Abstract

Thomas Hardy is a famous British novelist of critical realism. In Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Hardy describes her miserable life, reveals the tragedy of British society at that time. Because of the social, family, others factors and her own character, Tess turns into a fallen woman from a simple, pure, kind-hearted country girl, and eventually becomes a victim of the society. This paper analyzes the causes of Tess's tragic fate from three aspects: society, destiny and character. Tess of the D’Urbervilles reflects the pain and humiliation that women have suffered, and makes readers to reflect on the fate of women. 

Key words: Tess; tragedy; fate

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction1

2. Literature Review.2

3. Analysis of the Causes of Tess’s Tragedy4 

   3.1 Analysis of the social background5

   3.1.1 The lower class of society6

   3.1.2 The unfair treatment from society7

   3.1.3 The secular bias of the society.8

   3.2 Analysis of Tess’s family9

   3.3 Tess’s tragedy influenced by others10

   3.3.1 Tess’s tragedy caused by Alec D’ Urberville.11

   3.3.2 Tess’s tragedy caused by Angle Clare.11

   3.4 Analysis of Tess’s compromise.13

   4. Conclusion.15

References17