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Tess context - Coggle Diagram
Tess context
Literary
Hardy’s poetry
Much of Hardy’s poetry responds to the suffering and evil he saw in the world and its inconsistency with the Christian conception of God.
In ‘Hap’ he writes that “if some vengeful god would call to me…then I would bear it…and die”. Hardy believes that a malicious but active god would be better than an absent one.
Realist writing
Hardy was critical of the realist style of writing that was popular around the time of Tess’s writing.
Key features in these novels include a high omniscient narrative voice, a grounding of events in the fashions of the time of writing, a focus no exteriority, and propriety.
Hardy believed that “art should be disproportioning”
Hardy as a proto-Modernist
The distortion of scale and language we see in Tess could be seen to usher in th linguistic and narrative experimentation of the Modernist style following Hardy in the 20th century.
The Fallen Woman
Tess appears to embody the Victorian trope of the fallen woman. After the events of ‘The Chase’ she is no lover able to fulfil the expectations of a woman being naive and virginal. She, rather than Alex, is forced to bear the shame for his actions.
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Rural writings
Novels depicting rural life (such as “Hodge and his Masters” by Richard Jeffries, 1880) were increasingly popular in the 19th century, possibly as a form of escapism from rising industrialisation.
“Hodge” is used as a colloquial term for a farm worker in Angel’s description of Talbothay’s.
Romanticism
Hardy’s characterisation of nature can also be said to be influenced by Romanticism. He seems to share the view of nature as being an autonomous force and the necessity of connection between humans and nature. He departs from the Romantic view of nature as more wholesome than humans, however, as he frequently presents nature as an actively malicious force.
Historical, social, cultural
1891 Education Act
This allowed for free education for all children up until the age of 10. Though Tess may not have benefitted from this law but it is one that influenced the position on the necessity of education for children.
Farming economy
There was a boom in the farming industry followed by a collapse in the 1870s. A combination of poor harvests between 1873 and 1879 and international imports preventing a rise in food prices led to great hardship for the farmers who relied on a good harvest for their likelihood.
The agricultural economy continued in a depression for the rest of the 19th century despite other industries recovering. Over the last quarter of the 19th century, land values, rents, and rural wages had fallen by around 20%
The peasantry vs the nouveau riche
During the 19th century most peasant farmers lost their generational ties to the land they worked on and would have to become itinerant in order to survive.
The nouveau riche made their money in newly developing capitalist prospect such as industrial manufacture and were very comfortable flaunting their wealth.
Yeomanry
Most farmers had previously been yeoman who owned the land they worked on. This was a relatively stable class that was slowly replaced by the emerging capitalist class over the course of the 19th century.
Industrial change
There was a great increase in industrialisation in the 19th century. This was something that Hardy was deeply opposed to due to its corruption of the relationship between humans and nature.
Railways
Railways and novel reading expanded at similar times as reading became a hobby as well as just an industrial pursuit. Many novels began to be published in “railway editions” for people to take on their train journeys.
Railways began developing in the 1830s with the first line being built between Liverpool and Manchester. They were seen as a symbol of Victorian industrial growth. A combination of convenience and a more literate public led to the sales of novels increasing dramatically throughout the 19th century.
Philosophical
Charles Darwin, Origin of Species 1859
Darwin’s work rejected traditional religious views and put forward the theory of natural selection. It highlighted the inevitability of suffering and destruction in the natural world - humans as a product of evolution are no different to any other kind of animal. We may have to embrace the brutality of nature in order to survive.
Schopenhauer
Hardy annotated the words of Schopenhauer in his personal notebooks.
Schopenhauer’s work was primarily one of pessimism - “[life is] an unprofitable episode, disturbing the blessed calm of non-existence .
He believes that children were “innocent prisoners, condemned, not to death, but to life”. Suffering and misery are an integral aspect of the human experience.
Comtean Positivism
Hardy attended many lectures on Comte’s philosophy, this had a significant influence on the philosophy we see displayed in Tess.
Comte provided alternative ethical frameworks that realised on scientific evidence rather than Christian doctrine.
Comte also discussed the notion of humanist empathy. This translates into Hardy’s personal philosophy of altruistic ethics. “[humans are] one great network or tissue”
Pagan traditions
Hardy strayed from Christianity increasingly throughout his life and seems to find a pleasing alternative in the pagan traditions seen in Tess.
This is expressed through frequent references to pagan festivals and rituals as well as key pagan beliefs such as heliocentric worship.
Biographical
Agnosticism
Hardy increasingly departed from Christianity throughout his life and defined himself as an agnostic (believing that there could be no definite answer to the question of God).
Human relations
Hardy seemed to see relationships between humans and between humans and nature as a “great network or tissue” that seemed to be sacred in and of itself.
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