龚娟荣论文定稿.docx

1、龚娟荣论文定稿衡阳师范学院 毕业论文（设计）题 目： Tragedy of Tess in Tess of the D Urbervilles 德伯家的苔丝中苔丝的悲 剧命运分析 所 在 系： 外 语 系 专 业： 英 语 学 号： 07080207 作者姓名： 龚 娟 荣 指导教师： 颜 文 娥 2011年 4 月OUTLINEAbstractKey Words I. Introduction II. Objective Factors Responsible for Tesss Tragedy 2.1. Social Factor 2.2. Family Factor 2.3. The I

2、nfluences of Alec and Angel III. Subjective Factors Responsible for Tesss Tragedy 3.1. Tesss Self-Esteem and Self-Abasement 3.2. Tesss Self-Sacrifice 3.3. Tesss Personal Belief IV. Conclusion Bibliography 中文标题、摘要、关键词The Tragedy of Tess in Tess of the D UrbervillesAuthor: Gong Juanrong Number: 070802

3、07 Tutor: Yan WeneAbstract: Tess of the DUrbervilles is the famous British novelist and poet Thomas hardys masterpiece. It is known as the treasure of English literature and world literature. The novel describes a pure girls tragic fate. This thesis tries to probe the inevitable factors and signific

4、ance of her tragedy from the aspects of social environment, religion, moral, family, nature and so on.Key Words: tragedy; factor; Tess; Alec; Angel.I. IntroductionIn the late 19th century, great changes have taken place in the history of western civilization. British society was characterized by ref

5、orm, turbulence and intranquility. The various social factors such as religion, politics, science, vacillated people and tried to transform their mentality. And this period was also the age of railway wireless, telegraphy and countless other mechanical inventions that revolutionized the nature of so

6、ciety within a very short span of time. (Wang Zuoliang, 1992: 365)Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) is one of the representatives of English critical realism at the time of the 19th century. In his whole life he published fourteen accomplished novel, forty-seven short stories, more than nine hundred poems. I

7、n his youth, Hardy had been greatly influenced by some liberal thinkers such as Darwin and John Stuart Mill. In his novels, Hardy incorporated many of these themes in order to portray a real world. Darwins challenge led Hardy to lose faith in Christianity, and this lack of faith gave his novels thei

8、r tragic, bleak element. Tess of the D Urbervilles written by Thomas Hardy in 1891, is a tragic story of a beautiful country girl, Tess Durbeyfield. Although she is the daughter of a poor villager, she has been educated, which intensifies her brightness. She is a pure and loyal young woman. As the e

9、ldest daughter of the family, Tess bears much responsibility and sometimes feels ashamed for her own poor origin. In order to support the poor family, she has to follow her parents advice and visit the so-called distant relativeDUrbervilles. Later, she is seduced by Alec DUrbervilles, the son of a r

10、ich merchant who has bought his title into the class of gentry. From then on her destiny changes greatly. At last, Tess manages to elude Alec and gives birth to her baby, but she loses the baby finally. After the death of her baby, she leaves home and goes to work as a dairymaid at a distant farm, w

11、here she meets Clare, a pastors son, who wishes to own a farm some day. They fall in love and get married. On their wedding night Angel confesses to her the sins of his past, Tess forgives him and tells him her story with Alec, thinking that he would forgive her as she does. But Angel cant accept th

12、e truth, he deserts her and leaves her to Brazil. After Angels leaving, Tess lives a very hard life. Unfortunately, she meets Alec again and is pursued by him once more. Without hope for Angels back, Tess has no choice but go to Alec again. Unfortunately, Angel comes to find Tess and tell her he sti

13、ll loves her. Now, Tess hates Alec deeply. With deep sad she kills Alec and runs away with Angel. They live a happy life in the outdoors, but after a few days they are seized by the policeman. Tess is hanged at last. Tesss tragedy is caused by many reasons. The first one is her poor personal backgro

14、und and the ignorance and vanity of her parents. Secondly, Alec is the character that the author criticizes straightforward in this novel. He is the direct cause to Tesss tragedy. Thirdly, the conventional theory towards women from Angel is the most fatal spiritual torture to Tess. Finally, Tesss tr

15、agedy also comes from herself. On one hand, Tess is beautiful, intelligent, pure, clever and kindhearted. On the other hand, she is feeble and yielding. Though she is not so willing to work for the wealthy relative, she is obliged to live in the D Urbervilles for a noble purposereduce the load of th

