Thomas-Hardy介绍

1、1,Thomas Hardy托马斯哈代(18401928 ),A Greatest Victorian novelist,2,Thomas Hardy is last important novelist and poet of the 19th century. Living at the turn of the century. Hardy is often regarded as a transitional writer. In him we see the influence from both the past and the modern. His literary genius

2、 is apparent in his poems and novels. Current scholars believe Hardy to be one of the greatest tragic novelists of English literature.,3,June 2, 1840 Thomas Hardy was born to Thomas and Jemima Hardy at Higher Bockhampton Dorset.,4,Thomas and Jemima Hardy,5,Thomas Hardy(18401928 ),Born and brought up

3、 in Dorset, an agricultural district in the south of England, which he called Wessex（韦塞克斯） in his book.,Permeated 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.,6,Hardys Cottage,7,8,9,10,1848-5

4、6 Educated on different schools The National School (Church of England) in Lower Bockhampton, the British School in Dorchester.,11,1856-62 Apprenticed as an architect for four years to John Hicks.,12,1962Started working for Arthur Blomfield in London. 1863Awarded a cash prize for architecture. Did n

5、ot accept the cash prize.,13,September 17, 1874 Married Emma Gifford.,14,1912 Death of Emma Hardy.,15,February, 6, 1914 Married Florence Dugdale,16,The home that Hardy built in Dorchester,17,Hardy dies at the age of 87 on January 10,1928. His body was buried in Westminster Abbey, whereas his heart w

6、as buried in Stinsford Churchyard.,18,Westminster Abbey,19,Poets Corner,20,Novels,He 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”,21,“novels of character and environment” is th

7、e most outstanding,The Return of the Native 还乡记 The Mayor of Casterbridge卡斯特桥市长 Tess of the Durbervilles 苔丝 Jude the Obscure 无名的裘德 Under the Greenwood Tree绿荫下 Far From the Madding Crowd远离尘嚣,22,But Tess and Jude were given a hostile reception by the bourgeois public.,Outrage,Hardys skepticism : This

8、was particularly true when he began 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.,23,Outr

9、age,Many readers of Jude the Obscure reacted 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 marria

10、ge. After Jude the Obscure, Hardy never wrote another novel.,24,outrage,Soon afterwards he began the process of destroying the evidence of his past, long before his executors enthusiastically continued the task. (Within days of the death of Thomas Hardy in 1928, the executors of his estate made a bo

11、nfire of his letters and notebooks at his Dorchester home),Many of Hardys books and letters were burnt,25,A Poet & A Novelist,He wrote much poetry in the last thirty years of his life and remains a highly regarded poet and novelist.,26,Wessex,27,Wessex Works,Wessex novels: novels describing the char

12、acters and environment of his native countryside. Their 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.,28,It was in the chapte

13、rs 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 called

14、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.,29,Works: fatalistic mood,This, and his loss of religious faith which

15、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.,30,Hardy did not reject the social developments which were cha

16、nging people with their circumstances, but he saw the loss as well as the gain. And 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.,31,the idea of fate and the critical realistic thoughts in his works,Tho

17、mas Hardy has the belief that mans fate is predetermined tragic, driven by a combined force of “nature” , both inside and outside. In Hardys works , there is also bitter and sharp criticism of the hypocritical and unfair Victorian institutions, conventions and moral values which strangle the individ

18、ual will and destroy natural human emotions and relationships.,32,His Artistic Features,Hardy 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 noted for the rustic dial

19、ect and a poetic flavor, which fits well into their perfectly designed architectural structures.,33,His novels had an indelible impact during his time and also till date many of his novels inspire theatre productions as well as films. His novels, which reflect the Victorian society with all its idio

20、syncrasies, were perceived as irreligious.,34,Tess of the DUrbervilles 德伯家的苔丝 (1891),35,Plot Summary,Tess 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 girl. One day her

21、 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 gentleman. Unwilling

22、ly, 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.,36,Before long the rich and guileful Alec mana

23、ges 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. Nevertheless, without fi

24、nancial 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 engaged. Then comes the

25、 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.,37,Tess again returns home alone, only find that her family remains impoverished and she even has no place to stay. In the meantime, Alec DUrbe

26、rvilles, 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. However, the tragedy has not finished

27、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. After Angel leaves, she stabs Alec in the heart and kills him. Then she follows Angel and escape with him. They manage to hide for a while in a wood

28、before they come to Stonehenge, where she is arrested. She is hanged later.,38,Comment on Tess,In 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. In his point of view, Tess was a seduced woman with a pu

29、re 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 passion. She loved Ang

30、el 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. She claimed kinship with the fake DUrbervilles was to help her family get out of the

31、 poverty. After seduced by Alec, she went back home despite of Alecs retention instead of marrying him. Tess is the victim of this fallacy. By the sad story of Tess, Hardy announced the hypocrisy of this ethic.,39,The soul of Tess was chast for she owned such a noble moral integrity. “No one is perf

32、ect 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 of the people, a

33、nd 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 back to tradition

34、al 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, he tried to make

35、 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 death.,40,Tess o

36、f the DUrbervilles,The heroine of Hardys novel is Tess Durbeyfield, a young, beautiful woman. In 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. Show clips of movie and talk about how eac

37、h character lives up to or fails to live up to standards of an ideal mate.,41,Comment on Tess,Tesss 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 that all the workers should ask for

38、human right and complaint the whole capitalism system. It is the capitalist invasion into the countryside and destruction of the English peasantry at the end of the 19th century. Naturalistic tendency is strong in the novel.,42,What Makes Alec a Bad Mate?,Alec is sexually aggressive. He pressures Te

39、ss 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 selective in making mate choices.

40、Alecs sexual aggression goes so far that he actually rapes Tess. Alec 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 a healthy man, and therefore may

41、 not produce healthy offspring in addition to signaling a de-evolved state. Alec 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 suitable mate because he can withdraw

42、 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. Alec also, while of a higher social class than Tess, does not show any desire or capability of seeking out resources on his own account. Wh

43、ile 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.,43,What Makes Angel a Good Mate?,Chapter 8, milkmaids Angel is of a higher class than Tess, being the son of

44、a gentleman. Social status, according to evolutionary psychology research, was linked strongly to amount of resources. Hardy describes Angel as having the capacity to “do anything he tried” indicating that he is capable of obtaining resources on his own. Angel signals his resourcefulness by touring

45、local farms to “acquirepractical skill in the various processes of farming”, including dairy farming (Hardy 142). Angel is highly intelligent, with Tess “regarding Angelas an intelligence rather than as a man” (Hardy 155). Intelligence is a quality which was thought to be indicative of higher social

46、 status, and the greater ability to obtain resources. Hardy 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 pleasure out of her, Angel wish

47、es a long-term relationship and is willing to commit his resources to her. Angel, unlike Alec, is good looking, therefore hinting that there are not the same concerns about ill-health or unsuitability. Angel is also older than Tess, though not substantially so. This indicates that Tess, as predicted

48、 by Evolutionary theory, finds a slightly older and very promising man the ideal.,44,What Makes Tess a Desirable Woman?,Tess is described by Hardy as “a visionary essence of womana whole sex condensed into one typical form” (160). Therefore, Tess seems to epitomize feminine beauty, meaning she posse

49、ss the cues to health and youth which signal to men her reproductive value. Clare explains to Tess why she is the only woman he loves, “Distinctionconsists inbeing numbered among those who are true, chaste, honest, and pure.,45,What Women Want,Picture your ideal partner. What Women Want? What Men Wa

50、nt?,46,Resources (money, skills, goods) or the potential to get them. In our past, the ability to get food or provide shelter, meant the difference between death or survival. Social status in our hunter-gatherer times was indicative of the ownership of valuable resources, therefore women prefer men

51、of higher social status. Women also value education in a mate because education is, according to Buss, “strongly linked with social status”. Because both status and wealth “accumulate with increasing age” women prefer men who are older than them. In a study of 37 cultures, women preferred a man who was an average of 3.5 years older. While they prefer older men, women prefer men showing “considerable promise” rather than