Elegy To Paganism And Hymn To Christianity

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) is a prolific British novelist, poet, and dramatist. Bridging from the 19th century to the 20th century, Hardy's works are of great importance in literary criticism throughout the world for their abundant connotation, expressiveness, and animation.Religion and mythology have their deep roots in Hardy's works, as the figures, plots, and images indicate their archetypes in The Bible and the Greek and Roman mythology. The Return of the Native, first published in 1878, was a remarkable sign for Hardy's maturity in artistry in novels. It is typical in the surges of mythological images and biblical allusions; however, the mainstream in criticism ascribes Eustacia's fatalistic destiny to the decadent religious system, and then draws a conclusion that Hardy prefers Eustacia's paganism of pursuing for freedom and passion to Christian spirit of emphasizing on self-restraint and forbearance. Therefore, many studies neglect Hardy's religious consciousness implied by Christian elements in Hardy's works and then regard Hardy as an atheist, an opponent for religion, and an admirer for Greek and Roman paganism.Archetypal criticism, also mythological criticism, focuses on the relevant elements when doing researches on literature. As a consequence, it requires breaking through the limitation of a sole work as well as striving to master the universality from a macroscopic and broad perspective. In his long novels, Hardy always compliments the saints who respect Christian spirit, while despises the pagans who violate Christian spirit; hereby, it still leaves room for the study combining archetypal criticism and religion, as recent studies always arrive at the similar conclusions from only one aspect of them.Endeavoring to reanalyze Hardy's religious concept through Northrop Frye's archetypal criticism, this thesis will start with Hardy's novel The Return of the Native, and then touch upon other four novels of character and environment. From interdisciplinary perspective, this thesis presents a fresh point of view to observe the interaction of literature and religion in Hardy's works, and it is in an attempt to prove that the sources of main characters'marriage and destiny lie in the confrontation between pagan gods or goddesses and Christian saints, which is triggered by the collisions between flesh and spirit as well. Hardy's genuine comprehension on religious connotation will be revealed from the exploration on the conflicts and fates of archetypes in his novels:he shows his high affections for the Christian saints who are self-constraint, tolerant, and philanthropic; at the meantime, he expresses his strong aversion for the pagan representatives who are willful, lewd, and selfish. Hardy never loses faith or opposes religion during his lifetime; what he revolts against is the misinterpreted dogma which violates humanity and nature. Hardy is always respectful and zealous for the Christian spirit which appeals to mercy and universal love; furthermore, he is sentimentally attached to the Christian culture which is extensive and profound. Hardy not only introspects on the spiritual wasteland caused by the social deviation from genuine religious spirit, but also looks forward to the promising prospect driven by the reconstruction with Christian spirit. Tracking down Hardy's religious consciousness from his works, this thesis exerts itself to show Hardy's persistent contemplation as well as his assiduous exploration throughout his lifetime.