A Study Of Jude The Obscure From The Perspective Of Ecological Ethics

Ecological ethics has come into being since the latter half of the nineteenth century, which is the result from the rational consideration to the contradiction between man and nature. Ecological ethics applies the comprehensive knowledge of ecology and ethics to study the relationship between man and nature. And it is a science to research the values of ecological system and the code of conduct for people to treat ecological system. It is a subject of creation and development from ecology and ethics. Its function is wakening the vigor of ethical voice, broadening the moral concerns to the ecological system, and providing the moral basis to alleviate the ecological crises.This thesis attempts to apply ecological ethics to studying Thomas Hardy's last but most outstanding novel Jude the Obscure in order to further analyze and interpret the implied relationship of ecological ethics. Ecological ethics is the part of environmental philosophy which considers extending the traditional boundaries of ethics from sole humans to the non-human world, which is about the ethics of the relationship between human beings and ecosystem. There are four main aspects from the ecological ethics to study this novel: land ethics, respect to life, ecological community and Spiritual Crisis. From these analyses, this thesis will expose Hardy's strong consciousness against the anthropocentrism, and the ecological crises caused by industrial civilization, such as the alienation from nature, spiritual crisis, and ecological refugees.There are five chapters in this thesis. In the first chapter, I give an introduction for Thomas Hardy and his works, and gives the analysis of the previous study of Jude the Obscure, then points out the objective and significance of the thesis, and introduction to ecological ethics. In the second chapter, I firstly analyze the fatal influence by the two female characters, Sue and Arabella, to the hero's fate. Then it concretely analyzes the coincidences in the novel which show the power of the nature. This chapter is to dig Hardy's subversion of the dual ideology. In the third chapter, it focuses on the study of ecological ethics theory in Jude the Obscure from the aspect of anti-anthropocentrism to analyze the ecological crises presented in the novel. In the fourth chapter, I continue to study the ecological ethics theory in Jude the Obscure from land ethics and respect to life to analyze the solution to the ecological crises and the importance of keeping the healthy and harmonious relationship between human and nature. In the fifth chapter, it is the conclusion, which summaries the main results of the research. That is, from the study, we can see Hardy's ecological attitude towards nature. His deep feeling for common people's fate, his anxiety over the relationship between human and nature, and his sympathy for animals, all these prove that Hardy is a forerunner with ecological thoughts in his time.