On The Figures Of Tess Of The D’urbervilles In The Perspective Of The Christian Ethics

Thomas Hardy’s novels usually contain some deep thoughts about the Christian ethics. Tess of the D’urbervilles, as one of Hardy’s most famous works, is filled with Christian connotations as well. Since that, this article intends to explore those Christian thoughts of Hardy starting with the three main figures.Firstly, this article will analyze the belief of the three main figures by close reading, drawing a conclusion that Tess is a pure woman in the Christian perspective. She seems to be a Christian rebels on the surface, but in fact she believes in Christianity in the depth of her heart. What she rebels against are the rotten religious laws. Angel is a progressive intellectual. At the beginning, he can’t get rid of religious laws subconsciously, leading to mistreat Tess. However, after a series of experiences, he transforms into a person who is in the physical and mental harmony. Alec is a person lacks of Christian belief and constant pursuits so that he is addicted to pleasure in his own life.In the second part, this paper apply to Marratology, Arthetypal Criticism,the Intertextuality to analyze the figures how to be shaped, finding that the form itself conveys lots of information. In another word, Hardy injects his Christian thought into the rhetoric.Finally, this paper decodes the connotation by methods including Religons Study, Historical Research, Philosophy Research and so on. The article draws to the following conclusions. The three different figures reflect the religious confusion and chaos in Victoria era. Hardy probes the reasons which leads to this dilemma and criticizes the Christian laws in that period fiercely. He combines the core spirit of Christian and modern humanitarianism by inheriting and surpassing Schopenhauer’s pessimistic philosophy. In a word, through the figures of Tess of the D’urberville, Hardy emphasizes on the importance of the Christian morality motivation theory of returning Christian theory. This article thinks Hardy’s way is necessary and feasible.