Thomas Hardy
Ⅰ．Brief Introduction to the W riter
1．Life Story
Thomas Hardy was born in 1840 in a small town in Dorset in southwestern England．His father was a village builder，and his mother was a cook and a servant－maid．His parents though low on the social register，were well－educated，aspiring people．He attended church regularly with his family，and later taught in the local Sunday school．As a boy，hememorized all the services，and this knowledge lays a good foundation of the frequent references on religion in hisworks．
In addition，Thomas's father was a musician who played at church services，and the boy followed his father's footsteps by learning to play the violin．Thiswas the start of a lifelong interest inmusic which finds reflection in his books．From 1848－1854 Hardy was educated in the local schools．Although young Hardy's education was not particularly good，therewere books in his home and he read all he could．At the age of16，he left school and was apprenticed to an architect．Although his formal studies stopped，he continued to educate himself．He could arise early in the morning and study for an hour or two before leaving for work．During his spare time，he studied widely:language，literature，history，philosophy and art，and he even won two prizes for essays on architectural subjects．But architecture was never his desired profession．In 1862，he left the architect's office，well－trained as a draftsman and with a considerable amount of reading behind him．At the age of22，he left Dorset for London．
There in London，young Hardy came into contact for the first time with the advances of themodern world．Itmust be understood that life in the Dorset of the 1840's and 1850's had hardly changed in its broad outlines since the Middle Ages．Itwas nearly completely rural in character，and at that timewas still isolated from the rest of theworld for few of the industrial andmechanical aspects ofmodern civilization had come to it．Dorset provides the setting ofmostof Hardy's novels and stories．Hardy，however，changed the name of Dorset to“Wessex”and he changed the names of all the towns he wrote of aswell．His birth place later became the famous“Wessex”in many of his novels．Hardy himselfwas called“Wessexman”．
In London，he worked as an architect．He also studied French，visited art galleries and the great London expositions and continued his course of reading．During these years，he wrote the first of his poems tomake a living．In 1867 he returned to Dorset，his native countryside，he worked as an architect．At the same time he began towrite novels and stories．His first attempt in novelwriting did notmeetwith success．By 1868 he had completed his first novel The Poor Man and the Lady，which though was rejected，con-vinced him that he should continue his efforts at novel-writing．In the same year he did hiswork as an architect and itwas during this time hemet the girl hewas tomarry．Itwas altogether amost crucial year for Hardy．All Hardy's novels were written during the next 28 years．
2．Literary Career
Hardy's first novel The Poor Man and the Lady was a fierce social satire．When it was rejected Hardy switched to writing romances，stories with complicated plots and much sensational action．He began with Desperate Remedies，Under the Greenwood Tree，which marked the real success of Hardy and enabled him to give up architecture for writing，and A Pair of Blue Eyes．These books are highly autobiographical，and they are reasonably wellreceived．Later he published the following novels Far from theMadding Crowd and The Return of the Native．Hardy was recognized to be one of England's leading novelists after the publication of The Trumpet Major．Before A Pair of Blue Eyes appeared as a book，it came out as a serial in amagazine，and this set a pattern—nearly all the rest of Hardy's novelswere first published in this form．
Among Hardy's early works，Under the Greenwood Tree is the most cheerful and idyllic．In Far from the Madding Crowd，the world is still a balanced one，where a pretty woman of vanity and pride is finally humbled before the genuineworth of her shepherdlover．However from The Return of the Native on the tragic sense becomes the keynote of his novels．The conflict between the traditional and themodern is brought to the center of the stage．In The Return of the Native，the hero，Clym Yeobright，a youngman who，tired of the busy，commercialized urbane life，returns to his homeplace and intends to do something good for his country people，is misunderstood by others，including hiswife．Eventually he becomes blind and turnsmissionary．With the natural forces controlling and destroying man's destiny，the novel is predominated by a depressively gloomy atmosphere．
The publication of The Mayor of Casterbridge，Tess of the D' Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure has ensured his lasting fame．The Mayor of Casterbridge，as a novel of nemesis，reveals the conflict in a deeper and fuller sense．Henchard in the novel is a self－sufficientman，who，by nature，belongs to the old rural culture．He does business and carries out hismayor's duty in an old－fashioned way．He can be regarded as the representative of the vulnerable rural life．While his rival Farfrae，who represents industrialization，is a decent and shrewd merchant，a modern man in every sense．Finally Henchard is defeated by Farfrae just as the vulnerable rural life－style is defeated by the industrialization．
