angel abandons her. And after his attack, he DOES offer recompense for his behavior. However, just like the tale of the fiddler and the bull, Alec uses religion to make fools of others. His conversion is hardly believable, and it doesn’t take long for him to revert to his former ways.

 

Regarding Tess, Alec is torn between a “desire to master her again and a genuine regard for her welfare” (Force 67). He eventually convinces Tess to become his mistress, his original intention; however, he makes a fatal mistake when he insults Angel directly to Tess (Force 67).

Angel: Angel considers himself to be quite the “modern” thinker, unlike his conservative and religious-minded parents. He refuses his father’s wish to follow his brothers by joining the clergy. However, Angel’s actions reveal him to be a narrow-minded moralist obsessed with  virtue and purity. He relies on tradition and all the strict rules of society to form his opinions. Even after his “transformation” in Brazil, he “is still a slave to convention” (Force 65).

Angel loves his “fantasy” of Tess and has no idea of the magnitude of her love for him.

Major Themes:

• Fantasy vs. actuality – Angel’s vision of Tess and vice versa. How is Tess partly responsible for her own suffering?
• Cycles – the seasons, generations of families
• Never resolved conflicts – blurring the line in the battle between good vs. evil

Essay topics:
Whom or what is to blame for the tragic suffering endured by Tess? Alec? Angel? Her parents? Tess herself?

“Discuss the manifestations of Fate as they affect the life of Tess” (Force 72).

Compare and contrast Alec and Angel. What similarities do they share? How are they opposites?