Doomed tragedy of a pure woman— Analysis the character of the heroine in Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Abstract
Thomas Hardy was once called “Shakespeare in British novel.” Among all of his works, Tess of the D’Urbervilles is the most influential one. Distinguished by her deep moral sensitivity and passionate intensity, Tess is indisputably the central character of the novel that bears her name. In this novel, a kind-hearted, tolerant, brave and pure woman is destructed caused by a combination of various factors. Some critics argue how can a woman who is seduced by one man, marries another one who abandons her, and then kills the first, be considered “pure.” By displaying different roles played by Tess, the article centers on objectively analyzing her character and presenting her purity and other noble qualities.
Key Words Tess characters tragedy
1. Background of the Novel
This story happened in the late of Britain's Victorian era，in this time, Capitalist class exerted the complete control and farmers were at the bottle of the society. In an era where men could dominate women, the patriarchal social system made women lost their independent status. Female were required to be loyal and the bodily pure and suppressed by male power, female thought pattern was also solidly controlled, which is reflected in the novel. Angel’s love for Tess dominates her in an invisible way, as his idealized picture of purity makes him refuse to accept the real Tess, which causes Tess greater pain and guiltiness for her past.
2. Analysis Tess’s characters
Tess is in fact a figure arousing a substantial amount of controversy. She loses her virginity, she is abandoned by her husband and she is put to death for the murder. However, an ordinary rural woman as she is, she is of keen responsibility to her family, she is full of spirits of revolt; she is persistent in pursuing true love. How she handles the relationship between her family, Alec and Angel indicate that Tess is generally a respectable woman.
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2.1 Tess and her family
Tess, as the eldest daughter of the family bears much responsibility. Her father was a poor countryside hawker, an incompetent and lazy man. His vanity is greatly revealed after hearing what the parson say to him. “Don’t you really know, Durbeyfield, that you are the lineal representative of the ancient and knightly family of the d’Urbervilles, who derive their descent from Sir Pagan d’Urbervilles, that renowned knight who came from Normandy with William the Conqueror, as appears by Battle Abbey Roll?” “Never heard it before, sir!”(1; ch.1) In order to show off so-called \"aristocrat\" status and make fortune, Tess’s parents decide to send her to the d’Urbervilles mansion. It marks the downfall of Tess’s fate and changes her forever. Tess’s filial piety is well demonstrated when she succumbs to Alec twice for the sake of her family.
2.2 Tess and Alec d’Urbervilles
Like the famous depiction of Satan in Milton’s Paradise Lost, Alec’s devilish features are evident by telling Tess that “I suppose I am a bad fellow—a damn bad fellow. I was born bad, and I have lived bad, and I shall die bad, in all probability.” (70; ch.12) There is frank acceptance in this admission and no shame. Social injustice and male domination are shown here, it is Alec rather Tess that should suffer from the sin. Tess obviously has the dual dispositions in her relationship with Alec—resistance and compromise. She firstly compromises to Alec for her guilty of killing the old horse Prince unintentionally while resists his seduction and reveals her intense disgust for him at the same time. The second time she entrusts herself once again to Alec，in exchange for family member's warm and sufficient condition, but submission is only temporary. In the end, she kills Alec, which is inevitable result of her innermost feeling of revolt. 2.3 Tess and Angel Clare
Angel represents a rebellious striving toward a personal vision of goodness. At Talbothays Dairy, Tess and Angel fall in love with each other fierily, and she spends the happiest time of her life there. However, their love doesn’t sustain when it comes to the reality. Finally, Tess’ purity overcomes her inner struggle; she decides to confess everything to Angel about her past. However, Angel’s ideals for human purity are too elevated to be applied to actual people. As a result, Angel abandons Tess and leaves for Brazil. In spite of being rejected, in spite of all those hardships she suffers, she never stops her love for Angel, she never stops hoping for his coming back some day, and she even keep writing to him during her hardest times.
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2.4 Tess’ character flaws and her tragic fate
A Patriarchal society as Tess lives in, unavoidably; she is also submitted to male-dominated ideas. Therefore, Tess is suffused with strong sense of guilty and inferiority after she loses her chastity, which even account for her unwillingness to accept Angel at first. The relationship between lovers should be equal, but Tess constantly disparages herself and raises Angel, she even looks him as the god.” “To her sublime trustfulness he was all that goodness could be - knew all that a guide, philosopher, and friend should know. She thought every line in the contour of his person the perfection of masculine beauty, his soul the soul of a saint, his intellect that of a seer……The compassion of his love for her, as she saw it, made her lift up her heart to him in devotion.”(276, ch.4) Tess has never blamed Angel slightly for his heartless abandonment. Oppositely, she says:” I certainly like a low pitiful slave of yours, absolute obeys you, if you ask me not to be able to fall to the ground, suicide killed, and I do not violate you.” (311; ch.48) This blind and unequal love has made Tess lose herself and lose her dignity, which deepens her tragedy. 3. Conclusion
Tess possesses dual dispositions. On the one hand, she revolts bravely with her destiny and conventional morality, she desires for happiness and true love, while on the other hand, she cannot get rid of the social conventions and moral standards, which makes her guilty for what she sinned and yielded to the arrangement of the fate. Tess’s unique characters outstand in British literature, while her character flaws and weakness also partly account for her tragic fate.
Bibliography
［1］Thomas Hardy. Tess of the D’Urbervilles［M］.Beijing: Central Compilation & Translation Press,2004.
［2］Etienne Benson. Today’s Most Popular Study Guides. New York: Spark Notes LLC, 2002
［3］Admin ,Causes of Tragedy of Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Online posting. 17octerber.2008〈http://www.86qb.com/Article/mianfei/yingyu/5286.html〉 ［4］秦玲. 苔丝悲剧的形成原因. 南阳师范学院. 2005.
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