The conflict between the old and themodern becomesmore intense in the other two novels．Tess of the D'Urbervilles tells people the heroine Tess's tragic story．As a simple，innocent and faithful country girl，Tess was brought up with the traditional idea of womanly virtues．She is abused and destroyed by both Alec and Angel，agents of the destructive force of the society．Themisery，the poverty and the hateful pain she suffers and her final tragedy give rise to amost bitter cry of protest and denunciation of the society． Jude the Obscure as a sister work to Tessof the D'Urbervilles tells of the struggle of the hero and the heroine for personal happiness．In the novel although Jude and Sue loved each other and finally free from their formermarriages，cornered by the traditional socialmorality．They have to kill their own will and passion and return to their former destructive way of life．The tragic sense turns into despair．
The central figures in both novels，Tess and Jude，not only come from the laboring people but are themselves laborers，and both are crushed eventually by the society in which they live．Though the tragic story of the principle character in either novel seems to depend upon the hero's or heroine's love and marriage，yet what Hardy attacks in the two novels goesmuch beyond the system ofmarriage in the hypocritical bourgeois society to include all the legal，moral，educational and religious phenomena of the world of capitalist relations．Hardy's defiance against the status quo of Victorian England is both fierce and consistent and that is why both the last two novelsmet with terrific accusations from the bourgeois authorities and their loyal critics．
What it iswritten in Hardy's novels arouse criticisms of his novels．In 1896 he was tired of all those hostile criticisms against his last novels．After Jude the Obscure Hardy returned to his first love and mainly wrote poetry．It could be remembered thathe started out as a poetand had been composing poetry throughout the time hewas writing novels．His poetry is as famous as his fictions．His best verse wasmainly written after he had given up novel writing．He produced four collections of lyrical poetry and then an epic drama in verse，The Dynasts．In his poetry creation，Hardy concerned about the same problems as those presented in his novels．
He himself divided his novels into three groups:Novels of Romances and Fantasies，Novels of Ingenuity，and novels of Characters and Environment，among which the last group is themost outstanding．In the novels he truthfully depicts the impoverishmentand decay of small farmerswho became hired fieldhands and roamed the country in search of seasonal jobs．These labourers，who lived in an agricultural environmentmenaced by the forces of invading capitalism，weremercilessly exploited by the rich landowners．The author was pained to see the deterioration of the patriarchalmode of life in rural England．This can best explain why there was the growing pessimistic vein through his novels．Novels such as The Return of the Native，The Trumpet Major，The Mayor of Casterbridge，The Woodlanders，Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure all belong to this group．All the above mentioned novels show Hardy is both a naturalistic and critical realistwriter．
3．Features of His Novels
3.1 Influenced by Both the Past and the Modern
As a transitional writer，Hardy is influenced by both the past and themodern as a result he is known as intellectually advanced and emotionally traditional．In his novels on the one hand he shows an apparent nostalgic feeling in his description of the simple and beautiful though primitive rural life，which was gradually declining and disappearing as England marched into an industrial country． The characters that succeed，are generally the happiest，are the ones that remain in harmony with their surroundings．The most interesting characterization，however is the most collective use of the rustics．Theymanage to retain their individuality，but they seem to have a communal personality．They view the action of their social“betters”and comment on it in exactly the same opinion．In addition they help the action to progress．He shows sympathy to those traditional silliest characters，and never laughs at them．On the other hand，the immense impact of scientific discoveries and modern philosophic thoughts upon man is quite obvious too．
The wide use of allusion in the novel creation is another outstanding feature in his writing．The unusual number of references，both classical and Biblical，is astonishing．Themost effective allusions are the Biblical ones，since they seem to echo the rugged strength of the pastoral setting．
3.2 As a Naturalistic Writer
Influenced by Darwin's The Origin of Species and Spencer's The First Principle，he accepted the idea of survival the fittest and believed thatman's fate is predeterminedly tragic，driven by a combined force of“nature”both inside and outside．In hisworks，man is shown inevitably bound by his own inherent nature and hereditary traitswhich prompt him to go and search for some specific happiness or success and set him in conflict with the environment．The natural environment is shown as some mysterious supernatural force，which is very powerful，but half-blind，impulsive and uncaring to the individual's will，hope，passion or suffering，and which likes to play practical jokes upon human beings by producing a series of mistimed actions and unfortunate coincidences．Under Hardy's brush，man，though tries hard，proves impotent before Fate，and he seldom escapes his ordinary destiny．In most of Hardy's later works，it is his pessimistic view thatmakes him famous as a naturalistic writer．
