Hardy 's Tess : An Indictment Of Victorian Sexuality And Gender Ideology

During the 19th century female authors were commonly degraded especially when books had a sexual nature. A now notable biography from this period is Charlotte Brontё’s “Jane Eyre”, a detailed account of the life of a young girl that blossoms into adulthood having to face the challenges and social norms of the time. In many works of literature a character intentionally deceives others to either hurt or offer protection. In “Jane Eyre” a character intentionally deceives a loved one with the intention to protect everyone including himself. This particular deception plays a large role in developing the characters of the narrative and the plot development, contributing to the work as a whole.

As C. Sykes examines Victorian literature in his essay, he recognizes that many authors reveal gender issues. While some define characters by his or “her marital status,” others reveal inequality through “female capabilities” (Sykes). Victorian literature, like Bronte’s Jane Eyre, reveal gender

In the novel Tess of the D 'Urbervilles, Hardy places several barriers in the way of Tess and her quest for love. One of the barriers Tess encounters is religion, this barrier is not only associated with Angel but with Sorrow her, illegitimate, child. Another barrier that arises in the novel is class divisions between Tess, Angel and Alec. Tess feels she is not worthy of Angle due to his superior intellect and his middle-class background. whereas Alec abuses his higher class status to subdue and abuse Tess. The final barrier is the expected role of women in the Victorian times. it was a role that dictated they should be pure and virginal girls who were seen and not heard. Hardy holds Tess as a woman pure in heart who stands against the restricting views of the church and society.

Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre embraces many feminist views in opposition to the Victorian feminine ideal. Charlotte Bronte herself was among the first feminist writers of her time, and wrote this book in order to send the message of feminism to a Victorian-Age Society in which women were looked upon as inferior and repressed by the society in which they lived. This novel embodies the ideology of equality between a man and woman in marriage, as well as in society at large. As a feminist writer, Charlotte Bronte created this novel to support and spread the idea of an independent woman who works for herself, thinks for herself, and acts of her own accord.

Despite being an era defined by its conservatism and strong sense of repression, progressive and subversive notions of gender can indeed be found in Victorian works, including those written by male authors. Thomas Hardy, arguably the most controversial novelist of his time, depicted gender and sexuality in a completely foreign way to Victorian ideals, leading to much of the controversy around him. Though many scholars argue vehemently that he cannot be classified as a feminist writer, it is undeniable that he placed women in roles most authors would not dare to, and openly expressed sexuality in ways that completely ignored the societal rules of Victorian propriety. Through his depiction and support of androgynous character roles and the

The Victorian generation was a time of harsh restraints on sexuality for everyone, but in particular women. It was a time when sexual repression used to be viewed as an best trait of the well-bred girl. In an technology when the subjects of the time were "the cult of true womanhood" and the "code of chivalry" it was once to be expected that ladies could be sexually ignorant and repressed. For the period of Victorian instances, as a way to be considered a woman, one would abstain from normal wish. In other words, no sex, and only virgins were viewed appropriate ladies.

The confinement of characteristics deemed feminine and masculine to women and men, respectively, has transcended throughout history. And as the aforementioned confinement has transcended history, the opinions on this matter have too transcended history. One of the ways this is reflected is through works of literature. Take, for example, Pride and Prejudice, where this gender conformity is accepted through the characters of Jane Austen, in comparison to a novel published by Emily Brontë within the same era, Wuthering Heights, where this conformity is criticized.

Ultimately, Tess is unable to overcome these injustices and her life ends tragically. Through his sympathetic protagonist Tess, Thomas Hardy suggests that unfair societal norms can lead to tragic human consequences. Hardy wants his readers to challenge and change their society’s norms and become a more modernized society. While the world has advanced and changed greatly since 19th century Victorian times, some things still remain the same. Sadly, the economic and gender injustices that existed in Tess’s world still exists today in the 21st century; men can commit sexual crimes against women and still get away with it, with little or no punishment because women still feel helpless against men who are wealthier and thus more

Jane Eyre, often interpreted as a bildungsroman, or a coming-of-age story, goes further than the traditional “happy ending,” commonly represented by getting married. Instead, the novel continues beyond this romantic expectation to tell full the story of Jane’s life, revealing her continual dissatisfaction with conventional expectations of her social era; as a result, many literary critics have taken it upon themselves to interpret this novel as a critique of the rigid class system present in 19th century Victorian society. One literary critic in particular, Chris R. Vanden Bossche, analyzes Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre through a Marxist lens, asserting the importance of class structure and social ideology as historical context and attributing this to the shaping of the novel as a whole. This approach of analysis properly addresses Brontë’s purposeful contrast of submission and rebellion used to emphasize Jane’s determined will for recognition as an equal individual.

