Circumstances in Thomas Hardy

Abstract

Thomas Hardy is among the writers who suffer most at the hands of critics of all epochs. His novels were denigrated by his contemporaries for their presumed immorality and indecency. In modem times, the critics are wont to dismiss him as a provincial novelist, forever yearning after the 'good old days'. In my study, I attempt to look at the possible implications behind these censorious attitudes. The first issue to be addressed is realism. Realism is the form sanctioned by the dominant ideology in the Victorian age. However Thomas Hardy's novels refuse to adhere fully to this tradition. In almost every novel, melodrama or sensationalism put the stance of realism in serious jeopardy. Another phenomenon worth investigating is the plot. Even if in today's literature, plot is considerably curtailed; in the nineteenth-century novel, it still had an important role to play. Some critics feel that in Hardy's texts, the plot aggregates too much power for itself, so that the characters emerge as puppets 'at its mercy. This inevitably leads to charges of determinism and pessimism. In this evaluation, I try to assess these issues in the context of Thomas Hardy' s age and, in particular the ideology within which he purports to be writing. It would be interesting to speculate on whether it is justifiable to place Hardy's oeuvre in the narrow no man's land between classic realism and modernism. However, the prime motive behind this short study is to dislodge Thomas Hardy's novels from the easily dismissive attitudes, by showing them to be more complex and deep than they are generally given credit for. Unfortunately, owing to the multiple issues involved, it was necessary to limit my study to two major novels. I chose to focus on The Return of the Native and Jude the Obscure. However, there is a considerable interlude between these two novels. Moreover, one notes significant alterations, such as the introduction of the sophisticated consciousness and the absence of the imposing landscape in the last novel. In trying to account for these changes, it will be necessary to make references to the other novels. This will, to an extent, compensate for the limitation of the study. Although, I set out with the intention of coming up with a specific answer that would account for all Hardy's novels, I found in the course of my research that this was a presumptuous design. Therefore, the conclusions reached here, make no grander claim than being speculations on a particular novel. Ultimately, I think this is the most apt way to gain access to Thomas Hardy, the novelist.