Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy :: Thomas Hardy Tess Urbervilles Essays

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