ABSTRACT

Thomas Hardy is one of the most prominent English critical realistic writers in the nineteenth century. Living in the transitional period from competitive capitalism to monopoly capitalism and affected by his experience，social change and the Evolution Theory, Hardy was obsessed by strong pessimistic thoughts. His novels, as fictional projection of his thoughts, are full of tragic conflicts between individual and society. In The Mayor of Casterbridge, he creates a paradoxical tragic figure Henchard by descriptions of his defective character, the restrictions of the era. Henchard’s tragic fate is a manifestation of Hardy’s tragic consciousness, whether it is his frustrating love affair with Lucetta, the loss of family affection and his failure as the mayor. Hardy’s deep rooted tragic consciousness and the influence of advanced thoughts in his time gave rise to the creation of many of his unique Wessex novels. This paper examines the tragic fate of the hero Michael Henchard in The Mayor of Casterbridge in an attempt to probe into Hardy’s tragic consciousness as manifested in the novel. Besides, the causes of Hardy’s tragic consciousness are further explored. It is expected that this study can help readers achieve a better understanding of Hardy’s tragic consciousness as well as the profound theme of the work, and thereby gain further and overall understanding of this literary gaint. 

Key words：Hardy; tragic consciousness; Henchard; tragic fate

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

摘要

Chapter One INTRODUCTION-1

Chapter Two LITERATURE REVIEW-3

2.1 Research Abroad and at Home-3

2.2 Inadequacy of Past Studies-4

2.3 Significance of the Present Study-5

Chapter Three HENCHARD’S TRAGEDY-6

3.1 Henchard’s Tragedy-6

3.1.1 Failure in his love affair with Lucetta-6

3.1.2 Failure in his family relationship-7

3.1.3 Failure in his career as a mayor-8

3.2 Causes of Henchard’s Tragedy-8

3.2.1 Henchard’s defective character-8

3.2.2 The restrictions of the era-9

Chapter Four HARDY’S TRAGIC CONSCIOUSNESS AS REFLECTED IN HENCHARD’S TRAGEDY-11

4.1 Hardy’s Tragic Consciousness as Revealed in Henchard’s Tragedy-11

4.2 Manifestations of Hardy’s Tragic Consciousness-12

4.2.1 The abundance of coincidences-12

4.2.2 The use of symbols-13

Chapter Five THE CAUSES OF HARDY’S TRAGIC CONSCIOUSNESS-16

5.1 The Influence of Life Experience-16

5.2 The Influence of Social Change-17

5.3 The Influence of the Evolution Theory-17

Chapter Six CONCLUSION -19

WORKS CITED-20