1、 Thomas Hardy托马斯托马斯哈代哈代(18401928 )A Greatest Victorian novelist vThomas Hardy is last important novelist and poet of the 19th century. Living at the turn of the century.vHardy is often regarded as a transitional writer. In him we see the influence from both the past and the modern.vHis literary geni
2、us is apparent in his poems and novels.vCurrent scholars believe Hardy to be one of the greatest tragic novelists of English literature. June 2, 1840 Thomas Hardy was born to Thomas and Jemima Hardy at Higher Bockhampton Dorset. Thomas and Jemima HardyThomas HardyThomas Hardy(18401928 )vBorn and bro
3、ught up in Dorset, an agricultural district in the south of England, which he called Wessex（韦塞克斯） in his book. vPermeated by religion and music, these early years in the rural South West were to have a profound influence on Hardy and the imaginary Wessex of his later novels.Hardys Cottagev 1848-56 E
4、ducated on different schools The National School (Church of England) in Lower Bockhampton, the British School in Dorchester. 1856-62 Apprenticed as an architect for four years to John Hicks.1962Started working for Arthur Blomfield in London.1863Awarded a cash prize for architecture. Did not accept t
5、he cash prize.September 17, 1874 Married Emma Gifford. 1912 Death of Emma Hardy. February, 6, 1914 Married Florence Dugdale The home that Hardy built in Dorchester Hardy dies at the age of 87 on January 10,1928. His body was buried in Westminster Abbey, whereas his heart was buried in Stinsford Chur
6、chyard.Westminster AbbeyPoets CornerNovelsNovelsHe himself grouped his novels into three series:romances and fantasies “传奇和幻想作品”（罗曼史） novels of ingenuity “机巧和实验小说”（爱情阴谋故事） novels of character and environment. “性格和环境小说” “novels of character and environment” is the most outstandingvThe Return of the N
7、ative 还乡记vThe Mayor of Casterbridge卡斯特桥市长 v Tess of the Durbervilles 苔丝vJude the Obscure 无名的裘德vUnder the Greenwood Tree绿荫下vFar From the Madding Crowd远离尘嚣 But Tess and Jude were given a hostile reception by the bourgeois public. OutrageOutrageHardys skepticism :This was particularly true when he bega
8、n work on Jude the Obscure, a work in which the religious doubts of the central character would find uncompromising expression.Hardy was now turning his back on orthodox religion. His literary message was now a long way from conventional Victorian morality. OutrageMany readers of Jude the Obscure re
9、acted with outrage.The Bishop of Wakefield announced that he had thrown such garbage onto his fire.Retreating to his Max Gate fortress, Hardy withstood the critical onslaught on Jude with as much stoicism as he could muster. But it took its toll on his marriage.After Jude the Obscure, Hardy never wr
10、ote another novel.outrageoutrageSoon afterwards he began Soon afterwards he began the process of destroying the the process of destroying the evidence of his past, long evidence of his past, long b e f o r e h i s e x e c u t o r s b e f o r e h i s e x e c u t o r s enthusiastically continued enthu
11、siastically continued the task. (Within days of the the task. (Within days of the death of Thomas Hardy in death of Thomas Hardy in 1928, the executors of his 1928, the executors of his estate made a bonfire of his estate made a bonfire of his letters and notebooks at his letters and notebooks at hi
12、s D o r c h e s t e r h o m e )D o r c h e s t e r h o m e ) Many of Hardys books and letters were burnt A Poet & A NovelistHe wrote much poetry in the last thirty years of his life and remains a highly regarded poet and novelist.Wessex Wessex Wessex WorksWessex WorksvWessex novels: novels describin
13、g the characters and environment of his native countryside. vTheir setting is the agricultural region of the southern counties of England. He truthfully depicts the poverty and decay of small farmers who become hired field hands and roam of the traditional mode of life in rural England. It was in th
14、e chapters of Far From the Madding Crowd that I first ventured to adopt the word Wessex from the pages of early English history, and give it a fictitious significance as the existing name of the district once included in that extinct kingdom. The series of novels I projected being mainly of the kind
15、 called local, they seemed to require a territorial definition of some sort to lend unity to their scene. - from Hardys Preface to the novel 1895-1902 Thomas Hardy first used the term Wessex in his 1874 novel, Far From the Madding Crowd. Works: fatalistic mood Works: fatalistic mood vThis, and his l
16、oss of religious faith which was part of the ancient tradition, gave his novels a tragic and fatalistic vision. His pessimistic philosophy seems to show that mankind is subjected to the rule of some hostile and mysterious fate, which brings misfortune to human life. vHardy did not reject the social
