Puzzling Hardy

Now that we have spent the last three weeks reading, discussing, and critiquing Hardy's major works, we recognize his complexity. He presents strong, positive female characters, but has them fail miserably. He glorifies Nature and rural life, but only tragic events befall those whose lives are tied to the land. Carpenter states, "Hardy becomes more, rather than less, puzzling the better we come to know him. There must be reasons for these contradictions."

Now that you know Hardy better what reasons can you find in the inherent contradictions of his works?

Myth

"Myth is a dramatic vision of life, and we never cease making myths, accepting myths, believing myths" (Dorothy Van Ghent). All writers incorporate myth in their stories. Since writers dramatize life in their stories, selling myth is their job. But myth is not a set system. It varies from culture to culture, society to society, and person to person; what a writer realizes is that in order to create a believable, inviting space they must construct a plausible mythos in which the event can occur. In a way, this is the magic of literature -- the creation of a believable world from imagination.

What is Hardy's system of myth? In what ways does he create a "dramatic vision of life"?

Hardy and Change

Shannon Rogers in her essay on Hardy and medievalism presents the position that Hardy interprets the changes of his time (from Victorian values to modernism) through the lens of an earlier change in English history, the Norman invasion (from Saxon to Norman). These social upheavals, she says, created a “somber” and “bleak” tone for the lives of those who lived through them.

After reading and discussing Roger’s essay, do you believe she makes her point? Do you agree or disagree with Rogers? What evidence have you found in your reading to support this view?

Love and Romance

In Tess of the d'Urbervilles Hardy creates a classic love triangle between Alec, Angel and Tess. H.M. Daleski in his criticism Thomas Hardy and Pardoxes of Love states:

"The typical Hardy plot places a female protagonist in a love triangle with two male protagonists who are portrayed as polar opposites. The woman contradicting a general view of her as victim is always granted the freedom of choice of a marriage partner. She invariably makes the wrong choice, which leads to a bad marriage and disastrous sexual relationships."

We see this conclusion fulfilled in Tess, but what of Hardy's other major works? Is this conclusion accurate for all Hardy's work? Does your novel support this conclusion? Post now!

Convergence of the Twain

After reading "The Convergence of the Twain" by Hardy (http://www.melodylane.net/ianwhitcomb/twainpoem.html) what connections can you make with Tess of the d'Urbervilles? How does Hardy converge this themes in both prose and poetry?

Predictions

In V.S. Pritchett's Collected Essays (1991) he says of Thomas Hardy "we are always struck by the largeness of the panorama and by the narrowness of Hardy's single, crooked, well-trodden path across it." From this statement, do you think Pritchett was fond of Hardy?

This balance of large setting and narrow aspect of character is distinctive of all Hardy novels. As you start the next text, knowing what you know from Tess, what can you expect from this new work? What predictions can you make? Any themes, symbols, motifs you may want to pay attention for?