Tess Of The D ' Urbervilles By Thomas Hardy

In today’s society, young girls have been taught to believe in their perfect Cinderella wedding where they will marry their Prince Charming in a beautiful dress and eventually live happily ever after. The film industry portrays marriage as picture perfect, in which every girl has their dream wedding and true love always finds its way. Contrary to the media’s view, marriage was not always a fairy-tale because women had the responsibility to help provide for their family. During the English Regency period, young girls married for financial security and social benefits to improve their family’s status. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet rebelled against this mainstream idea of marriage set by society, in order to marry for true love.

In the 1930s there were many expectations for each gender. In this time period males have an expectation to provide income. Tom is the only male in his family and must provide the income. Society's expectations is shown by, "I haven’t enjoyed one bite of this dinner because of your constant directions on how to eat it" (Williams 6). Amanda nags him in order to guide him to fit society’s standards. She will constantly nag him about how society feels and she fully supports this. People treat Tom like how every man is expected to at this time. Every day he will follow the same routine in order to fulfill what others want.

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was first published in 1813(Gary vii) a time when women had “few legal and economic rights or even receiving little respect, women can be seen as oppressed victims of a patriarchal society, subordinate first to their fathers and, then, to their husbands who had, of course, been selected by their fathers” (Swords, 76-82). At first glance one might think that Pride and Prejudice reinforces sexist stereotypes, however upon further examination of Jane Austen and her heroine Elizabeth it is clear that Pride and Prejudice in fact erodes the sexist stereotypes of women.

The author Thomas Hardy lived and wrote in a time of difficult social change, when England was making its slow and painful transition from an old-fashioned, agricultural nation to a modern, industrial one. Businessmen and entrepreneurs, or "new money," joined the ranks of the social elite, as some families of the ancient aristocracy, or "old money," faded into obscurity. Hardy 's novel Tess of the d 'Urbervilles clearly illustrates his views on the harsh social changes in his time period, which were the exact opposite of many of his conservative and status-conscious readers. In the novel, Hardy mocks the power of high class society and industrialization, as well as to the importance of lineage and heritage in conjunction with social

Once an individual has been molded by society, it is very hard to change their behavior. Despite being in a society that undermines women, Tessie speaks against the lottery and as a result is stoned to death.

Once the Hutchinson family was chosen by the black dot, Tessie’s attitude towards the occasion changed. She became agitated and insisted on, “[starting] over,” (paragraph 62) to lessen her chances of winning. In fact, she suggested something most mothers would scorn her for--adding her daughter and son-in-law, Eva and Don, so they could, “take their chance.” (paragraph 51) Finally, the winner of the lottery was announced, and it was Tessie. Her attitude changed again from slightly agitated to furious and scared as she screamed, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right!” (paragraph 81)

Tess tries to show excitement to Mick, her current boyfriend, after starting her new job as an assistant for Katherine Parker. Katherine explains to Tess their relationship is a “two way street,” essentially making Tess believe that working for her first female employer will easier while even holding the possibility of advancing her career. With every reason to be joyful, Tess could not wait to Tell Mick about the new opportunity, but Mick is a sexist 80s working man in the 1980s: getting the pizza home before it gets cold has more importance than his girlfriend’s career. Cyndy is not supportive of Tess either—something uncharacteristic of a best friend. As the film progresses, Tess receives a visit from Cindy at work while working on a big deal for Trask Industries. Cyndy has witnessed Tess’s extraordinary and questionable strategy to make it big, and Cyndy confronts her. Acknowledging her recklessness, Tess swears that she will come clean when the time is right and that she knows what she is doing. Cyndy replies, “Yeah, so do I. Screwin' up your life!” (59) Although Tess has no moral support, she seizes the opportunity and eventually thrives. Mick and Cyndy are both limited by a lack of vision and ambition, and Nichols’ negative portrayal of these working-class stiffs further suggests that the film has a pro-capitalist agenda. Nichols infers that if you have the resourcefulness like Tess, you can succeed in America. Mick and Cyndy, on the other hand, are

