On the Root of Tess's Tragic Fate in Tess of the D 'Urbervilles

On the Root of Tess's Tragic Fate in Tess of the D 'Urbervilles

In everyday life, you will always come into contact with papers, which generally consist of title, author, abstract, keywords, text, references and appendix. There are many precautions in writing a paper. Are you sure you can write it? The following is my collection of papers about the root of Tess's tragic fate in Tess of the D 'Urbervilles, which is for reference only and I hope it will help you.

I. Introduction

The first climax of the women's liberation movement appeared at the end of 19. And "Hardy's works reflect the emancipation of women in line with the times, and in his works, women's resistance to traditional moral concepts and society is very fierce." Thomas Hardy boldly turned his creative eyes to the countryside and paid close attention to the tragic fate of ordinary farmers. He is very good at describing the tragic fate of female characters, aiming at exposing the harm caused to women by the patriarchal society and criticizing male centralism.

A Brief Introduction of Thomas Hardy and Tess

Thomas Hardy is a famous novelist and poet who spanned19th century and 20th century. He is a representative of English critical realism literature and is praised by Wolff as "the greatest tragedy master of English novelists". His works not only inherit the essence of British Victorian literature, but also reflect the literary innovation of the twentieth century, which is magnificent. With the huge contrast and touching description between the broad and far-reaching background and the little people, it left a deep impression on readers and shocked their hearts.

Tess of the D 'Urbervilles created a kind, strong, self-respecting, tolerant and beautiful female image-Tess. Being insulted by the rich prodigal son because of innocence, he was exhausted physically and mentally. But "she didn't give up on herself, nor did she complain, but bravely faced setbacks;" In order to reduce the burden on her family and cope with her vain parents, she has the courage to take responsibility and run around different farms to support her family. Treating love, she is self-respecting and persistent. She is regarded as "the only person who has escaped determinism" and subverts traditional ethics. It is this moral concept that Hardy tried to destroy, and let women get rid of the control of rigid traditional customs. He paid great attention to the situation of "degenerate women", gave deep sympathy and tolerance to Tess, and brought readers a reflection on women's living conditions.

Thirdly, analyze the root of Tess's tragic fate from the feminist perspective.

Tess, from an angel girl to a murderer on the gallows, what kind of evil forces are persecuting, destroying and destroying this "woman with self-will and complete personality?" Push this elegant and charming noble woman to the abyss of death step by step? What is the root of Tess's tragedy? This paper examines the history of Tess's oppression in Tess of the D 'Urbervilles from a feminist perspective, and strips away the ugly face of male chauvinism.

(1) Education

Juliet Mitchell, a British feminist thinker, pointed out in Women: The Longest Revolution that "the basis of discrimination is education, not economy. In Britain, equal education is the first requirement for equal work, because it leads women to engage in jobs with lower social status. " Based on this theory, this paper analyzes the main factor of Tess's tragedy: the lack of education.

Her earliest career dream was to become a teacher, but it didn't come true. Because of her poor family, Tess entered the society very early. She did a lot of manual work, and the equal pay was different. Because of her low level of education, she could not get a job with higher social status and income, and her family and herself fell into extreme poverty. Finally, she had to accept Jarek's asylum. "Accepting asylum" is the direct trigger for Tess to kill Jarek when Claire returns. On the other hand, the important influence of education on women lies in improving women's mind and consciousness. Tess was cheated, lost her virginity with injustice, and complained bitterly, "Noble families all know what to guard against and how to guard against it, because they all read novels and tell the tricks of these men, and I have never had a chance to read novels. How can I know?" There is an old saying in China that "a woman without talent is a virtue", which also shows that the whole society under the control of male power excludes women from education. The evil forces that oppress women put women's thoughts in an uncivilized state and make women slaves. Under this traditional concept, Tess's dream can only be a fantasy. If the education problem is not solved, Tess's female tragedy will be irreversible, and women will eventually be victims of the patriarchal society. As Simon Beauvoir said, "Women are slaves or servants in families dominated by fathers and brothers. She is always married by a man to another man. "

(B) Tess's own factors

1. Personality compromise

Tess is an uncompromising rebel who dares to challenge traditional morality and pursue happiness. However, Tess can't completely get rid of the fetters of traditional morality, and her character also contains conservative and backward ethical concepts. Tess is a victim of violence and innocent. She knows this, but when criticized by the villagers, she also thinks that she is "guilty", which will inevitably cause her inner self-torture and condemnation.

