Tragedy in Tess of the D’Urberville by Thomas Hardy

Hardy’s novel Tess of the D’Urberville is based on the tragedy of Tess’ life. Throughout the novel Tess goes through numerous amounts of suffering .Traditionally, it was believed that tragedy was due to hamartia. Aristotle described hamartia as a flaw that leads to the fall of the protagonist caused by mistake in a person’s behaviour. However, Tess does not have a flaw but she still suffers despite the fact that she did not do anything wrong. Hardy demonstrates that Tess is a woman in a patriarchal society which leads to her downfall.

The D’Urberville name dictates the lives of Tess and her family to such an extent. The transformation from Durbeyfield to D’Urberville is very significant in the novel. Hardy’s use of renaming and the constant shift from Durbeyfield to D’Urberville shows how important these names are in the novel. She is a Durbeyfield and despite not wanting to pursue the D’Urberville legacy, she is a believer in her aristocrat. However, Tess’ father (John Durbeyfield) goes further. “Luxuriously stretched himself out upon the bank among the daisies”. He is desperate to adopt the name; despite not having the wealth to go with it. He insists that people call him “Sir John D’Urberville”. John is a prime example of how the D’Urberville name has immediately affected Tess’ family.

Tess’ fate with the D’Urberville name begins when Joan learns of the D’Urbervilles. “My project is to send Tess to claim kin”, she wants Tess to marry Alec for wealth not for love. Hardy’s heroine can instantly sense what she believes to be good and bad. Although her family does not see it she soon realises why she was reluctant to listen to her mother in claiming her kin. From the very beginning of the novel Hardy seems to be aware of Tess’ fa...

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... simplicity that Hardy grew up to love. Hardy made the character Tess suffer to show despite the fact that Tess’ responses are inherently good but it is society lack of forgiveness that has failed her. From the very beginning Hardy wasn’t just foreshadowing events that caused tragedy in Tess’ life but also the effects the agricultural revolution on Victorian society. He presents this through Tess’ death just before she is executed Hardy describes the red brick building, this is significant as it is a strike against urbanisation but also a reminder to the readers of where Tess’ fate began, the red brick mansion that belonged to the D’Urbervilles. Hardy says “went on” to symbolise Tess has no greater importance in the matter especially not against those as powerful as the D’Urbervilles.

Works Cited

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