Puzzling Hardy

Now that we have spent the last three weeks reading, discussing, and critiquing Hardy's major works, we recognize his complexity. He presents strong, positive female characters, but has them fail miserably. He glorifies Nature and rural life, but only tragic events befall those whose lives are tied to the land. Carpenter states, "Hardy becomes more, rather than less, puzzling the better we come to know him. There must be reasons for these contradictions."

Now that you know Hardy better, what reasons (from his personal life and personal philosophy) can you find in the inherent contradictions of his works?

The Mythology of Thomas Hardy

"Myth is a dramatic vision of life, and we never cease making myths, accepting myths, believing myths" (Dorothy Van Ghent). All writers incorporate myth in their stories. Since writers dramatize life in their stories, selling myth is their job. But myth is not a set system. It varies from culture to culture, society to society, and person to person; what a writer realizes is that in order to create a believable, inviting space they must construct a plausible mythos in which the event can occur. In a way, this is the magic of literature -- the creation of a believable world from imagination.

What is Hardy's system of myth? In what ways does he create a "dramatic vision of life"?

Victorian Romantic Love (&sex)

In Tess of the d'Urbervilles Hardy creates a classic love triangle between Alec, Angel and Tess. H.M. Daleski in his criticism Thomas Hardy and Pardoxes of Love states:

"The typical Hardy plot places a female protagonist in a love triangle with two male protagonists who are portrayed as polar opposites. The woman contradicting a general view of her as victim is always granted the freedom of choice of a marriage partner. She invariably makes the wrong choice, which leads to a bad marriage and disastrous sexual relationships."

We see this conclusion fulfilled in Tess, but what of Hardy's other major works? Is this conclusion accurate for all Hardy's work? Does your novel support this conclusion?

Hardy's Narrowness

In V.S. Pritchett's Collected Essays (1991) he says of Thomas Hardy "we are always struck by the largeness of the panorama and by the narrowness of Hardy's single, crooked, well-trodden path across it." Hardy always starts his characters on a journey down a road. The "road" is a symbol of path toward that character's fate and an opportunity for Hardy to promote his views of anti-industrialism and romantic country charm. Invariably all people have to walk their own path.

This balance of large setting (Wessex) and narrow aspect of character is distinctive of all Hardy novels.

• As you start the next text, knowing what you know from Tess, what can you expect from this new work?
• What predictions can you make?
• Any themes, symbols, motifs you may want to search for?

What can you expect from your next reading?

photo by Jola Dziubinska