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?
Well, so far in Far From the Madding Crowd I am noticing that Bathsheba is the character similar to Tess, she has a man early on that wants to marry her, yet turns him down. They cross each others' paths inevitably, and he even works for her. I am just waiting for the creepy love triangle to find its third side! But I am sure that it will very soon. There is no way this book is about to bring Gabriel and Bathsheba together for a long love story of no drama.
ReplyDeleteIn Jude, maybe I have not read far enough in, it seems as though Jude, a man, has a love triangle between locations rather than two women. There is a woman, but not two. I can see the theme progressing but it has a differenct sense of direction. The protagonist is a male, he is inbetween two locations, but he could possibly make the wrong choice.
ReplyDeleteIn Mayor, like everyone else, I have not read past chapter 5. What I have noticed though is that Michael's wife is now lookiing for him nearly 15 years after he "sold" her. What I am predicting, knowing what Hardy is known for, Michael may have married another woman, I mean alot can happen in 15 years. If there is going to be a love triangle, this would make the most sense, but to make it fit, this "new wife" would have to be rich, or aristocratic, opposite of the Michael's wife Susan, who has been less than middle class. Like Tess, Michael will probably have to make a choice. If my prediction is true, then I am waiting to see the third side of the triangle, and the type of character he/she is.
ReplyDeleteIn Return, I believe that the female protagonist Eustacia Vye may end up in a love triangle with two of the male protagonist. In the very beginning of the novel we learn that one of the characters, Damon Wildeve, who was supposed to marry Thomasin Yeobright, was delayed by an error in the marriage certificate. I believe that Damon made the error on purpose because he is still in love with Eustacia, and is just using Thomasin as a device to make her jealous. The complicated love triangle deepens as Clym Yeobright comes into the picture and grabs Eustacia attention. Based on how Hardy's other novels have turned out I believe that even though Eustacia is granted the freedom of choice of a marriage partner, she may end up making the wrong choice and suffering the consequences later.
ReplyDelete@Ladiesman Give Jude some time and another woman will appear. :D
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ReplyDeleteMaddie White
In most of Hardy's novels, a love "shape" seems to exist, though it is not always a triangle. Whatever the shape, however, the story will always involve positive and negative options, resulting in destructive decisions and, ultimately, tragedy. Take the Mayor of Casterbridge. Michael is trapped in a triangle between his pride and what’s right for Elizabeth Jane. As in all the Hardy books, he makes what we as readers know is the wrong decision, and chooses to protect his pride. He keeps EJ away from Farfrae because he feels threatened by him, and verbally abuses her because she has “embarrassing” rustic quirks. The way he treats EJ leads to a dramatic disconnect between them, and when Michael needs her most, she isn’t there for him. His decisions lead to his demise.
As Norma said, Bathsheba from Far From the Madding Crowd is comparable to Tess because they are both involved in Hardy’s romantic scheme of love triangles. So far, Bathsheba has hired Gabriel to work on her farm and sees him on a daily basis. Gabe has previously proposed to Bathsheba and could possibly still have feelings for her. Bathsheba also sent a valentine to Boldwood, as a joke, and then confessed that she was not in love with him after he tried proposing to her. Unlike Tess, Bathsheba is a tease. She takes advantage of her beauty to toy with men's emotions--I predict that this will eventually lead her into trouble.
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with what Maddie White said last year, Hardy seems to form love shapes, rather than triangles. This is evident in Far From the Madding Crowd, as there are infact 3 men after the protagonist, Bathsheba Everdene, all of them with different traits. There's Gabriel Oak, a poor, hardworking and honest man who wnats Bathsheba happy and free from harm no matter who she chooses; Boldwood, who is a wealthy, emotionally unstable man with conflicting thoughts on Bathsheba's choice of man--ultimately wanting her to be happy; and Seargent Troy, a man simply taken with Bathsheba for the present, yet set to marry another woman (Fanny) and claiming to love this woman more. Troy is dangerous and exciting compared to the simpleness of the other men, and thus ensnaring Bathsheba for the present. Again, the protagonist in Hardy's work chooses the wrong path, leaving the reader hoping (at present) that a twist of fate will bring [her] back to the true course.