17、developments which were changing people with their circumstances, but he saw the loss as well as the gain. vAnd the loss was not estimated merely in the perishing of old customs, but in the passing away of a kind of humanity which would never be replaced.the idea of fate and the critical realistic t
18、houghts in his worksvThomas Hardy has the belief that mans fate is predetermined tragic, driven by a combined force of “nature” , both inside and outside. vIn Hardys works , there is also bitter and sharp criticism of the hypocritical and unfair Victorian institutions, conventions and moral values w
19、hich strangle the individual will and destroy natural human emotions and relationships.His Artistic FeaturesvHardy is a great painter of nature. In his hand, nature assumes the form of life and becomes a most powerful , forbidding force with its own life and will. And all the works of Hardy are note
20、d for the rustic dialect and a poetic flavor, which fits well into their perfectly designed architectural structures. vHis novels had an indelible impact during his time and also till date many of his novels inspire theatre productions as well as films.vHis novels, which reflect the Victorian societ
21、y with all its idiosyncrasies, were perceived as irreligious.Tess of the DUrbervilles 德伯家的苔丝德伯家的苔丝 (1891) Plot SummaryvTess comes from a farmers family, the Durbeyfields. She has lived a poor but peaceful life. However, God, “The President of the Immoral” begins to play a cruel joke on this innocent
22、 girl. vOne day her father, John Durbeyfied learns that they are descended from the DUrbervilles, an ancient family once renowned in England. Tesss parents are in an ecstasy of delight over the news. Her mother urges Tess to claim kinship with the remaining DUrbervilles, so that Tess could marry a g
23、entleman. vUnwillingly, the girl comes in contact with the Stoke, DUrbervilles. There she meets Alec DUrbervilles, who shows off the estate and always seduces her. Having received a job of tending to chickens, Tess stays in the DUrbervilles. Her tragic life has just begun. vBefore long the rich and
24、guileful Alec manages to seduce the girl and make her pregnant. Being humiliated and resolute, Tess returns home. Despite the rumors all around, she gives birth to a child, who is called Sorrow but dies soon because of grave illness. For several weeks, Tess is overwhelmed by grief and sorrow. vNever
25、theless, without financial support, Tess has to leave home and goes to work as a dairymaid at a distant farm, where she meets Angel Claire. They have met each other before, and Tess has made a favorable impression on Angel. After Angel persistent pursuit of Tess, the two fall in love and become enga
26、ged. vThen comes the wedding night, too honest to keep any secret, Tess admits about Alec DUrbervilles and the child. She begs for forgiveness, but Angel leaves her in disgust.vTess again returns home alone, only find that her family remains impoverished and she even has no place to stay. In the mea
27、ntime, Alec DUrbervilles, the evil person appears again. He takes advantage of the Durbeyfields poverty and continues to tempt Tess. He promises to support her family, only as a means to make Tess dependent. At the end of hope, the girl jumps into the trap of the shameless man. vHowever, the tragedy
28、 has not finished yet. Angel Claire, who is remorseful for his mercilessness, comes back, but to find the cruel reality. And his arrival makes Tess even more desperate. vAfter Angel leaves, she stabs Alec in the heart and kills him. Then she follows Angel and escape with him. They manage to hide for
29、 a while in a wood before they come to Stonehenge, where she is arrested. She is hanged later. Comment on TessvIn Tess of the DUrbervilles, although Hardy told a story about a seduced woman which was a tradional one, he had created a brand new image of woman. vIn his point of view, Tess was a seduce
30、d woman with a pure heart, a victim of the old fashioned morals. She was beautiful, simple and unadorned. With the ability of toleration, she can sacrifice herself to her family. She trustsed peolpe and loved people which made her different from others. Tess was a combination of tenderness and passi
31、on. She loved Angel Claire heart and soul with all her intense emotions and 100% turst. Even though being dumped, she didnt change her mind. She never seeked fame and wealth. What she really valued was self-respectation and freedom. vShe claimed kinship with the fake DUrbervilles was to help her fam
32、ily get out of the poverty. After seduced by Alec, she went back home despite of Alecs retention instead of marrying him. vTess is the victim of this fallacy. By the sad story of Tess, Hardy announced the hypocrisy of this ethic. The soul of Tess was chast for she owned such a noble moral integrity.
