Abstract：Thomas Hardy is a famous critical realist writer at the turn of the 19th century. Tess of the D’Urbervilles which was published in 1891 is the most influential masterpiece of all his works. In this novel, Hardy demonstrates his deep sense of moral sympathy for England’s lower class, particularly for rural women. Under Hardy’s pen, the heroine Tess was created as a beautiful, innocent and pure woman, who had the quality of endurance and self-sacrifice. Tess has long been regarded as the most exceptional woman character in English literature. However, the life of this pure woman was tragic. First, she was seduced, then abandoned and finally driven to murder for which she was hanged. Tess’s tragedy is not accidental. Living in a society overwhelmed by capitalist law, hypocritical morality and ethics and social evil forces, Tess, a poor peasant girl, inevitably led a tragic life and finally went to her collapse. In addition, two persons who were very closely related to Tess’s fate, Alec and Angel, directly and indirectly affected her. Moreover, the weakness in Tess’s character was also responsible for her tragic ending. Tess fought against the society helplessly. In the end, she turned out to be the sacrificial victim of the society like all other things which disobey the morality and ethics. Thus, in this paper, the author tries to analyze the various causes of Tess’s tragedy.

Keywords: Hardy, Tess, tragic fate, causes

Contents

摘要

Abstract

Chapter 1 Introduction-1

1.1. The Purpose and the Content of the Thesis-1

1.2. Literature Review-1

Chapter 2 Introduction of Thomas Hardy and His Tess of the D’Urbervilles-3

2.1. The Introduction of Thomas Hardy-3

2.2. The Introduction of Tess of the D’Urbervilles-4

3.1. Social Causes-5

3.1.1. Poverty-5

3.1.2. Unequal Morality for Female-5

3.1.3. Unequal Legal System-6

3.2. Education and Parents-6

3.3.Analysis of the Major Characters-6

3.3.1. Alec D’Urbervilles-6

3.3.2. Angel Clare-7

3.3.3.Tess Herself-8

3.3.3.1 Her Oversensitiveness-8

3.3.3.2 Her Sense of Responsibility-8

3.3.3.3. Her Rebellion and Compromise-9

Chapter 4  Conclusion-10

References-11

Acknowledgements-12