ReplyDeleteIn Mayor, theres seems to me that a love triangle has appeared. With Henchard's mistress and his wife around now, there could be some big decisions he has to make later. Because Henchard has made promises to two women, a love triangle has been made. But a bigger picture is still looming over his head, save his reputation, or do what's right? How will Lucetta react to Susan being alive? If Elizabeth-Jane discovers what Henchard had done to her and her mother, what will her reaction be? A large love triangle of just not romantic love, but sentimental love has formed between Henchard and 3 women in his life. But what will he do about it?
ReplyDeleteIn Return, I agree with Erin, Eustacia Vye is in a love triangle between Damon Wildeve and Clym Yeobright. Eustacia has the freedom to choose who she wants, and she chooses Clym for his money and a new life for her in Paris, but when she finds out he is not going back to Paris, she goes back to Damon and they both end up dying in the end. Damon is in love with wanting Eustacia and Clym is also in love with wanting her, none of their motives seem to be truly in love with her, kind of like Tess. Where Angel is in love with Tess's purity and Alec was in love with the idea of her also.
ReplyDeleteIn Far from Madding Crowd Bathsheba does make the wrong choice, which leads to a distressing marriage. So I agree with H.M. Daleski, in most of Hardy’s novels a love triangle leads to poor choices and disastrous relationships. In Far from Madding Crowd Bathsheba has Boldwood and Gabriel eating out of the palm of her hand, they would do anything for her. Unfortunately she seems to find that kind of affection lackluster, so she chooses Sergeant Troy, who is exciting but at the time did not know what he wanted. Sergeant Troy is in love with two women, both whom he has not been completely honest with. Hardy states that Sergeant Troy was “moderately truthful towards men, but towards women he lied like a Cretan.” (167). Bathsheba rushed into a relationship with Troy when she should have listened to her friend’s warnings and tried to discover if there was any truth to Troy’s indiscretions. The love triangle in Far from Madding Crowd differs from Tess though in that Bathsheba was not driven by depression to make the wrong choice, she made it willingly.
ReplyDeleteIn Far From the Madding Crowd, like Tess, Bathsheba is also surrounded by men fighting for her affection. In the end, Tess fell for both men, and both ended up being wrong for her. She never truly loved Alec, and Angel only loved her when he thought she was pure. Like Alec, Farmer Oak loves Bathsheba even though there is no way she will ever feel the same. Tess interests Angel at the dairy and at the Mayday dance from her appearance. At first, it seems that Boldwood does not notice Bathsheba, until she sends him the valentine as a joke. Once he notices her, he instantly falls in love with her, and she seems to be fond of him too. However, this ends when Bathsheba meets Troy, who of course is wrong for her because he is technically already married. Both Tess and Bathsheba attract the attention of many men at one time, only to unknowingly fall for the "bad guy".
ReplyDeleteH.M. Daleski makes the assertion that the typical Hardy plot contains a female in a love triangle with two males who are polar opposites. Granted, that this is the case in Tess, this does not appear to be correct in The Return of the Native. In this book there is a man, Damon Wildeve who appears to be in a love triangle. He is supposed to marry Thomasin Yeobright but there is a "mistake" on the marriage certificate. The reader then learns that he is infatuated with Eustacia Vye as well. Also, Thomasin Yeobright is supposed to marry Damon yet the reddleman Diggory brought her all the way to her home out of his way no questions asked. This makes me suspicious if there will be a love triangle there. Lastly, Clym Yeobright is the final point of the triangle for Eustacia who convinces herself to fall in love with him for a chance to escape the heath even though she has feelings for Damon. So, it seems in this novel it is not only females torn between two lovers but males as well and that instead of a love triangle there are many that make up an odd shaped love star.
ReplyDeleteThis conclusion seems to be fufilled in Far From the Madding Crowd as Bathsheba, like Tess is loved by several men and ends up with the wrong one. But unlike Tess, Bathsheba seems to want the attention of these men and acts as more of a seductress than Tess did. She claimed several times that she had no intention of marrying, yet she led the men to think that they had a chance as when she sent Boldwood the valentine. So the basic idea of a girl attracting the attention of multiple men is the same, but why the men are attracted to them is different in the two novels.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Katie B. when she says that in The Return of the Native, there is some type of "Love Star" because it's not only one girl or main character in the story that finds themselves in a love triangle, there are many. For example, Damon was supposed to marry Thomasin, but something went wrong, and later on he becomes interested in Eustacia who falls in love with Clym even though she still has feelings for Damon. In The Return of the Native, the love triangle is more like a star where there are some things that go back a forth, and other things that stay as they are.