33、 “No one is perfect in this world, the perfection of human being is represent on the the understand of life, the love for living, the desire of dream and the loyalty to love. But, unfortunately, the morals of capitalism are all based on egoism. This makes it totally opposite to all the faire ideals
34、of the people, and the chief offender of the death of beauty of human nature. ” Angel Claires love was idealized. His love was idealism and departed from the reality. The change of his love to Tess was concequence of the conflicton of dream and reality. His dream failed from the battle and he came b
35、ack to traditional morals. “the so-called open minded Angel Claire was not only a hypolcritical guard but also a compeletely Snobbish villain. Alec DUrbervilles was representer of the evil of the Bourgeois class. He treated Tess as if she was just a sexual partner. When Hardy shaped this character,
36、he tried to make a connection between the hypocrisy of moral and religion. Especially, in religion, woman was the source of all evils which gave a reason to the Bourgeois class to insult them. Alec DUrbervilles was also the symbol of the religion, from which we can see the link between it and Tesss
37、death. Tess of the DUrbervillesTess of the DUrbervillesvThe heroine of Hardys novel is Tess Durbeyfield, a young, beautiful woman.vIn the course of the novel, Tess meets two men who are possible suitors. Hardy characterizes Alec as an unsuitable mate while Angel is representative of the ideal.vShow
38、clips of movie and talk about how each character lives up to or fails to live up to standards of an ideal mate.Comment on TessvTesss tragedy figured that Tess was distroyed by the system of the capitalism. Therefore the meaning of Tesss tragedy was not only a personal fight but rose to the level tha
39、t all the workers should ask for human right and complaint the whole capitalism system. vIt is the capitalist invasion into the countryside and destruction of the English peasantry at the end of the 19th century.vNaturalistic tendency is strong in the novel. What Makes Alec a Bad Mate?vAlec is sexua
40、lly aggressive. He pressures Tess to kiss him, threatening her when she refuses, and kisses her randomly and unexpectedly so that she cant defend herself. According to evolutionary psychology, women do not respond favorably to sexual aggression because sexual coercion reduces their ability to be sel
41、ective in making mate choices. Alecs sexual aggression goes so far that he actually rapes Tess. vAlec is described as physically unattractive with a “swarthy complexion,” “full lips, badly moulded” with “touches of barbarism in his contours” (Hardy 50). His unattractiveness hints that he may not be
42、a healthy man, and therefore may not produce healthy offspring in addition to signaling a de-evolved state. vAlec is also not open to commitment. Tess realizes this and muses, “He marry her! On matrimony he had never once said a word” (102). Without a willingness to commit to her, Alec is not a suit
43、able mate because he can withdraw his resources at any time, possibly when she is older and less reproductively valuable and therefore would be unable to attract another mate to take his place.vAlec also, while of a higher social class than Tess, does not show any desire or capability of seeking out
44、 resources on his own account. While Tess would value the resources that Alec already possesses, she would also look for cues that would indicate that if these resources were lost, hed have the ability to seek out new ones.What Makes Angel a Good Mate?vChapter 8, milkmaidsvAngel is of a higher class
45、 than Tess, being the son of a gentleman. Social status, according to evolutionary psychology research, was linked strongly to amount of resources.vHardy describes Angel as having the capacity to “do anything he tried” indicating that he is capable of obtaining resources on his own. Angel signals hi
46、s resourcefulness by touring local farms to “acquirepractical skill in the various processes of farming”, including dairy farming (Hardy 142).vAngel is highly intelligent, with Tess “regarding Angelas an intelligence rather than as a man” (Hardy 155). Intelligence is a quality which was thought to b
47、e indicative of higher social status, and the greater ability to obtain resources.vHardy also creates Angels character so that he shows a definite desire to commit to Tess, as he repeatedly asks her to marry him. This signals to Tess that, unlike Alec who seems to want short-term and noncommittal pl
48、easure out of her, Angel wishes a long-term relationship and is willing to commit his resources to her.vAngel, unlike Alec, is good looking, therefore hinting that there are not the same concerns about ill-health or unsuitability.vAngel is also older than Tess, though not substantially so. This indi
49、cates that Tess, as predicted by Evolutionary theory, finds a slightly older and very promising man the ideal.What Makes Tess a Desirable Woman?vTess is described by Hardy as “a visionary essence of womana whole sex condensed into one typical form” (160). Therefore, Tess seems to epitomize feminine
50、beauty, meaning she possess the cues to health and youth which signal to men her reproductive value.vClare explains to Tess why she is the only woman he loves, “Distinctionconsists inbeing numbered among those who are true, chaste, honest, and pure.What Women WantvPicture your ideal partner.vWhat Wo
