Tess of the d'Urbervilles
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Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles is the tragic tale of a woman who suffers many hardships and injustices, only to meet an untimely end. Indeed, Tess is a victim of external forces throughout the novel, but she is not the only character that is forced to move by outside circumstances. In fact, Hardy infuses the entire novel with a sense of inescapable destiny, as his characters are often driven to act for reasons that they themselves have not chosen. It is the line between choice and compulsion that Hardy is most interested in, and Tess, along with several other characters in the novel, represents this struggle. Thus, in Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Hardy explores the concept of fate verses free will, as he demonstrates the way in which fate plays a role in every event that takes place. The central character of Hardy's novel, Tess Durbeyfield is an intelligent and sensitive young woman. She is considered to be the most beautiful of all the women in the village of Marlott, as Hardy describes: She was a fine and handsome girl -- not handsomer than some others, possibly -- but her mobile peony mouth and large innocent eyes added eloquence to colour and shape. She wore a red ribbon in her hair and was the only one of the white company who could boast of such a pronounced adornment. (Hardy 9) Indeed, Tess is immediately singled out as being unique, and the reader sees that she is often the center of attention. Later in the novel, she becomes the
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y thought himself the member of a simple farm family, but he now believes that fate has elevated his position. He declares, "And here have I been knocking about, year after year, from pillar to post, as if I were no more than the commonest feller in the parisha" (Hardy 2). Indeed, John believes that his fate and that of his family will be changed now that he has learned his true ancestry.
However, as Hardy demonstrates, fate is not a predictable or controllable force. Despite John's desire for fate to change his family's circumstances, they are no better off after they discover John's lineage. On the contrary, John's true ancestry brings great tragedy upon his daughter Tess, as the family relation to the d'Urbervilles leads her to work for them and introduces her to Alec. As mentioned previously, Tess's relationship with Alec does nothing but bring her pain and suffering. Thus, while John may believe that fate is smiling upon him, the reality is that it is merely toying with him (Langbaum 92).
At the same time, Hardy uses the characters who outwardly appear to exercise free will to illustrate that fate will eventually exert its power over these types of people as well. The character of Alec d'Urberville seems
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Approximate Word count = 1778
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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