ReplyDeleteI like what abruley said about Bathsheba being more of a tease to men with her beauty, than Tess was. Tess was not purposeful always in her attracting men, while Bathsheba went as far as to send a fake Valentine to poor old Boldwood so that he'd take notice in her. Bathsheba was not wise, and she lead herself into a disastrous marriage. Bathsheba was a tease to Boldwood on purpose, then possibly she was unconsciously one to Troy, not taking his compliments, and she acted like Gabriel was her best friend and confidant for all relationship issues, knowing he still liked her. That drove me nuts.
ReplyDeleteIn Return, Wildeve has two choices in women, just as Eustacia has two choices in men. this is very connected to what michelle gagne said regarding a "love star". While I do not feel that it is a star, the shape is definately not a triangle, because it has four points. There is Wildeve, who does not want to choose the woman whom he is promised to as a wife, because he loves another, but there is also the situation which is taken into account when we find that the woman he loves, Eustacia has other options also.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there seem to be multiple love triangles or other shapes in Return, I believe H.M. Daleski's critism does apply. Similar to Tess there is an apparent love tirangle between Eustacia, Clym and Damon. Eustacia, the female protagonist is in love with two men whom are opposites, Clym who wants to settle down and Damon who wants to travel. Because both Clym and Damon open themselves to her, she is free to choose who she wishes to be with. Upon finally chosing to leave with Damon they ultimately die. Even though there seems to be another love triangle between Damon, Thomasin and Diggory, I do not believe there was. Though Thomasin loved Damon, he never really loved her becasue he was so focused on Eustacia. Diggory always loved her but she was too enveloped by her marriage to consider him. Therefore, the triangle was never complete because they were all in different places.
ReplyDeleteI feel like there were almost two love triangles in Mayor? For example, there lies the romantic love triangle between Susan, Henchard's wife and the mother of his daughter, and Lucetta, his mistress. That is the obvious, romantic, sexual triangle. But I also feel like the relationship between Elizabeth-Jane, Farfrae, and Henchard is like a triangle. Henchard and Farfrae are both competing for Elizabeth's attention. This may not be romantic, or even count as a love triangle at all, but I feel like the conflicting interests of Farfrae and Henchard involving elizabeth must count for something. At one point, Henchard even requests that all ties be broken between the two of them, and Elizabeth complies..This may not be the traditional love triangle, but I feel like it may fall in the category.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all the other readers of Return of the Native that the main love triangle is between Eustacia, Clym and Damon. The start of the love triangle happened when Eustacia discovered that Clym was returning to Egdon Heath. It was her hope to get to know him, and then convince Clym to take her to Paris with him. After getting to know each other, Clym and Eustacia agree to marry. This of course rekindles the love that Damon once had for Eustacia, who was in love with Eustacia.
ReplyDeleteIn The Mayor of Casterbridge 'the typical Hardy plot’ of a female protagonist in a love triangle with two male protagonists who are portrayed as polar opposites, can easily be seen as Lucetta Templeman, Donald Farfrae and Michael Henchard. Lucetta is the only female protagonist stuck between two male protagonists who were both at one time or another her lover. Lucetta is technically granted the freedom of choice of a marriage partner although she does give her word to Henchard to become his wife. Not long after though, Lucetta confesses that she has already wed Farfrae being completely of her choice. Farfrae and Henchard are both similar by being men of business and both being at one time Mayor of Casterbridge though they are obviously opposites in personality. Up to this point H.M. Daleski’s statement is correct. However, Lucetta did not make the wrong choice therefore not leading to a bad marriage. Lucetta and Mr. Farfrae were very happy with each other up until her death.
ReplyDeleteTo add to what Courtney has posted, in Jude the Obscure, there are three love triangles. Jude is married twice to Arabella and Sue. Arabella was first married to Jude, but then left him and married Cartlett. Jude then finds himself in love with his cousin, Sue, who is soon to be married to Jude's old school teacher, Phillotson, who she leaves due to unhappiness and marries Jude. In the middle, Jude is in a love triangle with Arabella and Sue. In this case, it is a triple Hardy trend involving a man involved with two women as well.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree with Katie O. about the “love triangles” and the fact that Clym and Damon are only in love with wanting her, I don’t think that Angel and Alec were actually in love with Tess. I think Angel was in love with the idea he had of her (which is why he was so upset when he found out the truth), and Alec was in love with her seduction and the fact that she was vulnerable and unaware of his indecent ways. Also in response to Katie B.’s great analogy of the “love star,” I think that that is a great way to describe all of the mixed up feelings and emotions throughout this novel.
