Les horizons de Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy’s fiction is generally regarded as concerned with the hopelessness of the human condition in an indifferent universe. But Hardy’s heroes are also clearly situated in the society of their time. This article will look at two of the socially determined patterns that contribute to the failu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée
2012-06-01
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| Series: | Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/cve/1654 |
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| Summary: | Thomas Hardy’s fiction is generally regarded as concerned with the hopelessness of the human condition in an indifferent universe. But Hardy’s heroes are also clearly situated in the society of their time. This article will look at two of the socially determined patterns that contribute to the failure which they usually encounter in their quest for a horizon beyond the class and place where they were born : the inability to construct a horizon and the adoption of a horizon in simple reaction to the environment. The inability to construct a horizon will be analysed through Tess, whose future is destroyed by her status as a fallen woman and the characters of The Woodlanders, lured by their hopes of social betterment. The notion of a reactive horizon will be analysed through the protagonists of The Return of the Native and Jude the Obscure. The heroes of Far from the Madding Crowd and Two on a Tower will be used to confirm the point a contrario. |
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| ISSN: | 0220-5610 2271-6149 |