Abstract

Thomas Hardy, a British poet and novelist, started his literary career in 1862. A great number of his novels are set in the southwest area of England, where the author was born and brought up. Because the series of novels are full of regionalism, they are generally known as “Wessex Novels”, and Tess of the d’Urbervilles, which was published in 1891, is one of them. The novel depicts an unfortunate life of a girl called Tess from country. And Hardy described Tess as a pure woman in the book’s subtitle. Therefore, from the subtitle, the author holds a positive attitude to Tess. To a large extent, Tess’ tragedy was caused by the external environment. So, if we analyze Tess’ tragedy from sex equality, such unequal social status leads to Tess’ unfortunate and miserable destiny. My thesis would give an analysis of Tess’ tragedy from the perspectives of economy, policy, religions and morality.

Key Words: Tess of the d’Urbervilles; Patriarchal Society; Morality; Economy; Religion; Legal Institution

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1 Introduction-1

2 Patriarchal Society Reflected in Tess of the d’Urbervilles-3

3 Hardy’s Attitude toward Patriarchal Society-5

4 Tess’ Tragedy under the Oppression of Patriarchal Society-6

4.1 Hegemony of Paternity-6

4.2 The Morality Controlled by the Males-8

4.3 The Economy Dominated by the Males-11

4.4 Religion charged by the Males-13

4.5 Legal Institution Serving for the Males-14

5 Conclusion-17

Bibliography-19

Acknowledgements-21