Theme Of Innocence In Tess Of The D Urbervilles

Superior Essays
In ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ Hardy presents the theme of innocence throughout the novel. This theme is directly linked to the character of Tess, and her loss of innocence, during the novel. Because of the pastoral genre, we expect as an audience for a loss of innocence to be a feature in the novel, which means Hardy presents this innocence as being dangerous and desirable.
When we first see Tess, she is depicted as a girl of innocence, in her ‘white muslin’, as white has connotations of innocence and purity. However her ‘red ribbon’ makes her stand out from the other maids, she travels with. The red ribbon is juxtaposed by the rest of her outfit, and so this could be seen as a symbol for the danger Tess places herself in by, attempting to
…show more content…
However it is only the illusion of Tess’ chastity that Angel falls in love with. He even goes as far as calling her ‘Artemis’ and ‘Demeter’. With one of the goddesses being the protector of virgins, it is clear that one of the main reasons Angel cherishes Tess so dearly, is because of this seeming virginity. He idealizes Tess to state of being a innocent, divine being; when in reality, by Victorian standards she is a fallen woman. Because of this it could be perceived that it is in fact her lack of innocence that is presented as dangerous, as when Angel finds out about the ‘seduction’ at ‘The Chase’ he claims to have married ‘a different woman’. Albeit one that was innocent in all ways, not only in soul but in body also. Yet Tess’ is also guilty of idealising Angel, as she depicts him to be see Angel-like figure of innocence that can do no wrong. Again this makes him more desirable to her, for a husband. Again, we see this version of Angel that Hardy presents is merely image of Angel that Tess’ sees, because of her idealisation towards …show more content…
She makes this apparent when conversing with Joan, after her mother learns the knowledge of her pregnancy. She claims to have been a ‘child’ when leaving ‘Malott’, to work for Alec’s mother at ‘The Slopes’. Asking her why she didn’t tell her of the ‘danger in men folk’. It could be said, because of the novel’s pastoral genre that the novel is structured, with the first phase of the novel is the state of the story being pre-lapsarian, up until the scene in the chase. After this point it could be argued Tess only reflects an image of herself being an innocent woman, and from this point onward it is the illusion of her innocence being the danger, over actual innocence

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    All children must face the loss of innocence at one point in their lives. Alice Walker’s character Myop from her short story “The Flowers” is no exception. Myop, like most children, passes the threshold from innocence to knowledge when she chooses to embark on her own path and comes across the skeleton of a black sharecropper who had been beaten and hung because of the color of his skin. Through this discovery, she realizes the harsh truth of society. Walker portrays Myop’s loss of innocence through historical context, the juxtaposition of light and dark diction, and symbolism in order to depict a coming of age story by gaining knowledge.…

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Connie is a fascinating example of the rebellious American teenage girl. She is cocky, flamboyant, and youthful; like the weiro or cockatiel if you will. And like the weiro, underneath those layers of splendor and beauty there is a fragile little being, insecure in reality but a goddess in her world. With the story where are you going, where have you been? by Joyce Oates, the girl Connie is presented in all of what she wants the world to see her as then slowly that splendiferous covering is slowly torn apart till we have the insecure child curled up in this hallow core of a existence.…

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Life is Change In the late 1940s it was popular and expected to act look and live and exclusive elegant life. Anyone who could not conform to a luxurious lifestyle was excluded from Social Circles and ostracized from communities as they could not meet the social expectations. People of wealth and high status were highly respected and privileged. It was not expected for anyone amongst this highly praised group of people to completely reject the idea of wealth and high stature.…

    • 1564 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The story “of Mice and Men,” by John Steinbeck, depicts Lennie, a very innocent child-like character, who is never held accountable for his actions because of his mental state which ultimately leads to his own demise. “Of Mice and Men,” takes place in the 1930’s an revolves around two main characters, Lennie and George. Since Lennie is incapable of taking care of himself, George has taken him under his wing and saved him from many situations where Lennie was unable to manage on his own. By the end of the story Lennie’s blind loyalty and innocent mindset are unable to save Lennie from his reoccurring mistakes. Steinbeck provides a textbook example of how innocence will not always save people from their actions and how there are always consequences.…

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the openings of the novels ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ and ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’, Hosseini and Hardy portray their female characters as victims of circumstance, making them sympathetic characters. While the openings of the two novels are set in different times and in different places, with ‘A Thousand…’ being set in the 1950s in Herat, Afghanistan and ‘Tess of…’ being set in rural England during the late 19th century, Mariam and Tess have similar predicaments. They are both women living in poverty under an oppressive patriarchal society and both have difficult lives due to society and the people around them - Mariam is a ‘harami’ who is unwanted by her father and treated harshly by her mother, while Tess has to look after her family…

