Fatalism in Thomas Hardy’s“Novels of Character and Environment”

Sun+Gengmei　Zhou+Juntao

Abstract：Hardy is distinguished for the strong fatalism in his “novels of character and environment”. This paper will make an exploration about the themes of the four novels to show Hardys life outlook and reveal his pessimistic views towards society and human nature.

Key words：fatalism； novel； tragic； destiny

Thomas Hardys “novels of character and environment” include The Return of the Native， The Mayor of Casterbridge， Tess of the dUrbervlles， Jude the Obscure and so on. He depicts the impoverishment and decay of small farmers and the decline of the patriarchal mode of life in rural England. So his novels are infused and permeated with the atmosphere of fatalism and tragedy.

1. Fatalism in The Return of the Native

In The Return of the Native， Eustacia Vye， a restless and wayward girl， wants to escape the dull， backward rural life to enjoy herself in big cities. She gets infatuated with Clym， a man back from Paris， and manages to marry him. But her husband returns home only to settle down in the country. Frustrated and desperate， she flees with her former lover but is drowned in a storm. Clym intends to do some good for his country people by opening a school but misunderstood not only by his fellows but also by his mother and wife. Finally， he becomes blind and turns missionary.

The whole book is filled with deaths， failures， frustrations and sufferings. All the main characters suffer great misfortunes. Gloom and misery dominate the whole novel.

2. Fatalism in The Mayor of Casterbridge

The Mayor of Casterbridge traces the rise and fall of a haytresser， Michael Henchard. In drunkenness， he sells his wife for five guineas to a passing-by sailor. When he awakes， he regrets deeply and swears not to drink in the next 20 years. By working hard， he gets very rich and becomes the mayor of Casterbridge. However， 18 years later， his wife with daughter returns and Henchard marries her. By doing so he hurts another woman， who has devoted to him when he was down and out. When he has the legal right to marry her after his wifes death， she has fallen in love with his rival in business. As a result， he loses all： love， business， and close relatives. He collapses and takes on drinking again. Finally， he dies in poverty and loneliness with hatred for life.

The life of Henchard may serve as a good interpretation of nemesis. The man is severely punished by fate for his early wrong doing. The protagonist is once and again between the devil and the deep sea. He is not only tortured by his conscience but the weaknesses in his personality.

3. Fatalism in Tess of the dUrbervilles

Tess of the dUrbervilles is a tragic story about a poor country girl. Tess goes to “claim kin” with a distant noble relative， Mr dUrbervilles， Alec，but seduced by him. Returning home pregnant and disgraced， her baby dies. When she falls in love with Clare， Clare deserts her on the wedding night on hearing her confession of the past. To support her family， Tess is forced to be Alecs mistress after her fathers death. Meanwhile， Clare， now repentant and longing to reunite with Tess， returns to England to seek for her. Believing that Alec has ruined her for a second time， Tess kills him in a fit of despair. In the forest Tess is discovered and arrested， then tried and hanged.

Innocent and pure in nature， Tess is severely punished and has been in misery the whole life only because of her physical “impurity”. She is destroyed by the ones who “l(fā)ove” her， by the poverty of the family， by the deep-rooted conventions and the weaknesses in her own character.

4. Fatalism in Jude the Obscure

Jude the Obscure， traces Jude Fawley's life from his boyhood to his early death. An orphan adopted by his aunt， Jude cherishes the dream of being a priest. But he is seduced and entrapped to marry Arabella， and deserted by her. Then he falls in love with his cousin， Sue， they start to live together， but their life of cohabitation deteriorates under the pressure of poverty and social disapproval. The eldest son of Jude and Arabella kills the children of Jude and Sue， then commits suicide. Sue leaves and Jude returns to Arabella. Soon Jude dies in misery and bitterness.

Jude the Obscure seems to be soaked in bleakness and hopelessness. The novel concerns itself with Judes ruined ambition and ends with a miserable death that “represents only the indecency of fate that causes suffering even or perhaps especially in the pure innocence of heart”.

Strong element of fatalism is reflected in Hardys “novels of character and environment”. His tragic heroes and heroines cry out defiantly against their fate， but accept their doom with an insight into and an awareness of the forces of evil which have effected their downfall.

【Reference】

[1] Allingham， Philip V. “Comparison of Imagery in Conrad and Hardys Novels”. 6 Dec 2000. U of British Columbia. 11 April[OL].http：//www.google.com/Thomas Hardy/Thomas Hardys world.

【作者簡(jiǎn)介】

孫耕梅（1966—），女，碩士研究生學(xué)歷，河北北方學(xué)院副教授，主要研究方向：英語(yǔ)教學(xué)、英語(yǔ)語(yǔ)言文學(xué)。