Tess Of D`Urbervilles Essay Example For Students

Tess Of D`Urbervilles Essay Tess Of D`UrbervillesIf written today, Tess of the durbervilles by Thomas Hardy may have been calledJust Call Me Job or Tess: Victim of Fate. Throughout this often bleak novel, thereader is forced by Tesss circumstance to sympathize with the heroine (for lackof a better term) as life deals her blow after horrifying blow. One of thereasons that the reader is able to do so may be the fatalistic approach Hardyhas taken with the life of the main character. Hardy writes Tess as a victim ofFate. This allows the reader to not blame her for the things that happen aroundher. Much of the critical debate surrounding Tess centers around this verypoint: Is Tess a victim? Are the things that happen to Tess beyond her controlor could she have fought her way out of her circumstances? Better yet, couldHardy have written her out of her troubles or did his fatalistic approach to thenovel force him to ultimately sacrifice poor Tess? Further, Is Hardys approachto the novel and its main character truly fa talistic? In this essay, I willexplore these questions and the doctrine of Fatalism as it applies to Tess. We will write a custom essay on Tess Of D`Urbervilles specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Fatalism is defined in Websters Dictionary as the doctrine that all thingstake place by inevitable necessity (175). Fatalism is the idea that allactions are controlled by Fate, a primitive force that exists independent ofhuman wills and outside of the controls of power of a supreme being such as Godbecause God ultimately has no power; he is a creation of man who granted Him Hispower. Since He doesnt truly possess those powers, he is left without theability to alter circumstances. In short, if one subscribes to this doctrine,you believe that Fate controls how things happen and God can do nothing to saveyou, even Tess. Overall, Tess seems to go through life experiencing one negativeevent after another. Fateful incidents, overheard conversations and undeliveredletters work against her ability to control the path her life takes. Tesssfuture seems locked up from the beginning of the novel. As the story opens, wefirst meet her father and learn of Tesss ancestry: Durbeyfieldare thelineal re presentative of the ancient and knightly family of the dUrbervillesthatrenowned knight who came from Normandyif knighthood were hereditary, like abaronetcy would be Sir John (4). Somehow the reader knows almostimmediately that this knowledge isnt necessarily going to save the poor clan,especially once we learn of the Fate of Tesss ancestors: Where do wedUrbervilles live? asks Sir John to the parson who responds,You dont live anywhere. You are extinct (5). If one believes in theconcept of natural selection, they probably realize rather quickly that thisisnt the best family from which to descend. Tess seems to sense her doomedstate. This is evidenced in her identification with the dUrberville clan. Examples of this are her ability to see or hear the dUrberville Coach and herrealization of her resemblance to the dUrberville woman of the farmhouse atWellbridge: fine features were unquestionably traceable in theseexaggerated forms (277). These eerie events suggest that the fateddUrberville blood undoubtedly flows through her veins. Another example ofTesss awareness of being ill fated is when she meets Alec. Tess laments abouther fate: Had she perceived this meetings import she might have asked whyshe was doomed to be seen and converted that day by the wrong man, and not bysome other man, the right and desired one in all respects (75). She may not haveknown what to call it, but she definitely applies the doctrine of Fatalism toherself which according to author Leonard Doob is a telltale sign of a personwho feels fated: When the principal is judging himself and believes that fate is affecting him, his perception is usuallydirect: he introspects, thinks, or meditates. But he may re spond indirectly whensomeone else, an observer,, gives him information about himselfFatalism by aprincipal, therefore, is a pessimistic inevitability doctrine applied by himabout himself to himself (7). If Tess didnt start life feeling as thoughFate was working against her, there are plenty of incidents which could easilyconvince her: the death of the family horse because of her negligence, theletter of confession that slipped beneath the carpet and caused her to enterinto marriage as a deception, the death of her father, and the return of Angeljust too late. Incident after incident seem to point to only one thing: Tess wasnot meant to have a happy existence. So does Tess believe that God can save her?Throughout the novel, we see Tess moving away from God. She is appalled by theevangelical sign-painter warning of damnation and tells him that his teachingsare horriblecursingkilling refusing to believe that Godsaid such things (97). Later, realizing that God cant help her, Tessprays t o Angel confessing her new religion in a letter: It has been somuch my religion ever since we were married to be faithful to you in everythought and look (127). Even Angel seems aware that God wont save Tess,thinking as he left, But, might some say, where was Tesss guardian angel?Where was the providence of her simple faith? Perhaps, like that other god ofwhom the ironical Tishbite spoke, he was talking, or he was pursuing, or he wasin a journey, or he was sleeping and not to be awaked (93). Othercharacters seem to buy into the idea of Fate as well. At the dairy, Angelchooses Tess over the other dairymaids who love Angel as much as she does, butthe dairymaids cant be mad at Tess because it is Fate which has made thechoice: Are you sure you dont dislike me for it? said Tess in a