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Children are often considered the people who bring out the best parts of human nature. This is partly a result of the care and love children demand, and their simplistic lives. Pearl, in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, does not have a life of simplicity, as she is welcomed into the Puritan world as an “elf-child.” However, she indirectly functions as a spark, igniting better versions of those who surround her.…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the theme of the mockingbird to describe innocence and only helping others. Although this novel’s theme is mainly about racial discrimination, the theme of innocence is just as prevalent. Harper Lee displays the theme of innocence through Tom Robinson, an African American falsely convicted of rape, and compares him to a mockingbird, an innocent songbird that helps humans by delivering joy. Another character Harper Lee compares to a mockingbird to display innocence is Arthur “Boo” Radley, a recluse who saves Scout and Jem Finch from getting killed by Bob Ewell. To Kill a Mockingbird’s theme of innocence shows readers it doesn’t matter if someone looks or acts different, they can still have good morals.…

    • 746 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Marigolds by Eugenia W. Collier, the narrator expresses a blissful and ignorant tone about her life before the loss of innocence through the use of denotation and connotation. The narrator demonstrates bliss when she feels “nostalgia” reminiscing about her mixed childhood feelings that held “joy” and “gladness” (Paragraph 2). The denotation of “nostalgia” is a wistful desire to return to a former time in one’s life meaning that the narrator desires to return back to her childhood. More often than not, one would only want to return back to a blissful past. Furthermore, “joy” and “gladness” is synonymous with bliss and is used to emphasize the happy feelings of the narrator as a child.…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Eugenia W. Collier’s short story, “Marigolds”, and Amy Tan’s short story, “Two Kinds”, contain the common thread of loss of innocence. In Collier’s short story, Lizabeth has not lost her innocence, therefore neglects the fact that her actions may be causing harm to others. In Tan’s short story, Jing-Mei does not realize that her mother only wants her to accomplish the best. Each character progresses throughout the stories and realizes that their actions were not the best. This progression can be described as the loss of innocence.…

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This change in events caused for Tessie’s life to be at stake. When fate finally took control, Tessie opened her paper, and saw she had the…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850 classic The Scarlet Letter is a novel full of love, scandal, and sin that follows the life of a Puritan woman in the seventeenth century Massachusetts Bay Colony. This woman, Hester Prynne, has committed adultery and given birth to an illegitimate child, a very serious crime during her time, with the local minister Arthur Dimmesdale and, as retribution, is forced to wear a scarlet letter ‘A’ on her bosom for the rest of her life. This child, Pearl, is described by Hawthorne as sprite-like with a mischievous character and sometimes seemingly demonic actions. Although she is a side-figure in most of the main action in the novel, Pearl’s influence on the plotline and other characters around her is undeniable. Because…

    • 1121 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I believe the meaning of the title “To Kill a Mockingbird” is more like a title “To kill something innocent” with a mockingbird being an innocent person. I believe this is the meaning of the title because the theme of the book centers around innocence and unfairness in the world. Multiple scenes in this book focus on Scout Finch, who as a child, is still innocent and thinks and describes moments as unfair due to them being unfair. She is the only one that still clearly sees this due to her young age as most others are already shrouded in selfishness and emotions.…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Analytical Essay “Happiness can only exist in acceptance.” - Denis De Rougemont This means that we can only be happy when we accept those who are different from us.…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Characterization of Sylvia Sylvia is one of the main characters in Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson.” Sylvia’s actions and personality traits are key when it comes to comprehending the backgrounds of Sylvia and the other children. Throughout this story, Miss Moore tries to educate the kids with lessons such as realizing social unjustness and calculating change among other things. During their day out, Sylvia shares her feelings through her narration and actions.…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Pearl’s moral ambiguity shows in her transformation from being seen as a beacon of evil to being seen as an intellectual and socially aware young lady. By being a morally ambiguous character, Hawthorne is able to leave the reader in a perpetual state of apprehension regarding Pearl’s true moral alignment. From the moment Pearl is born, the little girl is treated like an outsider, and as a figure of evil and possible satanic origin. This view of Pearl comes forth in the personality during her early years. Pearl does not fit in with the rest of the children around her because of her connection to sin and evil.…

    • 1622 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays