Analysis Of Thomas Hardy 's ' Tess Of The D ' Urbervilles

“In religion // What damned error, but some sober brow // Will bless it, and approve it with a text // Hiding the grossness with fair ornament?” writes William Shakespeare in the Merchant of Venice. Since Christianity’s founding, the religion has often been plagued with corruption and intrigue. Hardy, like Shakespeare, held a jaded view of Christianity in society and was skeptical of its power and morality. In Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy employs biblical allusions, color symbolism, and ironic characterization, to illustrate that religion is often laden with hypocrisy and evils of its own, leading to corruption within the church and corruption of its teachings.

In Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles, he writes of a girl named Tess. Tess is a beautiful independent young lady who struggles with bad luck and irresponsibility. Hardy adds to the plot of bad luck by writing about two boys: Angel and Alec who both strive to have Tess’s heart. By the end of the book, it is pretty obvious that neither of the boys deserve Tess, but Hardy wrote this for the readers to decide who was better. This novel creates a feeling of an old-time bachelorette love story that leaves the readers clueless; however, in the end, Angel is a much better candidate for Tess than Alec is.

Sitting back in his chair Yi Xing took a deep breath and stared at his monitor with a smile on his face happy with the work he had done. Today, Yi Xing finished memorizing everything in Naruto going from jutsus to character descriptions, bloodlines and so on.

Gloria Steinem, a women’s rights activist during the 1960’s and 1970’s reveals she “was never against marriage per se. Before feminism, [she] didn’t think [she] had any choice” (qtd. in Hass). Steinem is a strong feminist and advocate for women’s rights; however, she used to believe that when it comes to marriage, women simply had no choice. Similarly, women in nineteenth century England had little power in the decision, as families married off their daughters as quickly as possible and to the wealthiest man who proposed. Women followed the societal norms and did not marry for love, but instead married young and hopefully to an affluent man to avoid any judgement from society. In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Austen illustrates her disapproval of women who conform to the societal norms for marriage by demonstrating how their marriages are eventually unhappy.

Throughout human history, one element has been involved in every culture. This element is religion, or the belief of a higher power. Religion has shown up time and time again in literature, specifically in the Romantic and Victorian periods. The Romantic period in British literature spans the years of 1780-1830. This period witnesses growth in the access to literature because authors begin to write in a common language for the everyday man. A main focus in this time frame is rebellion from the industrialization of the time and the praise of nature (Rogers 274). The Victorian period is the consecutive period in British literature that lasts from around 1830-1901. This period has more of a traditional viewpoint and addresses many topics, such as religious doubt (Brantlinger 1). These two periods are connected through their use of religion. Although religion may first seem to serve a set function, this literary element is actually utilized in many different forms throughout poetry. Initially, one would think that the Romantic period and the Victorian period would have opposing viewpoints on spirituality. However, these two seemingly unalike periods are very similar in their use of religion. Works from the Romantic period, as well as from the Victorian period, are saturated with religious references in literature.

The Romance of the Rose was written in the 13th century by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun. De Lorris was a French poet that wrote the first section of the poem, while De Meun was a French author that wrote the second section. After de Lorris wrote the first section, he died, which lead to de Meun finishing it. Their parts are related but have many differences. As de Lorris’ section is very comprehendible, de Meuns’ is vaguer and requires more critical thinking. The poem has created an abundance of arguments surrounding the topic of a women’s dignity and role. These arguments had immense impacts on today’s pop culture. The book developed the notion of love not being an emotion, but more of a pose. They did this by making characteristics, such as Courtesy, Beauty, and Wealthy, as characters themselves to see how they would act in certain circumstances. This helps the reader believe that the authors are trying to display how these traits are treated in real life.

For those who haven 't learned the truth of what happened in the garden. It is a crucial teaching to learn that makes the whole bible come more alive , among other teachings that aren 't taught in your average church

In the beginning of the nineteenth century, several aspects of life were coming together for those that lived in Europe, and especially for those that lived in England. The Scientific Revolution had ended in the late seventeenth century; consequently, leaving the lingering aspects of science as a proven way to show that some ideologies of the Catholic Church were incorrect. The Enlightenment of the late eighteenth century had caused all of England and Europe to decide where to let their lives lead them in terms of faith; either towards Christianity, or towards Protestantism. The final time period that had a major impact on the English and European society was the Industrial Revolution,

Kant thinking was used in Britain to challenge the decline in religious faith in the nineteenth century.

Zhuangzi is one of the few defining figures of Chinese Taoism. He was probably the author of only some parts of the text that is found today and considered as a source of inner spirituality. The chapters are only the first seven chapters of the text. Most of his work was written and compiled by other thinkers and followers of his who had similar views yet different speculative bearings. The work of the founding figures of Taoism when compared is a puzzle. The life of Zhuangzi can only be surmised from the present text. However, the text fails to provide confirmation to the traditional story which has been speculated upon for centuries. Archeological evidence and discoveries, on the contrary, make it plausible that Zhuangzi was the

Even though Tess could conveniently be labelled as a typical “fallen woman” who not only has premarital sexual relationship and gives birth to an illegitimate child but also later on “cannily” marries a gentleman without telling him about her past, the author has an exceptional sympathy for her. This obvious discrepancy could be explained by a different set of values Hardy and the public apply to Tess’s case and also by the fact that Tess’s fall and her other sins are most of the time not her fault at all. At the beginning of the novel Tess is an innocent but strong girl who wishes to do well in life. She is not rebelling against her role as a woman and even when she is forced into the category of a fallen woman, she does not object. Even though she often appears as a passive victim of circumstances, internally she is not passive, she is just convinced that her fight is pointless so she does not fight

Hardy shows very clearly that Jude’s intellectual ambitions are not hampered by society alone. The duality of his character is also responsible, and the incompatibility of head and heart, spirit and flesh is strongly emphasized.

“A Tale of Two Cities,” written by Charles Dickens, is a historical novel set during the French Revolution. 17-year-old French orphan, Lucie Manette, discovers that her father, Doctor Alexandre Manette is alive. Recently, Doctor Alexandre Manette has been released from imprisonment in Paris after 18 years. Later, Lucie meets and falls in love with Englishman Charles Darnay, who is hiding his true identity, Charles Evremonde. Furthermore, Lawyer Sydney Carton defends Darnay in courts for charges of treason against England. However, Carton falls in love with Lucie, Darnay’s Fiance, and declares to do whatever it takes to ensure her happiness. Even if it means continuously saving Darnay from legal issues. This novel follows the historical events of the overthrow of French Monarchy and the rise of authoritarian power.

Thomas Hardy – together with D.H.Lewrence represents the naturalistic trend in literature. He understands hard life of common people, hates hypocrisy and brutal egoism of the rich, his work is ironical and pessimistic

Thomas Hardy, the author of Jude the Obscure, focuses on multiple themes throughout his book including social order and higher learning which is mainly seen in the first part of the book. Jude, a working class boy aiming to educate himself, dreams of a high level education at a university, but is pushed away by the cruel and rigid social order. In the second part of the book, Jude abandons his idea of entering Christminster and the focus shifts to Sue. The themes of love, marriage, freedom replace the earlier theme of education and idealism. Hardy pushes each of these themes to his audience and challenges everyday ideology by his audacious story about Jude Hawley.