Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

One of Thomas Hardy’s greatest works: ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles‘ was

first published in 1891, a novel set in the fictional county of Wessex,

Britain. By the time of its appearance, Hardy was considered to be on

of England’s leading writers and had already published several well

known novels including ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’ and ‘The

Woodlanders’ as well as numerous other short stories.

However in spite of his reputation and fame, Hardy had immense

difficulty finding a publication prepared to publish Tess when he

offered it for serialization to London reviewers. The subject matter

and content was considered to be- in the eyes of Victorian society,

unfit for publications in which young people may read. A storyline

depicting a young girl seduced and raped by a man, then married and

rejected by another and then eventually murders the first man was

considered to be exceptionally scandalous and inappropriate. Finally

in order to pacify potential publishers, Hardy took the book apart and

rewrote and edited several of the scenes before any of the weekly

journals would take it as a serial. When the time came to publish the

novel in book form, Hardy reassembled it was it was originally

written.

The novel’s subtitle- ‘A Pure Woman’ came also under a great deal of

attack. Victorian critics argued that Tess could not possibly be

termed of as ‘pure’ after a downfall such as hers and should instead

be labeled as a ‘Fallen’ woman. Hardy’s frank (at least for the time)

depictions of sex, his criticism and questioning of religion and his

doubt within the narrative were too denounced to such an extent that

though the story did in the end bring him immense fame and fortune,

its reception at the start caused Hardy to lose confidence and the

novel was one of his last.

In Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Hardy uses a variety of narrative

techniques in order to convey his own impressions of the society in

which both he and his character Tess lived. The narrative technique of

an author in any novel is crucial to the readers understanding of the

narrative. The way in which a novel is written influences the way in

which the reader interprets the events which occur throughout the

novel and allows the author to convey the feeling of time, place, and

people in the society in which the author is attempting to impart to

his or her readers. Hardy’s use of a third person omniscient narrator

who knows all and sees all allows the readers indirect insight into

the actions and emotions of specific characters. The omniscience of

the narrator allows the reader to not be influenced by the character