3.3 As a Fighter against Social Convention
In his novels Hardy bitterly and sharply criticizes and even openly challenges the irrational，hypocritical and unfair Victorian institutions，convention and morals which strangle the individual will and destroy natural human emotions and relationships．The conflicts between the traditional and themodern，between the old rural value of respectability and honesty and the new utilitarian commercialism，between the old，false socialmoral and the natural human passion，etc．are all closely set in a realistic background true to the very time and the very place．
Ⅱ．Brief Introduction to the Selected Literary Work
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
1．Brief Summary of the Novel
The poor peddler John Durbeyfield is very happy to learn that he is the descendent of an ancient noble family，the D'Urbervilles．So Mr．Durbeyfield and his wife decide to send Tess to the D'Urbervillemansion，where they hope Mrs．D'Urberville willmake Tess's fortune．In reality，Mrs．D'Urberville is no relation to Tess at all:her husband，themerchant Simon Stokes，simply changed his name to D'Urberville after he retired．But Tess does not know this fact，and when the lascivious Alec D'Urberville，Mrs．D'Urberville's son，procures Tess a job tending fowls on the D'Urberville estate，Tess has no choice but to accept，since she blames herself for an accident involving the family's horse，its onlymeans of income．
Tess spends several months at this job，resisting Alec's attempts to seduce her．Finally，Alec takes advantage of her in the woods one night after a fair．Tess knows she does not love Alec．She returns home to her family to give birth to Alec's child，whom she christens Sorrow．Sorrow dies soon after he is born，and Tess spends amiserable year at home before deciding to seek work elsewhere．She finally accepts a job as a milkmaid at the Talbothays Dairy．
At Talbothays，Tess enjoys a period of contentment and happiness．She befriends three of her fellow milkmaids and meets aman named Angel Clare，who turns out to be theman from the May Day dance at the beginning of the novel．Tess and Angel slowly fall in love．They grow closer throughout Tess's time at Talbothays，and she eventually accepts his proposal ofmarriage．Still，she is troubled by pangs of conscience and feels she should tell Angel about her past．She writes him a confessional note and slips it under his door，but it slides under the carpet and Angel never sees it．
After their wedding，Angel and Tess both confess indiscretions:Angel tells Tess about an affair he had with an older woman in London，and Tess tells Angel about her history with Alec．Tess forgives Angel，but Angel cannot forgive Tess．He gives her some money and boards a ship bound for Brazil，where he thinks he might establish a farm．He tells Tess he will try to accept her past butwarns her not to try to join him until he comes for her．
Tess struggles．She has a difficult time finding work and is forced to take a job at an unpleasant and unprosperous farm．She tries to visit Angel's family but overhears his brothers discussing Angel's poormarriage，so she leaves．Once she hears a wandering preacher speak and is stunned to discover that the precher is Alec d'Urberville，who has been converted to Christianity by Angel's father，the Reverend Clare．Alec and Tess are each shaken by their encounter，and Alec appallingly begs Tess never to tempt him again．Soon after，however，he again begs Tess tomarry him．
Tess learns from her sister that hermother is near death，and Tess is forced to return home to take care of her．Hermother recovers，buther father unexpectedly dies soon after．When the family is evicted from their home，Alec offers help．But Tess refuses to accept，knowing he only wants to obligate her to him again．She is unable to resist and goes back to Alec D'Urberville．
At last，Angel decides to forgive his wife．He leaves Brazil，desperate to find her．Instead，he finds hermother，who tells him Tess has gone to a village called Sandbourne．There，he finds Tess living with Alec in an expensive boardinghouse，where he tells her he has forgiven her and begs her to take him back．Tess tells him he has come too late．Angel leaves in a daze，and，heartbroken to the point ofmadness．Tess goes upstairs and stabs Alec to death．When the landlady finds Alec's body，she raises an alarm，but Tess has already fled to find Angel．
Angel agrees to help Tess，though he cannot quite believe that she has actuallymurdered Alec．They hide out in an emptymansion for a few days，then travel farther．When they come to Stonehenge，Tess goes to sleep．When morning breaks shortly thereafter，a search party discovers them．Tess is arrested and sent to jail．A black flag is raised over the prison，signaling Tess's execution．
2．Analyses of the M ajor Characters
Tess
