A Marxist Feminist Interpretation Of Tess's Tragedy

Tess of the D'Urbervilles is generally regarded as one of the most important works of Thomas Hardy, the noticeable English novelist and poet. It marks the crowning achievement of his literary creation. Since its publication in 1891, Tess has always been bearing a strong appeal to readers and has been drawing attention from literary critics. It has invited different schools of critical theories and has been subjected to a multitude of interpretations. However, none of these have been able to exhaust its sources, which always invite further explorations and new insights. Based on the achievements made by the former scholars, this thesis is intended to render a detailed interpretation of Tess's tragedy from a new perspective– Marxist feminism.As one of the most important schools of feminism, Marxist feminism emerged in the second Women's Movement in the 1960th. Marxist feminists hold that capitalist mode of production, which gives rise to economic inequality, dependence, political confusion and ultimately unhealthy social relations between men and women, is the root of women's oppression in the current social context. Gender oppression is class oppression and women's subordination is seen as a form of class oppression which is maintained because it serves the interests of the capital and ruling class. Marxist feminists point out that women's oppression has not been overthrown with their entrance to labor market. Class and gender should be put into one theory frame to examine women's oppression. Women are enslaved at the same time by capitalism, male dominance and women's body. They are indivisible and exert effects on women simultaneously.On the basis of the theories of Marxist feminism and text analysis, this thesis tries to draw the conclusion: put in a world of capitalism and patriarchy, Tess'tragedy is unavoidable. The thesis is divided into three parts. Part One focuses on the economic and class reason that caused Tess's tragedy. This part expounds the view from two aspects: the change and influence brought by capitalism on Tess's life and the transformation of Tess's economic status in industrialized world. Part Two presents that capitalist morality, religion and law accelerate Tess's tragedy. Tess's economic and class position determines her oppression by bourgeois ethics, religion and law. Furthermore, the capitalist ethics have been ingrained in women's mind and become an internalized concept. To some extent, Tess is victimized by herself. Part Three is devoted to Tess's repression in the patriarchical society. Marxist feminist brings gender into capitalism and economic relations and disclosed the role of capitalist moral standard and patriarchy in oppressing women. Alec and Angel, the two men of the novel have tortured Tess physically and spiritually, who are directly responsible for Tess's death.Tess's life is short and tragic, but her image is impressive and memorable and thus becomes one of the immortal female figures in the world of literature.