The Role Of Evolution Theory And Darwinism In The Works Of Thomas Hardy

. Rapid industrialization followed by unpredictable changes in the lives of the people began to register its effects in the writing of the Victorian novelists. The gap between the rich and the poor escalated new heights of differences and there arose an economically well off ‘middle class’ in the society dictating the terms and regulations of the society. Developmental activities and production in the sphere of agriculture took to occupying a backseat and people from villages started moving towards the industrial towns thereby causing a demographic shift in the size of the population and a change in working culture. It was from the beginning of the nineteenth century onwards that the urban population began to increase in number in England and by 1841 the percent of population of England and Wales living in towns and cities had increased to 48.3 which then rose to 70.2 percent by 1881 (Best 24). The Church by then ceased to hold sway over the lives and faith of the people on account of advancement of science and emergence of newer theories of evolution concerning humankind. The emergence of the concept of evolution theory and Darwinism led to the changes in perception of the nature and meaning of human life or individual beings. Darwin’s theory …show more content…
In Hardy’s novels, the lives of the people seem to be governed and determined by this superior force called Immanent Will. This force at first is seen to be working in the form of Nature and then appears in the form of an indifferent and hostile chance. It then culminates in influencing over the lives of the people by reason of the errors and flaws that found their way into the wills and desires of people. It is in The Dynasts that Hardy explicates the term Immanent Will though the influence of such a philosophy is in galore in the novels of Thomas