The compromise of Tess's character is also reflected in her relationship with Claire. Lovers are equal, but Tess belittles herself and exalts Claire. What a strong, passionate and servile love it is. Claire will not tolerate her tragic past. Tess didn't make any resistance in the face of Claire's heartless abandonment. Claire left, but Tess's love for him never diminished. Enthusiastic letters can't call back Claire's cold heart. In the face of love, Tess lost herself and her dignity. It is this blind and unequal love that makes Tess give up the right of a wife to strive for happiness and deepens Tess's tragedy.

Step 2 feel inferior

Tess's pain after losing her virginity is enormous, and the pressure is various, but it must be pointed out that Tess's inferiority complex aggravated her pain.

For Tess, many of her pains are psychological. She often makes moral judgments about her so-called "past" from traditional customs and public opinion, thus distorting her normal psychological state and misjudging her behavior. Tess couldn't get rid of the heavy cross. While enduring secular public opinion, she is also subject to its moral standards, ruthlessly examining herself and condemning herself. While boldly resisting tradition, she was confined to traditional ideas and became a defender of tradition. "Tess's psychological inferiority is the embodiment of the role of secular fallacies and heresies on her, which shows Tess's abnormal mentality developed in the social and moral environment at that time." In this way, Tess formed an invisible moral trap for herself and bound herself. Her self-restraint consciousness has its profound historical foundation and is the concrete expression of the whole social consciousness. Therefore, Tess's ending can only be a tragedy.

3. Lack of self-awareness

The lack of self-awareness is manifested in Tess's attitude towards love.

When Tess first met Claire, she was attracted by his unusual expression. In Hardy's works, Tess is portrayed as a perfect individual, representing the author's ideal perfect woman. But Tess's character also contains some weaknesses. She is always in the entanglement of love, wandering between two men. She often considers the needs of others, but ignores her own needs. In a patriarchal society, we always put ourselves in a position of dependence and no subjectivity, on the edge of society. "The image of Tess in Hardy's works is full of his deep sympathy for women with low social status at that time, his anger at the so-called civilization in the secular world and his accusation against the traditional patriarchal society." At the same time, it also shows the female image affirmed by the society dominated by men's will in the19th century, that is, "full of sacrifice, tolerance and obedience, tenacity and simplicity". In other words, women should always put themselves behind. It is such a woman who lacks self that she is highly respected by the patriarchal society. The whole society guides women to sacrifice themselves and take care of their families and husbands. Tess is just one of thousands of women who have been hurt, have no self-will and are treated as playthings. It is also in such a complicated social baptism that one loses chastity first, then goes to the abyss of pain, and finally leads to a lifetime tragedy.

Four. conclusion

Tess's rough life ended in tragedy. Her tragedy is not only a tragedy of fate, but also a tragedy of women. She is a "double victim of fate and ignorance of men and sex". In that patriarchal society, Tess always puts herself in a position of dependence and no subjectivity. Only when women get rid of the control of rigid traditional customs, find their place in society and have their own values can they get real happiness.

References:

[1] Gao Wanlong. Get married? Feminism Novel: Study on the Theme of Hardy and Lawrence's Novels [M]. Beijing: China Social Sciences Press. 2009

Thomas Hardy. Translated by Zhang Guruo. Tess of the d 'Urbervilles [M]. Beijing: People's Literature Publishing House.

[3] Wu Di. Hardy studies [M]. Hangzhou: Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House. 1994

[4] Wu Di. Hardy's new theory [M]. Hangzhou: Zhejiang University Press. 2009

[5] Simon Beauvoir. Second sex. [M]。 Beijing: Xiyuan Press. 2004

[6] Yao Zhenping. On the Characters in Tess of the D 'Urbervilles [J]. Review of world literature. 2007 (1)

[7] Zheng Haiyan Corning. Analysis of Tess's tragic fate [J]. Literature of the Times. 2009 ( 14)

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