A Feminist Reading Of Tess’ Tragedy In Tess Of The D’Urbervilles

Tess of the d’Urbervilles is a masterpiece of Thomas Hardy, one of British great novelists of critical realism and one of the tragic novels in the history of British literature. Since it was published in1891, the novel has been widely loved by readers and critics who have interpreted it with different theories from different perspectives.From the perspective of feminism, the thesis holds the opinion that oppressed by patriarchy and capitalism, Tess is doomed to be the victim of the society. Firstly, Tess’s tragedy took place in the social transition from feudalism to capitalism. Tess’s destruction typically represents the tragic fate of the peasants who have collapsed economically because of the Industrial Revolution and the introduction of capitalist machinery on a large scale and who have declined into wage workers. Tess has been in extreme poverty and lack of property has become the root of her tragedy. Besides, she has declined from peasant to wage worker without any property, during which, not resisting social transition, she is doomed to be a victim. Secondly, Tess’s tragedy reveals that a pure and kindhearted maiden is destroyed by hypocritical morality and religion and unjust law. It is Tess’s economic condition and status of class that decide the oppression on her by morality, religion and law serving the capitalism. In the patriarchal society, women’s virginity decides their value. Regarded as the fallen women after her seduction, she is doomed to be a victim in the patriarchal society. Thirdly, Tess’s tragedy is closely related to Angel Clare and Alec d’Urbervilles, two important men in her life. Always oppressed, she can’t get rid of the patriarchal standards. Constantly torturing Tess mentally and physically, the two men are both responsible for Tess’s death. Alec, selfish and oppressive, destroys Tess physically, while, not getting rid of the traditional patriarchal concept, Angel abandons Tess relentlessly at last.