Symbolic Implications Of The Environmental Description

Tess of the d'Urbervilles is usually regarded as the best of Thomas Hardy's Wessex novels and the one with the richest connotations. In this thesis, the author makes a tentative study of the symbolic implications of the environmental description in Tess from the perspective of New Criticism.The thesis falls into four parts. The first part is the introduction, which briefs the critical approach to Tess and gives an account of the content and structure of the thesis. The second part, besides a brief account of the relevant literature review, contains a detailed analysis of Hardy's excellent description of the physical environment at five different stages of Tess's life as well as an elaborate investigation into the symbolic implications underlying these actual geographical surroundings. The third part centers on the interpretation of the dominant natural images in Tess, which symbolize Tess's mental states and physical conditions. The fourth part, which serves as the conclusion of the thesis, points out the significance of various environments in determining her fate. Her different life experiences in different places and the different images in the novel combine to point to Tess's final tragic end. The description of natural scenes in Tess explicitly demonstrates Hardy's superb ability to integrate his story into its natural background and his talent for creating meaning internally through language and structure.