A Combined Analysis on Tess of the d’Urbervilles

Abstract： Tess of the dUrbervilles is one of the masterpieces of Thomas Hardy， the last important novelist in the Victorian Age well known for his Wessex novels in which the tragic lives of the tenants in the last decades of the 19th century were depicted. The novel is famous for its perfect use of images and rhetoric devices. So this study is intended to analyze the novel from two perspectives that impressed me most： the use of imagery which falls into the writing part.

Keywords： Tess； imagery； color； bird； fog

Tess of the dUrbervilles is one of the masterpieces of Thomas Hardy， the last important novelist in the Victorian Age well known for his Wessex novels in which the tragic lives of the tenants in the last decades of the 19th century were depicted.

Upon reading the novel， I am shocked deep in heart by both the perfect art of writing and the tragic life that the female leading character suffers in the story which is still suffered by many women in reality nowadays. Thus， this book report is intended to analyze the novel from two perspectives that impressed me most： the use of imagery which falls into the writing part.

Color

Color is a frequent image that the author employs throughout the novel to trace out the path of the protagonists fate. There are two colors—white and red—which literally catch the eyes. On the one hand， white signifies the purity and innocence of Tess which more frequently exists in the beginning part of the novel. For example， when Tess participates in the “club walking”， the author depicts her as a young girl in white gown with a white bouquet in her hand. As is summarized in the novel， “Tess Durbeyfield at this time of her life was a mere vessel of emotion untinctured by experience.” “She was so modest， so expressive， she had looked so soft in her thin white gown that he felt he had acted stupidly.” At this time， Angel also regards Tess a pure maiden that should be cherished carefully. In addition， the symbolic purity also lies in the description at the night when Tess is raped. “The obscurity was now so great that he could see absolutely nothing but a pale nebulousness at his feet， which represented the white muslin figure he had felt upon the dead leaves.” This white image connotes the upcoming transition from a maiden to a woman who lost her chaste.

Bird

Another image that preoccupies the novel is the image of bird. Compared with the image of colors， bird has far more rich implications which changes with the psychological development of Tess. Sometimes， bird is the embodiment of Tess which shares the same fate with her. For instance， at the night of rape， “Darkness and silence ruled every where around. Above them rose the primeval yews and oaks of The Chase， in which were poised gentle roosting birds in their last nap.” Here bird is the symbol of innocence and helpless just like the pure Tesss near transformation unconsciously. Her early years experience let Tess understand that “the serpent hisses where the sweet birds sing.”

Furthermore， the author also employs birds to express sympathy to the poor girl. After Tess strikes Alec with the glove， she is again compared to a bird in a trap， this time to a sparrow about to have its head twisted， “Once victim， always victim： thats the law” seems to sum up the authors attitude. Tess certainly is the victim being punished， but we must ask ourselves why all the agony is being inflicted on her.

Fog

Fog is an important image to create the mystical atmosphere. Wherever Tess goes， it seems the fog dogs her and makes story oppressively covered in a suffocating feeling. On her way to the house of the dUrbervilles， the scenery is accompanied by the fog which indicates the twilight future after this visit. Also， when Tess and Angel make their first acquaintance on the diary， In the fog， Tess and Angel are like Eve and Adam living in the paradise， mutually attracted to each other. But the meadows in the fog are like a white sea while the scattered trees are like dangerous rocks. In sailing， fog is an obstacle to block peoples eyesight. The submerged rocks can wreck the boats and drown the people. The fog conveys a message that the future of their relationship is not going to be a positive and promising one.

To sum up， these images are just representatives of the vast use of imagery in the novel. Actually， images become the very fabric of the book， woven into almost every aspect of the story. The use of imagery not only enriches the expressiveness of language but also reveals Tesss psychological state and fate.

References：

[1]Geoffrey N. Leech & Michael H. Short. Style in Fiction1[M].London： Longman House， 1983.

[2]王冥.關于意象的研究[EB/OL].http：//baike.baidu.com/ view/711.html，2008-01-17.

[3]潘红.英汉国俗词语例话[M].上海：上海外国教育出版社，2005：100.384-385，275-276，377.

[4]哈代.苔丝[M].浙江：浙江文艺出版社， 1991：123、158、144、328、338-339 .

[5]皮尼昂.哈代指南[M].英国：麦克米伦出版公司，1984： 246 .

作者简介：胡亚男，1990年出生，性别女，汉族，籍贯安徽省绩溪县，现就职于安徽外国语学院 公共外语教学部，学历： 硕士，职称：无，主要研究方向：语言学与英语教学。