Tess of the D’Urbervilles is a novel which was written by the novelist Thomas Hardy in 1891. In this novel, there are several themes based on the life of a young female protagonist named Tess. As well, the article that was published by James Hazen talks about ‘The Tragedy of Tess Durbeyfield’ and the main theme of the article is that about ‘Tragedy of the protagonist’.
Tragedy is about suffering, distress, destruction that happens by an accident. Throughout the novel Tess goes through numerous amounts of suffering. Here the tragedy leads to the fall of the protagonist caused by mistake in a person's behavior. However, Tess still suffers that she did not do anything wrong. But Tess's tragic life is caused by many factors and it's the result of the burden society.
The tragedy of the protagonist is revealed through some explanation of the critics and it is the research problem took forward by the author of the article. According to the article, the critic Lionel Johnson (1928) describes the novel as a "Long tragedy", upon the striving of that modern spirit, among the ancient Wessex places. Also, the critic David Cecil(1954) says that, sees little that is "modern" in Hardy and affirms that his tragedy is "village tragedy", composed of the drama of broken love and wronged girls, the feuds and the hangings which filled his early memories. So, according to the view of this article, Tess of the D’Urbervilles is a simply a "folktale tragedy". Also, in the article it says that, Tess's fine spirit in a degrading story of seduction and revenge. Rather, it is the meaningfulness of her life considered as the story of a victim of society, a scapegoat, a martyr.
Though Tess of the D'urbervilles is essentially the tragedy of a victim or scapegoat, this doesn't mean that the central figure is merely weak and helpless. On the contrary, though Tess's circumstances make her a victim, her nature is fine, courageous, and heroic. Hence, the tragic, not the pathetic effect of the whole. Tess is a scapegoat because she alone suffers for what many other girls have gotten away with through compromise or secrecy. Hardy mentioned, ’yet she is made to suffer and die for it. Ironically it is the very fineness of Tess’s nature that brings this suffering upon her.’
According to the arguments regarding the tragic, Hardy suggests somewhat in the manner of the Greek tragedians, that there is a tragic fatality even in being connected with the erring and fallen family of D'urberville.
One Critic’s argument Harvey Curtis Webster, (Chicago, 1947) that the chance seems to me to break down under close examination. The original seduction. It is true that a number of circumstances conspire to bring it about, but it is not specially a chance event. Once Tess arrives at The Slopes, she is to a great extend in Alec’s power: an opportunity for seduction is bound to come up sooner or later: Alec has merely to wait for it, which he does.
This Tess lying on the altar, describe as, this quoted that ‘lesser creature than a woman’ (page:353). is like a sacrificial animal, not merely slaughtered but killed in the name of some higher good. That higher good is the moral progress of society, already dramatized in the particular case of Angel Clare, who learns and grows through Tess unjust suffering and death. She has been grouped together with other “Wronged maidens” by those who think of Tess of the D’Urbervilles as “folk-tale “tragedy.
According to the novel, Tess own statement about herself, may stand keynote of the discussion In this article. “I am only peasant position, not by nature!” (page: 206), Like many tragic figures, Tess draws strength from very hardships, her life exemplifies the paradox of the fortunate fall: “Almost at a leap Tess thus changed from simple girl to complex woman. Symbols of reflectiveness passed into her face, and a note of tragedy at times in-to her voice. Her eyes grew larger and more eloquent (page: 87)
However the main suffering character in this novel is Tess .She is suffered by many causes such as her fall, her drift into marriage, her failure to confess, hastiness of the wedding itself are the important tragedies that can be proved according to the novel .
But the distinction view of this article author than the others is that, he doesn’t only seem Tess as a tragic figure but also, he tries to prove that Angel Clare is also a tragedy. ’’according to Albert I don’t deny that Angel does Tess a serious wrong, but more attention should be given to Angel’s good qualities and act. It is certainly unfair to see Angel exclusively in negative terms and to stigmatize him’’.
No comments:
Post a Comment