16、e parents. Such noble quality starts Tesss misfortune. Alecs evilness, Angles hypocrisy, Tesss feebleness and her parents vanity are the main reasons resulting in Tesss tragedy. However the most fundamental reason belongs to the Victorian society. Tesss degeneration is the consequence of the social

17、conventions and religions. This thesis tries to probe the inevitable factors of her tragedy from the aspects of the social, family, Alec, Angel and herself. It makes us understand that a woman who wants to protect herself must be independent from other people.II. Objective Factors Responsible for Te

18、sss Tragedy Life2.1. Social Factor The social environment that she lives in is the main reason. This story happens in the late of British Victorian era, when the bourgeoisie is in power. Besides, with the development of the industrial revolution, England is making its slow transition from an old fas

19、hioned, agricultural nation to a modern, industrial one. Therefore, the capitalist economy begins to intrude into the countryside gradually, which makes many peasants become landless and have to find new ways of living. Many peasants are hired by factories in the countryside or cities. They work on

20、one farm for about a year or so and then move to another one. Tess, as a daughter of a poor villager, it is more difficult for her to live a better life with her family at that time. To support the family, she can do nothing but follow her parents advice and visit the so-called distant relativeD Urb

21、ervilles. From then on her destiny changed completely. Tesss tragedy is mainly caused by the outside factorfrom being raped to being abandoned Tess couldnt choose by herself. Tess isnt wrong; it is the fault of her living world! Generally speaking, man and woman should be equal. However, in Tesss ti

22、mes, male dominated female. At that time, men were powerful, they made all the decisions and controlled everything. while women were nothing but the private property of their husbands. Male requested female to be loyal and bodily pure. Women must obey to men. When either men or women engage in sexua

23、l lapses, the former would be forgiven and the latter would be condemned. For Tess, she just makes a big mistake in her young age, so she cant be forgiven by the society. In the contrary, Alec and Angel can be accepted by the society just because they are men. From other aspects, social injustice an

24、d class oppression are also the factors of Tesss tragedy. Angels mother does not accept Tess as a suitable daughter-in-law because she believes that Tess will bring down the status of the family. She hopes that Angle will find a more suitable wife. In Tesss eyes, marriage is for love, not for social

25、, financial, and religious belief. Tess is a girl with high self-esteem, so when she has been in difficulties after her dads death, she doesnt ask Angels family for help. This is one reason why she chooses to live with Alec when she loses hope for Angels back. Whats more, the old economic realities

26、make wealth more important than inner nobility. The upper and middle classes remain in power and the newly rich people can spend money to buy respectable social status and great renowned titles for themselves and the later generations. So Tess loses the recognition of the society, and Alec can use h

27、is wealth, social status and take the advantage of Tesss innocence and poverty to seduce her again and again. In summary, it is the unfair class system that allows a rich nobleman to rape and abandon a low-class girl regardless of the consequences. These social injustices bring undeserved suffering

28、to Tess. Unequal morality for Victorian woman is another factor for Tesss tragedy. The key virtue is sexual purity, and adultery is the worst of all possible sins. Public notions on sexual morals are that women must remain virgin before marriage. So, with the same sexual experience, Angle is pardone

29、d but Tess is abused. 2.2. Family Factor Tess is born in a poor family, which has seven children. Her parents are very ignorant and vain country peddlers. Her father is a drunkard and makes little effort to maintain his family in comfort. So Tess, as the eldest daughter in the family, has more respo

30、nsibility to support the family. Once her parents get a false message that they are the descendants of an ancient wealthy family, they decide to send Tess to claim kindred with the D Urbervilles family. But Tess doesnt think so. While the death of the horse puts the whole family into desperation, be

31、cause the haggling business mainly depends on the horse. To support the family, she has no choice but follow her parents advice. From then on, her life is changed completely. Unexpectedly, Alec, the son of the D Urbervilles, wants to dominate Tess and uses his generous gift to Tesss family to seduce

32、 Tess. Tess is grateful for what he has done for her family, but she doesnt want to be indebted to him. At first she fights with him, but apparently, Tess is no match for the playboy. She is seduced by Alec and has to return home in disgrace at last. Tess is a victim, but her father cant accept her, the only thing that he cares about is what other people will think about the collapse of his familys fame. Her mother is the same, she wants Tess to rise in the world by getting married with a rich man without thinking about th