Tess is the heroine and main character of the story．In the novel although she hasmore education than was usual formost girls of her class and time，she had little exposure to the wiles of the world outside her hometown，thus she is still basically a simple country girl．Likemostof Hardy's country people，she is innocent，which is her weakness．She is unschooled“in the ways of the world”and therefore unable to protect herself．She is also strong and enduring．She is oppressed by misfortune after misfortune with the development of the story，but not until the very end does she abandon hope and giveway under the terrible strain she has undergone．Even then it is only because she despairs of seeing Angel，the man she loves more than life itself，that she breaks down．
Throughout the novel，Hardy develops Tess as a character and describes her simple beauty．She is attractive to allmen，and even her attempts to change her appearance are not enough to hide her natural beauty．However，behind that beauty Hardy paints a picture of a tortured mind．Tess's personality is hidden，even from those close to her．Hermother says in response to a question Angel asks，“…Ihave never really known her．”Early in the novel，when John remarks about Tess，he says，“Tess is queer．”
Tess is passionate in her love for Angel and her hatred of Alec．She strays from hermarriage only when it appears that Angelmay not return to her and when there is no other way to help her destitute family．When she discovers Alec's duplicity，she makes her mind up that thiswill be his final deception of her．Themartyr-like passion of Tess engenders the readers'sympathy．
She is very responsible for her family．She consents to be Alec'smistress only because this seems to be the solemeans of assuring the welfare of her family．We can say that Tess's greatest weakness is for her family，particularly her brothers and sisters，and it is thisweakness that Alec exploits to great effect．Her journey to the Slopes，at the beginning of the novel，and her subsequent return to Alec near the novel's end，are all predicated on her willingness to undergo great pains to make her family's life better．Alec promises financial aid to the Durbeyfield family several times，to which Tess cannot object．He has ulteriormotives，however:to subdue Tess and make her his own．When Angel returns，and the possibility of love reenters her life，she can no longer tolerate her position．She kills Alec and runs away with Angel．
Tess is able to bear great burdens placed upon her at a young age．This ability to undergo somuch at such a young age builds her character so thatwe see her as a powerful force in the novel．She accepts blame for Prince's death;the death of her infant son，Sorrow;the loss of Angel and the destruction of hermarriage;as well as her killing Alec with her own hands and leaving home three times in her life to test the waters of the world outside her village．
Tess is the onemorally sound person in a world otherwise populated bymorally fragmented individuals and it is thiswholeness，along with her striking beauty，that is so attractive to Alec and Angel．It is also this very spiritual nobility thatmakes her so vulnerable tomen like Alec and Angel，who do not and can not commit themselves to another person and who are completely and disastrously bound up with their own ego．Different from them Tess in the novelmakes several attempts to rectify her“mistakes”:the vow to Angel to end their marriage;her offer to kill herself to free Angel from theirmarriage;and，her refusal to ask Angel's parents for any additional money during Angel's sojourn to Brazil．She is determined to be self-sufficient and willing to sacrifice her well being for the good of others．Thismakes her selfless and on amorally higher ground than other characters in the novel．So Tess is the only one who can care for others，who can enter into complete and satisfying relationshipswith others and who does not exploit and use people．
All through the novel，rather than being a saint all the time，Tess is deeply involved in the difficult task of surviving in an unfriendly world．She also furnishes an example of goodness of action．When her life takes its downward turn，she does not crumble up and die but instead emphatically resists the misfortunes that assail her，and her very human determination and courage constitute some of hermost appealing qualities．
Alec
In reality，Alec is nota D'Urberville atall;instead，his family was named Stoke，then Stoke－D'Urberville，and later just D'Urberville．His father had made a fortune in north England and had settled in the southern region of the island．He adopted a local name to blend in with the historical association of place．Alec is heir to this fortune，and bearer of the name that his father purchased．As one of the two main male characters，Alec is rich，handsome，bold，dashing and sensual，who is the nemesis and downfall of Tess's life．
He woos Tess with his suave talk and conspicuous wealth．Alec'smotives are clear from the beginning:to seduce Tess for his own gain．It could be argued that even after seducing Tess，Alec does indeed fall in lovewith her andmakes his plans to have her as his own a second time．When Tess's husband left her，Alec further lures the unsuspecting Tess by talking her out of remaining true to hermarriage to Angel．He is relentless and eventually is able to sway Tess by catering to her poor family．Alec takes full advantage of Tess at this point，and he convinces her to live with him as a D'Urberville．Thus，Alec has persuaded Tess to live a life of sin．This deception results in his death when Tess，enraged，stabs him．