Melia’s ostracized life is demonstrated through the depiction of language and Victorian morality views; the relationship between labelling and Melia’s ‘ruined’ self is established within the time that the poem was published. Thomas Hardy being a late Victorian poet furthers this ideology of ostracized women in the Victorian era with the use of his inscription. In the Victorian era, it was considered socially acceptable to have women who had premarital sex publically shamed by wearing certain garments and acting a certain way on the streets (Prostitution of Young Females in London). People who behaved toward the act and semblance of prostitution were then scorned because it was a symbol of impurity and tainted life (Prostitution of Young Females in London). Premarital sex was one of the worst things that a woman could do because they would ‘ruin’ their chances of achieving a normal life.

In his novel Tess of the d'Ubervilles, as well as much of his poetry, Thomas Hardy expresses his dissatisfaction, weariness, and an overwhelming sense of injustice at the cruelty of our universal fate - disappointment and disillusionment. Hardy argues that the hopes and desires of Men are cruelly thwarted by a potent combination of "all-powerful Nature, fate, unforeseen accidents and disasters, and tragic flaws" (Mickelson 32). Although Tess, the heroine of the novel, is fully realized with physical, emotional, and mental attributes, grasping desperately to be her own master, she is nevertheless overpowered, becoming a victim of circumstance, nature,

Art in its various forms has developed throughout history in response to changing political trends, philosophical movements, and even technological advances. With the invention of the camera and its increased use in the Victorian era, photography became a recognized art form. As with most forms of technology that infiltrate society, photography since its creation in 1839 has brought about startlingly negative consequences. There is an ethical, moral question one must ask himself or herself – where should the line be drawn in respect to photographing children? The Victorians captured an incalculable amount of images of dead children, nude children, and children in provocative poses. When an

The novel by Thomas Hardy was originally, Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman, was written in the Victorian Age when English society had strict moral codes. As Vimala Pasupathi states, “the codes were in fact harsher for women, who were expected to conform to one of three rigid ideals: the innocent virgin, saintly mother, or dutiful wife” (xi). Thomas later removed “A Pure Woman” from the title to read, Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Throughout the novel, Tess tries to find a way to overcome the burdens she carries from her parents (John and Joan Durbeyfield), Alec d’Urberville, and Angel Clare and maintain her Victorian Era image of being a morally pure woman.

Hardy’s novels often appeal to the readers on account of the philosophy of life that they offer. To be more precise and direct, the readers’ response depends on the philosophy of life as they receive from the novels. Most often the discussion happens on why and how Hardy constructs his plots leaning more on to ‘Fate’, ‘Destiny’, ‘Chance’ and ‘Coincidence’. When we put these terms in a proper perspective for better understanding, any incidence is a coincidence as it happens due to chance and it is received as destiny which is the imposition of fate. So, one way of understanding is that ‘coincidence’ is the visible manifestation of fate and ‘fate’ is the invisible source of all coincidences. ‘Chance’ and ‘destiny’ are the interpretative tools or assumptions that try to explain the causative link between ‘coincidence’ and ‘fate’. The present article aims at highlighting the significance of ‘coincidences’ that have lead to a series of tragic events in the life of Tess and make the novel seemingly unreasonable but highly impacting on the minds of the readers.

In Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d’Urbervilles (published in 1891), Hardy portrays his heroine, Tess, as an innocent and poor country girl; a symbolic version of the rural women of the era who were mercilessly down-trodden in a male-dominated world, and who, when abused, were blamed for it. This novel has evoked generations of readers’ sympathy because of Hardy's portrayal of Tess’s tragic fate and her life journey as a victim of both individuals and the society she was born into. Since the first publication of this novel many critics have analyzed the source of Tess’ tragedy and downfall.