德伯家的苔丝主题分析.doc

An analysis of the themes in Tess of the DUrbervilles 对小说德伯家的苔丝中主题的分析 外国语学院英语071班 何璇 200710074127Abstract: Just as “There are one thousand Hamlet in one thousand readers hearts”, there are many different kinds of interpretations of the themes in Tess of the DUrbervilles, the most famous novel of Thomas Hardy. This paper is going to analyze the themes from three different angles and help the readers have a better understanding of both the author and the unique work.Key words：theme、Tess of the DUrbervilles1 Introduction Thomas Hardy was born in 1840 in a small town in Dorset in southwestern England. As a boy, he memorized all the services, and this knowledge lays a good foundation of the frequent references on religion in his works. Although at the age of sixteen, his formal studies stopped, he continued to educate himself. During his spare time, he studied widely: language, literature, history, philosophy and art. At the age of 22, he went to London where he wrote the first of his poems to make a living. In 1867 he returned to Dorset and then he began to write novels and stories. All Hardys novels were written during the next 28 years. In 1928, Hardy died in Dorset and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Tess of the DUrbervilles, usually shorted as Tess, is the most famous novel of Thomas Hardy. Focusing on the tragic experience of its heroine Tess, the plot of story develops closely with the Angel-Tess-Alec triangle.2 Analysis of the theme in Tess of the DUrbervilles2.1 Theme1: The Injustice of ExistenceUnfairness dominates the lives of Tess and her family to such an extent that it begins to seem like a general aspect of human existence in Tess of the DUrbervilles. Tess does not mean to kill Alec, but she is punished anyway, just as she is unfairly punished for her own rape by Alec. “Christianity teaches that there is compensation in the afterlife for unhappiness suffered in this life, but the only devout Christian encountered in the novel may be the reverend Mr. Clare, who seems more or less content in his life anyway.”（see /question/6445827.html）. The converted Alec preaches heavenly justice for earthly sinners, but his faith seems shallow and insincere. “Generally, the moral atmosphere of the novel is not Christian justice at all, but injustice.”(see Ma Shikui 2001：76-78)The forces that rule human life are absolutely unpredictable and not necessarily kind to us. The pre-Christian rituals practiced by the farm workers at the opening of the novel, and Tesss final rest at Stonehenge at the end, remind us of a world where the gods are not just and fair, but changeable and uncaring. When the narrator concludes the novel with the statement that “Justice was done, and the President of the Immortals had ended his sport with Tess,”(see Tomas Hardy 2006:450) we are reminded that justice must be put in ironic quotation marks, since it is not really just at all. “Justice” is in fact one of the pagan gods enjoying a bit of “sport,” or a frivolous game.2.2Theme2: Changing Ideas of Social Class in Victorian EnglandTess of the dUrbervilles presents complex pictures of both the importance of social class in nineteenth-century England and the difficulty of defining class in any simple way. In the Victorian context, cash speaks louder than lineage, which explains how Simon Stokes, Alecs father, was easily able to use his large fortune to exchange a loyal family name and transform his clan into the Stoke-DUrbervilles. The DUrbervilles pass for what the Durbeyfields truly arereal nobilitysimply because definitions of class have changed.The issue of class confusion even affects Angel, who is intent on becoming a farmer and marrying a milkmaid, thus bypassing the traditional privileges of a Cambridge education and a parsonage. His willingness to work side by side with the farm laborers helps endear him to Tess, and their acquaintance would not have been possible if he were a more traditional and outstanding nobleman. Thus, the three main characters in the “Angel-Tess-Alec triangle”（see /thread-120210-1-1.html）are all strongly marked by confusion regarding their respective social classes, an issue that is one of the main concerns of the novel.2.3 Theme3: Men Dominating WomenOne of the recurrent themes of the novel is the way in which men can dominate women. Sometimes this command is purposeful, in the mans full knowledge of his exploitation. Alecs act of abuse, the most life-altering event that Tess experiences in the novel, is clearly the most serious instance of male domination over a female. But there are other, less “public” examples of womens passivity toward dominant men. When, after Angel reveals that he prefers Tess, Tesss friend Retty attempts suicide and her friend Marian becomes an alcoholic. This devotion is not merely fanciful love, but unhealthy obsession. These girls appear utterly dominated by a desire for a man who does not even realize that they are interested in him. “This sort of unconscious male domination of women is perhaps even more unsettling than Alecs outward and self-conscious cruelty.”(see Dong Duijia 2005:132)Even Angels love for Tess, as pure、deep and gentle as it seems, dominates her in an unhealthy and torturous way. Angel substitutes an idealized picture of Tesss country purity for the real-life woman that he continually refuses to get to know. When Angel calls Tess names like “Daughter of Nature” and “Artemis” (see Hardy T 2006:236), we feel that he may be denying her true self in favor of a mental image that he prefers. Thus, her identity and experiences are suppressed, though unknowingly. This pattern of male domination is finally reversed with Tesss murder of Alec. Of course, this act only leads to even greater suppression of a woman by men, when the crowd of male police officers arrest Tess at Stonehenge. Nevertheless, for just a moment, the pattern of submissive women bowing to dominant men is interrupted, and Tesss act seems heroic.Conclusion Nothing in the world is fixed and immovable, so as the themes in