Overall he is a fraud aswell as amorally corrupt person．There is a sharp contrast between Alec's false nobility and Tess's truemoral superiority．Alec is sowicked thathe does not try to hide his bad qualities．In fact，he bluntly tells Tess，“Isuppose Iam a bad fellow—a damn bad fellow．Iwas born bad，and I have lived bad，and I shall die bad，in all probability．”There is frank acceptance in this admission and no shame．Rather than a real individualman he represents a largermoral principle．
He represents a certain kind ofmale sexuality．All women for him are only sexual objects，to be exploited for the pleasure they can afford．To Alec Tess is different．He is fascinated by her because there is something about Tess that he cannot understand．The mystifying something is that Tess seeks love，while Alec does not know the different between love and lust．His feeling for Tess deepens as the book proceeds，but he is always inadequate for Tess because he can not overcome his basic limitation．He is a prisoner of his own ego as a result he is too involved with himself to be able to give himself to the extent required by love．Thus he can not cope with a truly good and morally whole person like Tess，who hasmore to her than her sexual attractiveness．What Tess's has shows Alec's limitation，which is a threat to Alec．He can do nothing，but destroy her．
Clare
A free thinking son born into the family of a provincial parson and determined to set himself up as a farmer instead of going to Cambridge like his conformist brothers，Angel represents a rebellious striving toward a personal vision of goodness．He is a secularistwho yearns to work for the“honor and glory ofman”rather than for the honor and glory of God in amore distant world．This inde-pendent spirit contributes to his aura of charisma and general attractiveness thatmakes him the love object of all the milkmaids with whom he works．As a typical young 19th-century progressive，Angel sees human society as a thing to be remolded and improved，and he fervently believes in the nobility ofman．Angel is a good man．He begins his relationship with Tess by offering to tutor her in history or any subject of her choosing，tomake up for her lack of higher education．She gently refuses，but he cannot help but fall in love with the gentle girl．He rejects the values handed to him，and sets off in search of his own．His love for Tess，a mere milkmaid and his social inferior，is one expression of his disdain for tradition．
Angel's life is characterized by quick decisions that are not well thought out．He seems reasonable butmakes decisions based on impulse，not rational thinking:his quick proclamation of love for Tess，his intent to go to Brazil，and his asking anothermilkmaid to accompany him to South America．He sees the errors of his ways and regrets his past declarations．He seems to have thought out the association with Tess．He later asks Tess for forgiveness—“Tess! Can you forgiveme for going away?”Buthe exhibits the kind of decisions that ordinary peoplemake in everyday situations．He promises to take care of Tess after she kills Alec and tomake Tess's sister as his wife after Tess is gone，and he lives up to that promise．Thus，Angel is a character likeable tomost readers．
Angel in the novel，is an example of a person who is governed by his intellect．His problem is that he has split his feeling from his intellect，and that hismind mistrusts his emotions．Because his e-motions have developed，he can experience real，deep feeling，as in his love for Tess．Nevertheless，because of the separation between hismind and heart，he can make the cruel decision to leave her．His emotions do not take part in the decision-making process．He is capable of performing themost heartless actions，all thewhile saying that he is only acting rationally．In this regard，he ismore cruel than Alec．
Because of Angel's superior qualities，Tess falls in love with him．He seems capable of love．Then when she has told him about what happened to her and completely given herself to him，he abruptly withdraws and crushes her．The injury he inflicts on her is thereforemuch more severe．When Tess tells him of her past，the shock is so great that all his intellectual refinement drops away．He abuses Tess in the same snobbish terms thathis brothersmight have used，which shows hismoral callousness．Actually he is just a half man rather than a whole person．
As his name—in French，close to“Bright Angel”—suggests，Angel is not quite of thisworld，but floats above it in a transcendent sphere of his own．His love for Tessmay be abstract，as we guesswhen he calls her“Daughter of Nature”or“Demeter”．Tessmay be more an ideal to him than a flesh and blood woman with a complicated life．Angel's ideals of human purity are too elevated to be applied to actual people．Angel awakens to the actual complexities of real-world morality after his failure in Brazil，and only then he realizes he has been unfair to Tess．Hismoral system is readjusted as he is brought down to Earth．
3．Theme of the Novel
3.1 The Injustice of Existence