ReplyDeleteI would agree that in Hardy's books there are consistently love triangles, but not necessarily always between a female protagonist and two males who are polar opposites. In mayor the main character is a male who has a moral dilemma with picking between two females, one being Susan Henchard who would be the "right" choice and the other being Lucetta who is his previous mistress (AKA "wrong" choice). Henchard, while not being the typical female character, does not follow the typical Hardy plot by choosing the wrong choice, instead he chooses Susan.
ReplyDeleteOther love triangles can be seen in Mayor such as the one between Lucetta, Mr.Henchard, and Donald Farfrae, and Susan Henchard, Mr. Henchard, and Mr. Newson. Both of these triangles are seen as a female protagonist choosing between two opposite males but they are minor. The female protagonists in these triangle do not make the necessarily wrong choice either. Lucetta chooses Farfrae and they are happy together. And Susan lives almost her whole life with Newson for the benefit of her daughter. Only when she needs a better life for her daughter and financial support does she seek out Mr. Henchard.
Mayor of Casterbridge supports this conclusion because Henchard, Susan and Lucetta, the main characters, are part of a deadly love triangle. Henchard was originally married to Susan, but then sold her because he was drunk. Then her new husband died so she came back to find Henchard, a changed man and the mayor of Casterbridge. While she was gone Henchard fell in love with and planned to marry Lucetta. However, when Susan came back he planned to end things with Lucetta. Right before he could end his "affair", Susan got very ill and died. Therefore, the two novels I have read by Thomas Hardy, have exemplified a lethal triangle of love.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with Liz.. In Mayor there is a clear passionate love triangle between Henchard, Lucetta the mistress and Susan the wife, as well as Elizabeth-Jane, Farfrae and Lucetta, but the more ancestral love triangle exists between not only Henchard, Elizabeth-Jane and Farfrae, but also Henchard, Elizabeth-Jane and Newton, Elizabeth-Jane’s real father. Hardy illustrates a clear number of conflicts within his writings, and Mayor is an excellent example of this. Like Shakespeare, I feel that Hardy creates a book of mirrors within his novel, comparing the different facets of Henchard’s life to one another. Lucetta and Elizabeth-Jane are like mirror images of each other (even though they also conflict), Newton and Farfrae are like mirror images of each other, and though I can’t think of a human mirror of Henchard, I think that he and the caged gold finch are mirrors; both died in a prison. The bird’s prison was more literal (his cage), and Henchard’s was more figurative (his own personal prison).
ReplyDeleteSo.. the conclusion if fulfilled in Mayor, I haven’t read all of his works, but I’m assuming it is prevalent among all of them, and yes, my novel supports this conclusion.
My novel "Jude the Obscure" does indeed support the fact that Hardy's books have love triangles. Jude falls in love with a girl named Arabella and then she tells him she is pregnant, so he marries her. But, it turns out that Arabella is actually not pregnant, and Jude is then stuck in a relationship he no longer wishes to be in. While still married to Arabella, Jude begins to fall for another woman, his cousin. This makes things twice as worse because for one, he is married, and two, he has strong feelings for a family member. This new love however, will not be accepted. Jude finally gets a divorce from Arabella and he gets to know Sue better. They then confess their feelings for one another, even though they know it is wrong. But, Sue is now engaged and isn't sure what to do. But, Sue goes off and gets married because she knows that they can never be together. Arabella goes to Jude in her times of desperate needs and he learns that she has remarried. But now, Sue has asked to live away from her husband because she misses Jude, but denys her true feelings for him. However, eventually, Jude and Sue are 'together' but not married and have a child. This child that they call "Little Father Time" kills Sue's children from her marriage and she sees this as a sign that what they are doing is wrong. Sue then goes back to her husband for good and when Jude dies, she refuses to go to the funeral. Talk about a tangled web.......this one was pretty much all over the place, almost impossible to keep track of.
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