Tess also struggles between the proper course and her own desires. She was born poor and, as a woman in a rigid social hierarchy, is expected to remain poor. Her heart, however, chooses to reject normal conventions as Tess falls madly in love with the wealthy Angel Clare. Angel himself has broken away from orthodoxy and, rather than being repulsed by her lowly status, becomes enamored by Tess’s beauty and humble charm. Unfortunately, the couple finds their love is not enough as the relationship is at the mercy of Angel’s parents’ opinion. As influential members of the

Moreover, the town who originally made Tess feel like an outsider was shown from the start. The fact that she is late to the lottery and yet still eager is the first sign of showing that she did not fit in with her community. Even though the town treated her tardiness in an abundant way, several people did not and felt the need to say a comment, “in voices just loud enough to be heard across the crowd, ‘Here comes your Missus Hutchinson,’” (433). Another example that displays how the town acted in not so nice way towards Tess and her

Life in general consists of such a magnificent variety of creatures known and unknown to the world, it is impossible to understand them all. The life of these organisms does not only exist for the continuation of their species, but also for the enjoyment of life. Nevertheless, they all balance their own desires and responsibilities within their mundane lives. Yet, In the human experience pleasing one’s self is the main objective in many lives. The thought of money overwhelms the thoughts of many. Similarly, today when students try to choose a future career, many weigh the salary of that specific occupation much more than their true desire for happiness. In 1929, the Great Depression devastated the American economy due to the recent technology

Some various symbols in the passage that are used to support the theme is the following: Greed, Text to Self, Civil action. The way that these conflict the theme is by greed giving the villagers the “action” to not care about another family to win. Also, text to self because Tesse is always believing if it doesn’t go her way then “it’s not fair.” (which in the story is why she gets hit in the head with a stone) Next, civil action is hugely displayed by the villagers just believing that their families deserve the money and no one else. So the reason these following 3 elements are important is to show you that a village can get turned upside down in a flash. Next the characterization of the villagers are important because their action is towards

Both her community and Angel strongly criticize Tess for her rape, which was not her sin but Alec's. She is seen as someone to be criticized and cast aside because of a terrible thing was done to her, rather than something she did herself. Her final execution draws attention to the feeling that (community of people/all good people in the world), situation/event, and some external force, whether Thomas Tough and strong or a god, have been working against her the whole time as the narrator, he also manages to appear as her only advocate against an unjust world. Tess's hardships are described as mere sport for the “President of the Immortals,” which contrasts with the Christian idea of a God who has a benevolent plan for everyone, and connects with the notes of paganism throughout the novel. Hardy points out and emphasizes the multiple unhappy coincidences that take place, like Tess overhearing Angel's brothers instead of meeting his father. The story keeps asking the age-old question “why do bad things happen to good people?” Hardy even muses over the possibility that Tess's sufferings are a punishment for her ancestors' crimes, or else that some murderous strain is in her blood, foreshadowed by the d'Urberville coach.

Throughout the book, Hilly is seen as a being very vindictive. When anyone does something she doesn’t like in the story, she goes out of

     Thomas Hardy often alludes to his heroine as the "soft and silent Tess."  "Soft" certainly insinuates her beauty, which Harrtainly insinuates her beauty, which Hardy stresses as her downfall.  However, it seems that Tess's silence is the all-pervading reason for her tragedies.  "The two men she encounters in her life steal her voice: one with violence, the other with his own language"(Jacobus 47).  Tess struggles with the damage that these men cause until redeeming herself through innocence.

A similar conflict occurs in Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Tess, defined by sexuality, is characterized as a "lush bit of nature, a sexual being" (S. Morgan, 43). In contrast with this sexuality, Tess possesses certain qualities inherent in ma les. The thriving passion of Tess serves two purposes in Hardy's novel. In her defiance of the Victorian ideal Tess is empowered and strengthened. This passionate sexuality also results in her isolation from society and ultimately her death.