Unfairness dominates the lives of Tess and her family to such an extent that it begins to seem like a general aspectof human existence in Tess of the D'Urbervilles．Tess does notmean to kill Prince，but she is punished anyway，just as she is unfairly punished for her own rape by Alec．Nor is there justicewaiting in heaven．Christianity teaches that there is compensation in the afterlife for unhappiness suffered in this life，but the only devout Christian encountered in the novelmay be the reverend Mr．Clare，who seemsmore or less content in his life anyway．For others in theirmisery，Christianity offers little solace of heavenly justice．Mrs．Durbeyfield nevermentions otherworldly rewards．The converted Alec preaches heavenly justice for earthly sinners，but his faith seems shallow and insincere．Generally，themoral atmosphere of the novel is not Christian justice at all，but injustice．The forces that rule human life are absolutely unpredictable and not necessarily well-disposed to us．The pre-Christian rituals practiced by the farm workers at the opening of the novel，and Tess's final rest at Stonehenge at the end remind us of a world where the gods are not just and fair，but whimsical and uncaring．The narrator concludes the novel with the statement that“‘Justice’was done，and the Presidentof the Immortals had ended his sportwith Tess．”We are reminded that justicemustbe put in ironic quotationmarks，since it is not really just at all．What passes for“Justice”is in fact one of the pagan gods enjoying a bit of“sport”or a frivolous game．
3.2 Changing Ideas of Social Class in Victorian England
Tess of the D'Urbervilles presents complex pictures of both the importance of social class in 19th-century England and the difficulty of defining class in any simpleway．Certainly the Durbeyfields are a powerful emblem of the way in which class is no longer evaluated in Victorian time as it would have been in the Middle Ages—that is，by blood alone，with no attention paid to fortune orworldly success．Indubitably the Durbeyfields have purity of blood，yet for the parson and nearly everyone else in the novel，this fact amounts to nothing more than a piece of genealogical trivia．In the Victorian context，cash mattersmore than lineage，which explains how Simon Stokes，Alec's father，was smoothly able to use his large fortune to purchase a lustrous family name and transform his clan into the Stoke－D'Urbervilles．The D'Urbervilles pass for what the Durbeyfields truly are—authentic nobility—simply because definitions of class have changed．The issue of class confusion even affects Angel，who is intent on becoming a farmer and marrying amilkmaid，thus bypassing the traditional privileges of a Cambridge education and a parsonage．His willingness to work side by side with the farm laborers helps endear him to Tess，and their acquaintance would not have been possible if he were a more traditional and elitist aristocrat．Thus，the threemain characters in the Angel－Tess－Alec triangle are all stronglymarked by confusion regarding their respective social classes，an issue that is one of themain concerns of the novel．
3.3 Men Dominating Women
One of the recurrent themes of the novel is the way in which men can dominate women，exerting a power over them linked primarily to theirmaleness．Sometimes this command is purposeful，in theman's full knowledge of his exploitation，aswhen Alec acknowledges how bad he is for seducing Tess for his ownmomentary pleasure．Alec's actof abuse，themost life-altering event that Tess experiences in the novel，is clearly the most serious instance of male domination over a female．But there are other，less blatant examples ofwomen's passivity toward dominantmen．After Angel reveals that he prefers Tess，Tess's friend Retty attempts suicide and her friend Marian becomes an alcoholic，which shows that their earlier schoolgirl-type crushes on Angel seem disturbing．This devotion is notmerely fanciful love，but unhealthy obsession．These girls appear utterly dominated by a desire for a man who，we are told explicitly，does not even realize that they are interested in him．This sort of unconsciousmale domination ofwomen is perhaps evenmore unsettling than Alec's outward and self-conscious cruelty．
Even Angel's love for Tess，as pure and gentle as it seems，dominates her in an unhealthy way．Angel substitutes an idealized picture of Tess's country purity for the real-life woman that he continually refuses to get to know．When Angel calls Tess names like“Daughter of Nature”and“Artemis”，we feel that hemay be denying her true self in favor of amental image thathe prefers．Thus，her identity and experiences are suppressed，though unknowingly．This pattern ofmale domination is finally reversed with Tess'smurder of Alec，in which，for the first time in the novel，a woman takes active steps againstaman．Of course，this actonly leads to e-ven greater suppression of a woman by men，when the crowd of male police officers arrest Tess at Stonehenge．Nevertheless，for just amoment，the accepted pattern of submissivewomen bowing to dominantmen is interrupted，and Tess's act seems heroic．
Ⅲ．Latest Critical Commentary
《德伯家的苔丝》是19世纪批判现实主义作家托马斯·哈代的优秀代表作。它叙述的是一个农村姑娘的恋爱悲剧。农村姑娘苔丝受资产阶级纨绔子弟亚雷污辱，怀了身孕。“私生儿”因病夭折，舆论都认为这是苔丝的“罪过”。在这种情况下，苔丝被迫离家到一个牛奶场工作，在那与实习的牧师之子克莱尔相爱。纯洁的苔丝在新婚之夜向新郎如实诉说自己的不幸经历，又遭遗弃，并更加受到周围舆论的冷漠和谴责。在接连的打击中，她又转到另一农场，后来又与亚雷再度重逢。虽亚雷再三纠缠，但苔丝仍想与克莱尔和好。之后为了帮助家庭摆脱困境，在亚雷的欺骗下，为生计所迫的苔丝不得不再次委身于亚雷。不久，克莱尔从国外回来，后悔对苔丝过于无情，向她道歉并透出了和好之意。苔丝感到第二次与亚雷在一起的事实已铸成不可挽回的大错，她爱的克莱尔不会再接受她，出于愤怒便将亚雷杀死，以报复他毁她一生之仇，最后苔丝因杀人罪而被处死刑。作品以苔丝遭到迫害而毁灭，揭露了资产阶级文明道德的虚伪，反映了作者对贫苦大众生活的同情。近年来学者们关于哈代和《苔丝》的研究可以大致分为人物形象研究、苔丝悲剧成因研究、哈代与基督教的关系研究、哈代的女性观研究和创作特色研究等方面。
人物形象研究
苔丝:
