In Tess of the D’urbervilles, Hardy uses symbolism effectively to foresee what is going to happen in the future, to show a specific mood he wants to portray, and to put across his opinion. He also uses the roles of rustic characters in the book, and makes them as a whole special, and emphasises the fact that they work hard. He shows them in a pleasant light, that makes them appear better than urban dwellers, they are shown as being friendly and sympathetic.
Tess of the D’urbervilles, which I may refer to as Tess, was published in 1891, in Victorian Britain. It was published weekly in an English Newspaper, and at the time, came into a lot of conflict, as these type of stories were not written about. It was thought inappropriate that Hardy wrote about rape, even though it was subtle, and it was unheard of to have a child without being married, so many people looked down on Hardy’s writing.
Also the names that Hardy gave the phases in his book, such as “maiden no more” were considered inappropriate and received much criticism.
However this did not effect Hardy’s style and choice of writing, and the next book that he published, “ Jude the Obscure” which was also his last book caused even more disapproval, which was a novel on conflict between carnal and spiritual life, this made Hardy realise that he was not being very successful at writing novels, and chose to write poetry instead.
Hardy’s style of writing was influenced by his upbringing, and things that he heard in his surroundings as he was growing up.
Hardy was born in Dorset, in 1980, he lived and grew up in the country side, which gave him his own personal perspective of country life, that he puts across in his books. The county he calls “Wessex”, in his books is based around the area that he lived in, with slightly adapted names. Hardy loved his home, nature and the people that lived in the countryside with him, and this can clearly be depicted in the novel, by the way that he describes the surroundings, and the rustic characters.
Hardy uses experiences and events that he has heard of in his stories. He uses incidents that he has seen or been told of to make the plot of the story more interesting. An example that could be used is Tess’ hanging, at the end of the novel. Allegedly Hardy witnessed the hanging of a woman who had tried to or succeeded in killing her husband, because he was having an affair, and as we find out this is what happens to Tess at the end of the novel– she is sentenced to being hung for murdering Alec.
Also, Hardy’s mother and aunt used to tell him of incidents where people in the village had baptised their children themselves, as they knew their children were dying and believed they should not be allowed to enter heaven without a baptism. As Tess does to baby “Sorrow” in the book, in her despair that her child would be punished for something he has not done. Tess was scared for her child, and loved him dearly, although she did not always show it, we can tell this by her reaction when she realised her baby could end up in hell. Hardy says that Tess thought “if she should have to burn for what she had done, burn she must, and there was an end of it…… but her darling was about to die, and no salvation”
This shows how strong a moral issue it was if your child was not baptised, it was believed they were sent to hell instantly, and although Tess had baptised sorrow, it was not enough, and he still had to be buried “in that shabby corner of God’s allotment where he lets the nettles grow.”
We can also see some of Hardy’s own experiences in Tess if we look deeply enough, Hardy just as Tess was, was educated to a high level, which was unusual and considered a privilege, he was also sent away to work, like Tess, maybe Hardy’s feelings and personal experiences have been put in the novel.
Hardy loves the traditional country lifestyle, and people, this could be because he grew up with it, or because he likes hard working people. Hardy likes tradition and traditional ways of doing things, for example
Hardy describes the countryside's way of life as being hard working and gives the impression that it has a lovely environment.
He loves the actual countryside and scenery, and is often referring to its beauty, and how perfect and unspoilt it is. One of the very first examples of this at the beginning of the book, when he first describes Marlott, he says “ the village of Marlott lay amid the north eastern undulations of the beautiful Vale of Blakemore or Blackmoor aforesaid, an engirdled and secluded region, for the most part untrodden.” He immediately portrays a positive and warm image of this place. In referring to the land being “untrodden” he means that tourists had not yet discovered its beauty and taken over.
Hardy also talks about club walking, and may dancing, and describes the scene where we first meet Tess, dressed all in white, along with other girls who are carrying out a long tradition and attending a mayday dance. Hardy describes this as being “a gay survival from Old Style days, when cheerfulness and may time were synonymous.” Meaning that it is a good survival, and he is pleased by the fact that this tradition is still carried out. This proves that Hardy likes the traditional countryside way of life.
We also grow to realise very quickly that Hardy does not like modern technology, and disapproves very much of the industrial revolution. When Tess first visits Mr. D’Urberville’s house, in hope of claiming kin, Hardy comments on the colour of the house calling it a “crimson brick lodge,” after he goes on to comparing it to the evergreens, saying “ formed such a rich red green colour with the evergreens.” Hardy talks disapprovingly of the house. The fact that he compares the its red colour to the green of nature, is as though he is comparing the good of nature against the house, and showing what a contrast there is.