lowvoiceI dont knowI dont know, murmured Retty Priddle. I want to hate ee;but I cannot! Thats how I feel, echoed Izz and Marian (12). Nowwe turn to the question of whether or not Hardy could have saved Tess o r if hebelieved that Fate had determined his choices. There were chances throughout thenovel for Hardy to give Tess a break and throw her a bone. He chose not to doso. Critic Arnold Kettle see this decision as a necessity: Tesss death isartistically as inevitable as JulietsShe is up against a social situationthat she can do nothing to resolve except tragically, with drastic humanloss (23). It seems that if Hardy was to have been true to his art, he hadno choice but to kill poor Tess. It would be an error in criticism, however, toclaim without a doubt that Fate is the key player in Tesss demise. In fact, Itis actually rather easy to argue the other side of the coin. Hardys fatalism isextremely flawed. When in a pinch, he often relies on coincidence to furtherbeat Tess down: Alec showing up to save Tess after the party; his reappearanceas preacher; the letter slipping under the carpet; Angel slugging a man thatturns up later as Tesss boss. One could argue that this is all a bit toocon venient. Critic Dorothy Van Ghent seems to agree saying, We have allread or heard criticism of Hardy for his excessive reliance upon coincidence inthe management of his narrativeshe appears to be too much the puppeteerworking wires or strings to make events conform to his pessimistic andfatalistic ideas (56). Hardy ultimately plays God in a novel where Godis missing and throws negative circumstances in places where they may not havebeen without his manipulation. But you still have to admit, on the whole, ourpoor Tess still seems quite fated. So is Tess and ultimately Hardy responsiblefor the things that happen to our heroine or is there something larger workingagainst her? Critic Leon Waldoff writes that It seems impossible to readthe novel with a complete disregard of the idea that Tess is somehow responsiblefor her fateThe narration is everywhere buttressed by words such as doomed,destined, and fated. But the critical linking is never made and one remainsuncertain about why Tesss fate is inevitable (135). That moment of doubtand the unresolved question is where the argument of Fatalism in Tess gains itsmomentum. One point that I feel must be made. Some argue, including my fellowclassmates, that it was destiny that bring Alec and Tess together. I would arguethat it is not destiny but Fate. Often used as a synonym for destiny, Fatediffers slightly but significantly from the idea of destiny. Author Leonard Doobexplains in his book, Inevitability, the difference between the concepts:fate is associated with doom, which usually has the same negativeconnotationthere can be no hesitation that the principal with a fataldisease will gave a negative experienceDestiny, on the other hand,frequentlyagain by no means alwayssuggests good fortune and is herewithassigned an association with positive effect (7). I think we can all agreethat Tess suffers from a deficiency of good fortune so it must be Fate, notdestiny, that continues to deal her a losing hand. There will most l ikely neverbe agreement on Tesss and Hardys ability to change the outcome of the novel. .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797 , .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797 .postImageUrl , .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797 , .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797:hover , .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797:visited , .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797:active { border:0!important; } .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797:active , .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797 .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u8daeff3c9c813305e9b27f9fe9421797:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Rosa Parks EssayNot ever really burying his flaws very deeply, Hardy seems to challenge thenotion that the flaws were necessary and lend themselves to the booksreadability. Critic Dorothy Van Ghent supports this idea writing thatHardy has, with great cunning, reinforced the necessity of the folkfatalism, and folk magicTheir philosophy and their skills in livingareindestructible, their attitudes toward events authoritatively urge a similarfatalism upon the reader, impelling him to an imaginative acceptance of thedoomrwrought series of accidents in the foreground of action (57). Itappears that Hardy intentionally left doubt as to Tesss playing into Fate or ifshe is playing a gainst it. But that is why the novel still grabs the reader likea good soap opera. Hardy, through his Fatalistic approach, invokes sympathy andconcern for poor Tess that keeps the reader turning each page in breathlessanticipation for whats next. Debate as we will, it can not be denied that Hardywrote a truly gripping novel. BibliographyDoob, Leonard. Inevitability: Determinism, Fatalism, and Destiny. New York:Greenwood Press, 1988. Hardy, Thomas. Tess of the dUrbervilles. New York:MacMillan, 1991. Kettle, Arnold. Introduction to Tess of the dUrbervilles. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Tess of the dUrbervilles. Ed. AlbertLaValley, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1969. 14-29. Van Ghent,Dorothy. On Tess of the dUrbervilles. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Tessof the dUrbervilles. Ed. Albert LaValley, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:Prentice-Hall, 1969. 48-61. Waldoff, Leon. Psychological Determinism in Tess ofthe dUrbervilles. Critical Approaches to the Fiction of Thomas Hardy. Ed. DaleKramer, London: MacMillan Press, 1979. 135-154.