在哈代的笔下，苔丝被描写成美的象征和爱的化身，既代表着传统又融合了现代的特点。她天生丽质，纯洁、质朴、善良。她能够容忍，敢于自我牺牲，对生活抱有美好的愿望。她所特有的感情就是对人的爱和信任，女性的温柔和痴迷的多情结合在一起。在爱情问题上，她以全部的热情、无比的信任去爱她真心爱上了的克莱尔，即使遭到遗弃也不变心。她富有热情、女性美和青春的活力，富有高贵的女人气质，坚强的意志和热烈的感情。她自然纯朴、真挚可爱、品德高尚。她不是希望借助婚姻实现追求虚荣的愿望，而是强调了自尊和追求个性自由。苔丝的灵魂是纯洁的，道德是高尚的，但是在资产阶级的道德面前，她被看成侵犯了清白领域的罪恶化身，遭到残酷无情的迫害。
苔丝由于受到当时宗教道德思想及习俗的影响，因为传统的长女身份，她毅然挑起了生活的重担，违背自己的意愿而与亚雷同居。她的传统性还在于她在新婚之夜向克莱尔坦白过去的失身，以为他有着圣徒的灵魂，会原谅那个为传统道德偏见所不容的过错。可是克莱尔虽然自己也有过荒唐的过去，却在男权文化价值观念的驱使下，无法克服心理上的障碍，冷酷地选择了离开，尽管他后来回来承认错误，可是他的所作所为已经成为苔丝悲剧命运的重要原因。苔丝还往往从传统习俗、社会舆论上对自己的所谓“过失”作出道德上的判断，把自己看成一个罪恶的化身，从而扭曲了自己的正常心态，并又对自己的行为予以错误评价。她的这种心理上的自责是世俗谬见在她身上发挥作用的体现，当她被迫起来反抗时，法律却惩罚了她。
在分析苔丝这个人物形象时，有学者指出苔丝的天真、纯洁性格和太勇于作自我牺牲是促使她步步走向无法回避的悲惨结局的性格上的原因。(秋杰，2005;谢灿琛，2005)在家中失去唯一的一匹马，经济陷入困境之后，她去攀亲，用这种方式承担起家庭的重担;失身于亚雷之后，她用离开这个自己不喜欢的人的方式，表现出对传统贞操观的反抗、她不顾母亲的劝阻写信告诉克莱尔自己的过去、新婚之夜又向克莱尔坦白自己的过去，祈求谅解;面对克莱尔的怀疑和埋怨她没有用女性的魅力软化他，也没有利用克莱尔的同情心去征服他，这些都显示出苔丝太过诚实、太过纯洁、太过自尊的本性。
还有学者指出苔丝性格中有一个核心的弱点那就是一种脱离现实，生活在幻梦中的倾向，而且总是在人生的关键时刻表现出性格上的缺点和意志上的脆弱。(董桂茄，2005)小说一开始苔丝的心不在焉，使马受了致命伤断送了德伯的小贩生意，一家人的生活更陷人困境。当妈妈叫她去德伯家攀亲时，她根本不想去，但拗不过她母亲的坚持。由于缺乏生活的经验，面对亚雷的诱惑，虽然她也表现出不喜欢不情愿，但最终都由着亚雷摆布。小说中在林深月黑的围场背景中苔丝也是“凭了自己的冲动”，不加思索，爬上了亚雷身后的马鞍子，从而在她的一生中留下了终身遗恨的那个惨痛的一夜。既是这样，她本可以早点离开，但是苔丝还是和亚雷呆了约四个月之后才离开的。在苔丝和克莱尔一起逃亡的最后一夜，也是苔丝把自己当成了祭品睡在了祭坛上，尽管当时克莱尔提醒了她，她却不肯再往前走。第二天，就在这儿，苔丝被执法人员带往刑场。正是苔丝身上某种自我毁灭的东西，使她在同命运、环境、社会的斗争中失败后倒下来。
也有学者从女权主义视角对文本进行解读，指出苔丝的生命历程贯穿着对自我、个性、独立和自主的不懈追求。(王琨，2000)还有学者对此观点表示赞同，指出像哈代笔下的其他女性一样，苔丝竭力挣脱封建宗法制度、传统社会习俗的藩篱;她充满活力、有理性头脑、向往自由、不愿任人摆布，敢爱敢恨、敢于放任自己的生命本性去冲破男权文化的封锁，在她身上体现出反传统女性的特点。(陈海燕，2007)苔丝少女时代的不幸失贞，使她看清了隐藏在传统男性骨子里的“本来面目”，她毅然选择了离开亚雷，微笑着面对男权意识形态的偏见，勇敢地承受着失贞给她带来的苦难。这时的苔丝早已体现了她自尊自主的独立个性。当亚雷对已经被自己玷污了的苔丝进行嘲笑时，自以为是的亚雷点燃了苔丝反抗的欲望，她宁可受难，也不愿落入传统女性忍辱屈从的地位。如果说少女时代的苔丝对这一切苦难的反抗不够彻底的话，那么在打麦场第二次与亚雷的相遇，则体现了成熟期的苔丝的积极的武力反抗。苔丝经历了失贞与失爱的双重打击后，开始以更加冷静的眼光审视着世俗沧桑。当亚雷想再次占有苔丝，并采用软硬兼施的手段企图使苔丝屈从时，苔丝再也按捺不住内心的激愤奋起反抗。苔丝的举动和内在所表现的精神力量让亚雷震惊并折服，他不得不承认，这个外表美丽而柔弱的女子并非是传统男性眼中的玩物，而是一个永不屈服，敢于向男性挥拳舞臂并以死抗争的，富有独立自我意识和挑战精神的高尚女性。苔丝以自己的行为和意志变更了男权制社会传统者眼中的女性角色，她不但超越了过去生活给她带来的阴影，而且在未来的新生活中始终保持着独立自主的品格和自我超越的精神。亚雷的死亡和克莱尔的最后回归，显示了苔丝对男权社会代言人无情摧残女性的肉体与情感的反抗的胜利。她在两难的悲剧命运中毅然地选择了比生命还要重要的爱情，以躯体的毁灭捍卫了自己对爱的忠贞。苔丝凭着自主独立的精神，朝气蓬勃的生命力和诚实坦荡的高尚品格完成了对自我生命的超越。苔丝在小说中的形象并不完全是逆来顺受，她对社会现实从无知到有自己的认识，到最后用自己的实际行动对冷漠的道德观念作了坚定的抗争，然而也正是在反抗中招致自我生命的毁灭。
亚雷:
在苔丝短暂的人生历程中亚雷是造成苔丝一步步走向毁灭的罪魁祸首，他是苔丝命运中的克星，是一个典型的花花公子、为非作歹，玩弄女性的猎艳能手，是依靠商业致富的资产者和暴发户。他淫逸好色，自私胡为，代表了新兴资产阶级，毫无传统的伦理道德。在作恶多年之后，却摇身一变，成为狂热布道的教士。自称改邪归正的亚雷再次见到苔丝时却又死缠紧追，足见其宗教信仰的虚假。对上述观点也有学者持不同意见，通过文本解读，他们认为亚雷在当年奸污苔丝，若干年后再遇苔丝时，良心上受到的谴责以及对苔丝的怜爱使他用实际行动来表达他在年少时对苔丝犯下罪恶的忏悔，而且确实是真心的。学者们在文章中指出在以往的解读中，人们常常由于亚雷资产阶级的身份和小说中苔丝等人的看法及社会固有的成见等因素将亚雷定性为一坏到底的反面人物，而没看到他有其人性的一面，对其人性的复归视而不见，对其评论有失公允。(刘巧兰，2005)
克莱尔:
克莱尔是资产阶级理想主义者、旧知识分子的典型。他出身于牧师家庭，温文尔雅，文质彬彬，有着资产阶级自由思想家的思想;他蔑视社会礼教，无视世俗偏见、厌恶城市生活、清高而有幻想;他不愿接受父亲为自己选择的职业去当牧师“为上帝服务”，而要“为人类服务”，跑到乡下学习农业技术，决心以务农为业，渴望求知的自由。在当时的社会条件下，他代表了进步资产阶级要求改变社会现状和追求自由的愿望，具有进步意义。他鄙视名门世家和阶级偏见，是宗教的反叛者。他不愿当牧师，蔑视社会习俗，不把地位、财富这一类物质方面的优越看在眼里。
他高度评价和赞扬苔丝灵魂、心性和本质的自然纯朴。克莱尔对苔丝的赞美，是他的人民性的表现和对真、善、美的认识，他对苔丝的爱情追求也是他对自由的追求。在他还不知道苔丝的失身的历史的时候，他已经在心中把苔丝理想化了，对苔丝一片至诚，真心相爱。他不顾父母的意见，坚决地娶苔丝为妻，是他争取自我解放的一种努力，表达了他渴望新生活的愿望。
阶级偏见和旧的道德观念使他虚伪、无情而且冷酷，始终没有跳出他所反抗的旧的道德观念的藩篱和摆脱他所鄙视的阶级偏见的束缚，因此，他是一个失败了的反叛者。新婚之夜在他听了苔丝真诚的坦白之后，残忍地抛弃了她。他是男女不平等观念的楷模，是整个小资产阶级形象的化身。克莱尔道德上是虚伪的，他虽然是个有开明思想的知识分子，但他心理深层有一种根深蒂固的传统伦理道德观念。他自己也有过放荡行为，并得到苔丝的原谅，但却不肯原谅原本无辜的苔丝。他用传统的贞操观来看待一个女人的纯结与否，对苔丝没有丝毫的同情，置苔丝于痛苦绝望之中，他身上所体现出来的虚伪的资产阶级道德使苔丝又被迫回到亚雷的身边。就苔丝的悲剧而言，他的罪责并不轻于亚雷，他在精神上摧毁了苔丝，使她陷入绝望，最后走向毁灭。
《苔丝》悲剧成因研究
说到《苔丝》中女主人公的悲剧缘由，虽然哈代把苔丝的不幸解释成命运的拨弄，但从小说描写可以看出哈代本人的态度也是鲜明的，他把这样一个所谓失去贞节的女子作为小说主角，还在副标题里称她为“一个纯洁的女人”，从而公开的向维多利亚时代英国资产阶级道德发出挑战。这不但揭露了这种道德的虚伪性，而且也抨击了当时法律的不公正。
学者们在研究苔丝的悲剧成因时普遍认为是社会造成了苔丝的悲剧，同时苔丝自身性格也是造成悲剧的重要原因，除此之外苔丝的悲剧命运与作者哈代的宿命论思想关系很大。(马士奎，2001;姚文振、杜丽丽，2004;秋杰，2005;董桂茄，2005;高玉芬，2006;陈艳玲、冯子函，2008)认为苔丝的悲剧是社会的悲剧的学者们认为，社会环境和社会道德因素造成了苔丝的悲剧。当时正值19世纪中期英国资本主义工业文明侵入农村，个体农民在经济上陷入失业、贫困的悲惨境地，资本主义生产方式已渗入到了英国偏僻落后的农业地区，造成小农经济瓦解，古老的秩序被破坏，给以农业劳动为主的各阶层人们带来了极大的不幸。作品中，苔丝家境的惨状正是当时农村贫民生活的真实写照。正因为家境贫寒，而苔丝又在替父亲赶马车时弄死了家中唯一的宝贝马，她才出于自责被迫抛下自尊去攀亲，导致她失身于亚雷，从而埋下了悲剧一生的祸根。在父亲死后，她又以牺牲自己的人格为代价做了亚雷的情妇，这就使她和克莱尔的重新团聚成为一种彻底的不可能，导致了苔丝的悲惨命运。社会道德的悲剧是指以亚雷为代表的社会暴力和恶势力给苔丝造成的主要是肉体的伤害，和作为资产阶级的传统伦理道德的化身的克莱尔给苔丝带来的更为可怕的精神摧残。亚雷是直接造成苔丝悲剧的刽子手，而克莱尔以及他所代表的资产阶级虚伪道德便是这一悲剧的帮凶。除此之外，社会道德的悲剧还表现在当时人们持有的那种顽固的以男人为中心的“妇女贞操”观上。在男权社会中，男性视女性为自己的附属品和自己的私有财产，其最明显的表现就是对待女性的所谓“贞洁”问题。传统的妇女贞操观念认为，妻子的贞操是丈夫的特权，妇女失去贞操就是不洁。苔丝就是这种妇女贞操观的受害者。
认为苔丝的悲剧是她自身性格的悲剧的学者指出，苔丝性格中的善良纯洁使她易受社会龌龊虚伪观念的摧残，她的无私和自我牺牲精神给邪恶的势力以机会，而她自身追求纯洁和坦诚也使她与幸福失之交臂。有学者从心理分析的角度指出苔丝的悲剧命运始于她的本能冲动与心理倾向的矛盾，进而提出在父权秩序占统治地位的背景下，女性要获得具有社会性的性别身份，就必须屈从于对男性有利的统治条文，按着父权秩序的要求接受社会“规训”，建构心理“超我”，所以女性的社会性别身份的获得一定是以屈从为代价的。苔丝为了获得“作为女人”的社会身份经历了对父权统治秩序的身份认同过程，在这一过程中，她最初失贞的生活经历和最终遵循父权统治秩序建构起来的心理“超我”使得她的悲剧命运成为一种必然。(刘参，2004)小说中苔丝在面对亚雷的引诱时，她一直处于一种本能冲动的压制和放任之间的摇摆状态，在她与亚雷的关系上她并不完全被动，而是一个有着本能冲动的女性，从而为悲剧的酿成提供了更深层的依据。苔丝当时已接受了6年教育，已经有意识地遵循某些社会规则，存在着遵循社会规则的心理倾向，这使得她意识到她的行为是不可宽恕的，并对可能引出的后果感到不安。苔丝在奶牛场的经历，正是她在心理上按照父权统治所界定的女人标准来建构自己的过程。当苔丝意识到作为女人失贞是她获得社会秩序认可的最大障碍的时候，她首先要摆脱的是“肉体的羁绊”，恰在此时，克莱尔出现了。苔丝和克莱尔之间逐渐建立起了精神依恋关系。新婚之夜，苔丝的坦白招致克莱尔的指责，对此苔丝认为是合理的，并愿意接受他的任何处置，她甚至于想到了通过自杀把克莱尔从这个令他感到羞耻的婚姻中解脱出来，而最终她没有这样做也是为了保全克莱尔的名声，即便如此克莱尔还是抛弃了她，苔丝与克莱尔感情的发展历程中的行为表示，她接受“规训”的心理倾向是非常强烈。
学者们认为作者强调的是苔丝那种主动并坚定不移地使主体存在屈从于统治秩序的心理倾向，正是这种心理倾向不断地构筑着苔丝的心理“超我”，让她更真切更痛苦地认识到失贞将使她最终被挡在社会秩序之外，是一个不被父权统治认可的女人。随着社会道德规范在“超我”中不断强化，不停地监管着她的行为，苔丝在心理升华趋于完成的同时，也在一步步朝向悲剧的终结点走去。克莱尔离开以后，苔丝依然执着于那份精神之爱，后来因为父亲去世后，家人陷入更加窘迫的困境，苔丝再度回到亚雷身边，这样做使她上述的努力和坚持受到了威胁，苔丝被迫暂时放弃了“精神升华”的努力。但是，由于心理“超我”的在场和不断地“监管”，苔丝对象征秩序的心理倾向不仅没有消失，她内在的良知反而因心理认同进程的中断，而不停地折磨和惩罚她，这种折磨和惩罚最终导致苔丝杀死了亚雷。
通过这部小说作者想传达这样一种思想，那就是妇女解放的程度不仅取决于社会变革的深度，同时也依赖于女性独立意识觉醒的程度和社会批判意识的强度。(刘参，2004)就像小说中所描述的苔丝以自己的生命为代价，得到了克莱尔的原谅。然而苔丝以生命为代价所做的事情并不单是为了获得克莱尔的宽恕，而是自觉地用行动表现出对克莱尔所代表的维多利亚时代标准女人界定的认同和向往，从而导致了她的悲剧命运的悲惨结局。
