Reaction to Tess of the D’Urbervilles
It’s the second time I have read the novel “Tess of the D’Urbervilles”. I have a great impression on this novel, and its author, Thomas Hardy.
Thomas Hardy, born in 1840 in Dorsetshire and died in 1928, was an English novelist and poet. Thomas's father was a stonemason and his mother was interested in literature. Under his mother's influences, Hardy began to write at 22. In 1856, Hardy left school and then he apprenticed under a local architect. After that, he became an assistant to a British architect. In this time, he learned literature and philosophy by his own. In 1867, he returned to his hometown and started to write novels. \D'Urbervilles\
\beautiful, bright and plain killing a man after being driven desperate. At the beginning of the novel, Tess helps her father to deliver goods into the town by driving a cart. However, she bumps into a mail cart in the dark night. As a result, the old horse is hurt to death in this accident. So Tess gets into a big trouble. In order to atone for her crime and also to support her family, she goes to work in D'Urbervilles'. During these days, one day Alec rapes her in woods. After losing her virginity, Tess leaves Alec and goes home. She gives birth to a child at home, but unfortunately, the child dies soon. Then, she works in a dairy factory and falls in love with Angel Clare. On their wedding night, Clare knows that Tess has lost her virginity. So, he leaves Tess to Brazil. Poor Tess goes to work in anther factory. After her father's death, the landlord takes back the house. Tess has to go back to Alec, so that her families could have a place to live. One day, Clare returns to look for Tess suddenly when he realizes his false. In great pain, Tess kills Alec with a knife. At the end, Tess is hung to death as a murder.
In the novel, Tess is a modern woman idealized by Hardy. In an ideal world of Hardy, Tess is the symbol of beauty and the embodiment of love, representing the Wessex people of all good merits: beautiful, kind, pure, plain, love and tolerance. She dares to sacrifice herself with the hope to have a good life. She has a characteristic feeling of the love and trust. The women’s gentle and brave are melted well in her. Tess is a beautiful woman with temperament, strong will and warm feelings. She’s also upright and honesty. Instead of pursuing vanities by marriage, she chooses to pursue freedom basing on self-esteem.
However, the end of Tess’s life is pathetic. I felt great sympathy for her. I wonder why this beautiful and pure girl has such a pathetic ending. But, this is Tess’s fate. I never believe fate, but I have to doubt my opinions after reading the novel. Every man who has read the novel knows that her life has always been passive. She has tried to revolt her fate only once, but has lost her life. Compared with fate, she is too small, and the tragedy of Tess maybe caused by the age. Dark ages brought the opportunists a lot of money meanwhile it makes the kind people suffer the misfortunes. Although Tess fails in revolting her fate, she is so brave that I want to give her my best respect.
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To me, she is a brave woman who wants to get rid of the bondage of fate. Tess’s death is superior to her fate, instead of yielding to it, and we need this kind of unyielding soul. But, there are also some weaknesses in Tess’s characters. Tess is bold and she dares to fight against traditional morals to pursue her happiness, but she can’t completely set herself free from traditional morals. It shows the weak side of her characters. She has been criticized by people and persecuted by the traditional morals. And it’s so pathetic that she has always been tortured by the same traditional standard. Thus, the tragic appears deeper.
Considering her tragedy, I can’t help asking who is to blame for that. Besides I’ve mentioned above, I think, at least two men have to be responsible for Tess’s tragedy, Aleck and Angel.
Maybe, you’ll ask why Angel doesn’t accept the cruel truth that Tess has been raped by Alec and has given birth to a child. Why Angel leaves her? Doesn’t he love Tess? Well, I’d like to say that he loves Tess so much that he can’t stand her impurity. In his eyes, Tess is beautiful and kind, and she is the symbol of purity. He can’t accept the cruel fact and makes his best to control his love to Tess. He thinks that the girl before him is not Tess, but a girl looks like her. In his mind, the real Tess has died. His heartlessness and abortion of Tess show his hates to the fate.
As for Aleck, I don’t want to say more. The tragedy he has brought to Tess is obvious. All he has done to Tess is not out of love, because love is noble, but all he wants to get from Tess is lust. Alec is wealthy and evil. He seduces Tess, and that’s the direct cause of Tess’s tragedy.
We all know that another name of this novel is “A Pure Woman”. In Hardy’s eyes, Tess is pure and brave. He shows great sympathy to Tess. At that age, men dominated the society, while women didn’t realize their rights. They are limited by the traditional morals and religion rules. In the novel, Tess is a poor victim, but because of the culture of the society, the other women don’t show their sympathies to her. They criticize her and fabricate rumors to defame her. It’s such a tragedy that women don’t help women. As a boy, after reading the novel, I feel more sympathy for Tess. I don’t understand the thoughts of those people living in that age, but today, well, men and women are equal.
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