认为苔丝的悲剧与其作者的宿命论思想不无关系的学者看来，哈代盲目的偶然性是宇宙活动的本质、命运之网由偶然性编结而成。人们命中注定的各种偶然事件凑成了悲剧形势等观点对苔丝人物的塑造影响很大，正是这种奇妙的关系才使人物性格与悲剧性的命运联系起来。苔丝的一生就充满着戏剧性，大量巧合的情节因素构成了苔丝命运向悲剧方向转折的契机，命运一步一步将苔丝推向悲剧的结局。苔丝性格中宿命论的影子也是导致苔丝悲剧人生的一个因素，苔丝觉得好运气与自己无缘，宿命论思想吞噬着苔丝与生活抗争的勇气，削弱了她的斗志，使她经常陷入悲叹之中。小说中不时出现一些神秘因素，关键时刻无论主人公怎样反抗都难逃厄运，神秘力量总是将小人物们的命运一步步推向悲剧的结局。
哈代与基督教的关系研究
哈代对陈腐的宗教观念及由此而生的窒息个性、扼杀人性、阻碍自由和思想解放的陈旧的道德观念、风俗习惯、社会舆论十分痛恨，对此在许多作品中给予无情的批判和激烈的抨击。他赞美人性中的真、善、美，歌颂爱情、怜悯、诚实、纯洁和对幸福的热烈追求。他运用崇尚思想自由、追求幸福快乐的希腊精神以及文艺复兴以来的以解放教会束缚、发展个性为目标的人文主义精神，批判腐朽的基督教观念和教会，并表示应该对其进行变革。(谢灿琛，2005)对此许多学者表示赞同，他们进而指出在作品中哈代以宗教对待女主人公苔丝及克莱尔、亚雷的不同态度和他们截然相反的命运，揭露了反动宗教的邪恶、虚伪和冷酷，否认了神是慈祥的这一宗教断言，从而对传统文化禁锢人的心灵，传统道德的虚伪性和腐朽性进行无情揭露，对现代文化中肉欲罪恶以及理想道德进行尖锐批判。(王雪梅、王宁，2007)
还有学者的研究表明，哈代反宗教及宗教道德观的思想在《苔丝》一书中表现得十分突出，他通过小说人物之口或以故事讲述者的身分，对当时人们普遍接受的有关宗教、社会以及性道德的看法提出种种质疑。(王胜利，2000)小说中最能代表哈代基督教观点的人物是克莱尔，他有着自己的理想和自己的人生信念，是自己家庭的叛逆。哈代借克莱尔之口，揭露腐朽的宗教观念压抑人性，妨碍文明的进展。他对父亲说:“我对于宗教，生来就是趋向改造那一方面的;我引用几句您顶喜欢的那本《希伯莱书》里的话吧‘凡是创造出来的东西，都要把它们震动;那些不堪震动的都要挪开，那些不怕震动的才能存留。’”亚雷代表了新兴资产阶级的花花公子，为非作歹，玩弄女性，毫无传统的伦理道德，这样的人却能逃脱上帝和法律的惩罚，玩弄女性后罪名却让女子来背，足见上帝的虚妄，社会舆论的不公以及资产阶级法律的虚伪，借此哈代对教会表示讽刺。对于苔丝失身的一幕，哈代在小说中再也按捺不住内心的愤怒，发出了“苔丝的保护天使在哪里?她虔诚信奉的神明又在哪里?”的呼唤。苔丝虽然受到失贞的往事的困扰，时常表示出悔恨，但她也时常自问:“女人的贞节一旦失去，就真的永远失去了吗?”
虽然哈代对宗教持批判的态度，但《圣经》文化对他创作的影响却是巨大的。(王胜利，2000;谢灿琛，2005)例如苔丝的过分天真和直率，过分的自我牺牲是促使她步步走向无法回避的悲惨结局的性格上的原因，而这种自我牺牲和通过自身的忍受灾难、毁灭、死亡以警醒他人，有如基督的“为人类受难”的“替罪羊”形象。在小说接近尾声时，苔丝为了追求真诚的爱情，遭受了种种痛苦与磨难，在绝望中手刃“仇人”亚雷，最终被处以死刑。此情节与《圣经》里的耶稣为传经布道而经历种种磨难，后被叛徒犹大出卖，受到统治者官兵追捕，最终被钉上十字架的经过非常相似。
还有学者指出哈代在创作《苔丝》的过程中以其特有的敏感指涉伊甸园神话的原始意象，小说中苔丝、克莱尔和亚雷三位主人公的形象都和《圣经》中的意象有关。(马士奎，2001;姚文振、杜丽丽，2004)《苔丝》中的人物与伊甸园神话原型人物相对应，苔丝具备夏娃所有的“纯洁”、“诱惑”和“堕落”的特性。克莱尔的原型是亚当和天使，克莱尔在苔丝肉体、物质与精神三重磨难时，曾给予她深深的爱和帮助，使她得以重新振作，克莱尔的到来，对于苔丝，就如同传送福音的天使。但他在得知苔丝失贞后遗弃了她，对苔丝的伤害也是致命的。亚雷的原型是伊甸园中化为蛇躲在暗处专干坏事的撒旦，小说中他恶毒而又善诱，是苔丝悲惨命运的主要诱因。在情节设置上小说与伊甸园神话中亚当和夏娃痛失乐园的故事相互印衬。正如学者马弦(2002)所指出的那样，小说《苔丝》从整体结构上重现了“圣经”故事最主要的情节构架，无论从情节的叙述、背景的描写、人物的塑造，还是意象和典故的运用，充分体现了哈代以“圣经”神话故事作为悲剧创作的主要表现手段之一。苔丝与克莱尔在牛奶场相识，两人情投意合，相互倾心，这段美好快乐的时光与亚当夏娃的伊甸园之乐相似。新婚之夜苔丝被克莱尔遗弃后历经磨难，最后再次被迫屈从亚雷。这段经历与神话中亚当夏娃失去乐园，被放逐人世相似。醒悟后的克莱尔回来寻找苔丝，苔丝在极度痛苦和愤怒中杀死亚雷，不惜以自己的鲜血赎罪，换取了克莱尔和自己的妹妹的爱情，这似乎隐喻着人类在得到救赎后重返乐园，从而表示出《苔丝》只是伊甸园神话的“置换变形”。
哈代的女性观研究
有学者指出哈代通过小说中女主人公对自身处境的清楚认识与自主把握个体命运的努力来体现自身的女性意识的觉醒，从这个意义上，哈代从其创作的出发点就显示了一种对社会人生的女性主义诠释，从这一点上看，哈代完成了一种对女性形象塑造的伟大超越。(陈海燕，2007)在《苔丝》这部小说中，苔丝在失去贞操之后遇上克莱尔，并且让克莱尔爱上了她，虽然新婚之夜苔丝在向克莱尔坦白自己的过去后遭到抛弃，但是最后克莱尔还是回来寻找苔丝祈求原谅，让失去贞操的苔丝终于有机会重新做一个灵与肉合一的人。虽然小说以苔丝的死为结局，但在死之中她获得的是道德和精神上的胜利，他使亚雷和克莱尔这两个男性形象成为苔丝完美女性形象的陪衬，成为一个弱女子反抗男权社会的坚定意志的反衬。而以“一个纯洁的女人”为副标题，更是表达了哈代作为一个正直善良的男性对这个不幸女性的品格评判。在当时男性话语占主流地位的社会里，作者敢于如此评价一个婚前失身，后又与人非法同居的女人，显示了他对男性价值评判标准的大胆挑战。从女权主义观点来看，这些足见哈代是个极具女性意识的男性作家。可以说，在对待女性问题上，哈代不仅走在时代的前列，而且在某种程度上超过了他的时代。
哈代刻画苔丝在追求爱情和理想生活的道路上所遭受无法避免的不幸和苦难时，表现出他作为一位男性作家难能可贵的深厚同情，在面对现实反映悲哀命运的同时，体现出他超越时代的女性观。(慎丹丹，2005)在哈代看来女性有权利用自己的方式追求爱情而不受男性的控制和支配。苔丝见克莱尔回来和她重归于好，便不顾自己将面临法律的处罚而杀死亚雷投入她心爱的人的怀抱。苔丝尽了自己的最大努力，可到头来一切都是徒劳，她为爱付出了生命，最终还是被一种超自然的力量所征服。女性在自己的生命里，似乎是以爱情为中心，无法离开男性而独自运转。由此可见，由于哈代的悲剧意识，由于受他性别立场和男权文化的影响，他对女性的追求爱情的精神认可赞赏，对她们的命运悲剧流露同情，可是对于如何去改善女性的处境，以及女性的独立意识他还尚未深入探究。
创作特色研究
《苔丝》作为哈代最伟大、最具艺术魅力、内涵最丰富的作品，它的艺术感染力来自作者出色的现实主义的描写，同时也来自小说中象征手法的成功运用。哈代通过现实主义和象征主义的巧妙结合，使之成为一部带有神秘色彩和诗意的小说。象征手法的运用揭示了女主人公苔丝悲剧命运的发展，不仅反映了哈代的宿命论思想和自然主义倾向，还体现了他的悲剧性叙事艺术。正如有学者所言，《苔丝》作为哈代创作后期的一部悲剧小说，其成就更在于作者用象征主义的手法描述了女主人公苔丝的悲惨命运。(李维屏，2003)
在研究小说中象征主义手法的运用时，有学者认为小说的情节具有象征性，暗示了以苔丝为代表的英国农民阶层遭受迫害及其历史命运。(田国立、张蓝海，2008)小说中家境贫寒的苔丝不幸成为冒牌绅士亚雷和自由资产阶级的代表牧师之子克莱尔的牺牲品，苔丝在饱受摧残后，终于走上与亚雷同归于尽的结局。苔丝之死象征着当时的英国农民阶层注定要遭受迫害，以及崩溃的社会现实和历史命运。小说一开始苔丝家的马车被邮车撞毁这一事件有着深刻的象征意义，邮车是资本主义的象征，苔丝家的马车是小农经济的象征。苔丝家所在的威塞克斯地区的农民们驾车经常不点灯，而且她驾车走路又靠错了边，所以说两车相撞事故责任并不全在邮车。这表明了旧有的小农经济受到了资本主义生产方式的强烈冲击，并走向毁灭。苔丝家的老马在事故中丧生使家中失去了作为小贩的生产和生活资料，预示了苔丝走向毁灭的历史命运。
作为以描写“性格与环境”著称的作家，小说中自然风景和社会背景的描述蕴涵有丰富的象征意味。哈代的有关自然风光的描述，通常与人物的情绪有着某种联系，并使这种描述变得更有生命力。其中值得注意的是，苔丝的行踪和不同的季节联系在一起，文中有关季节的更迭与苔丝不同阶段的经历刚好吻合。当苔丝离开家到牛奶场工作时，正值五月，此时春天的山谷美丽而富饶，花草树木复苏，夜莺重新开始歌唱。此处大自然的苏醒与苔丝经历了第一次的“失身”后的精神上的复苏惊人的吻合，象征了苔丝新的人生阶段。当夏天来临时，万物成熟，自然界因成熟而富饶的图景又与苔丝和克莱尔之间的爱是一致的。随着故事的发展，苔丝被克莱尔抛弃并被迫在一个荒凉的村庄工作则是严酷的冬季，那里条件恶劣，除了不毛之地和凛冽的寒风之外一无所有，这样，地理上以及感情上的压抑和紧张都已达到最糟糕的极限。随着女主人公命运的逆转，环境和气候也变得恶劣起来，肥沃、丰饶的夏日的奶牛场转换成了严冬的不毛之地。社会和自然界的力量交织在一起向她肆虐，考验她和逆境作斗争的勇气。场景的描写不但与情景契合，成为人物处境的一面镜子，而且烘托出人物的心情。在哈代的笔下自然界的一切有形的东西，通过旁观者的移情作用，往往带上了人物的感情色彩，产生了意想不到的效果。小说中打麦机的形象象征着资产阶级文明的残忍和野蛮，而打麦的场景则毫无疑问地象征着资本家对工人的惨无人道的剥削。
哈代通过对自然景色的描绘，旨在揭示主人公的命运及内心世界，苔丝心境的转变也与自然景色的描写紧密相连，每次景物描写都寓示着苔丝一段精神历程的结束。小说开始，布莱克莫尔谷绿色的田野、树篱、草地、蓝色透明的天空寓示着苔丝纯朴的乡村少女生活;在苔丝被奸污的那个夜晚，“一片薄薄的发亮的雾，本来整个晚上都弥漫在山谷里，现在已经散布开来，把他们包围了。”这里的浓雾寓示悲剧的来临，黑暗中树林的阴森恐怖暗指亚雷对苔丝的灵魂和肉体的践踏;奶牛场茂盛的树木草坪、肥沃的土壤、芬芳的野花、欢唱的小鸟、香喷喷的雾气、欢快流淌的小溪、闪烁的群星等意指她与克莱尔的幸福爱情;而白垩高地冬天的凄风冷雨、刺骨寒雪和死气沉沉的荒芜景象则反映了苔丝的失望与被遗弃的心境;临终时古老的悬石坛意指苔丝的献身。祭坛是用来祭献太阳神的，苔丝躺在祭祀坛上熟睡时被警察抓捕，而后被施以绞刑，成为传统伦理道德与世俗理念的牺牲品。
除了借助自然景色揭示主人公的命运及内心世界之外，哈代还借助自然生命来传达象征意义的创作意图。(田国立、张蓝海，2008)在苔丝人生的几个关键时刻，小鸟的鸣叫和沉寂显然具有一定的象征意义。当苔丝受到亚雷的诱惑时，小鸟都在树上悄无声息地栖息着。然后故事的叙述者告诉读者说:“苔丝听到在可爱的小鸟鸣叫之处有蛇在嘶嘶作响。”当苔丝去和克莱尔约会时，她“像一只神魂颠倒的小鸟”一样迷恋着克莱尔。而且她感到“在每只小鸟的鸣叫声中仿佛都潜藏着一种欢乐。”然而当她第二次落入亚雷的魔掌时，她“以一只在被它的捕获者扭断头颈之前的麻雀所持有的目光”望着她的捕获者亚雷。
小说中的色彩也极具象征意义。(郑光宜，2002;孔丽霞，2004)红色的意象一直与苔丝的悲剧命运紧密相连，贯穿故事的始终。在故事的开头，苔丝去攀亲时，头上系着一根“比平常宽得多的”红色的发带，德伯家的房子是红色的砖砌成的，亚雷带苔丝到他家的草莓园，把鲜红的草莓送到她的口中，这里的红色代表着危险与淫欲。当苔丝家里的老马被邮车撞死时，鲜血溅到了苔丝的脸上和裙子上，此处红色预示着苔丝悲剧性灾难即将到来。当苔丝离开亚雷在回家的途中遇到一位工匠，手里提着一铁罐红色的油漆，在他写出鲜红的闪闪发光的“他，们，的，灭，亡，必，速，来，到”的大字时，苔丝感到似乎所有这些大字都在谴责她的失身与堕落，这里的红色意指淫欲。苔丝与克莱尔的新婚之夜，壁炉里的红色火光罩满了整个房间，那么的刺眼，这里的红色即是不祥之兆。苔丝在杀了亚雷之后，布鲁克太太看到在白色的天花板上有一个红色的小点，此处的红色象征着暴力与犯罪。
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