Tess - A Pure Woman or A Fallen Woman? The Portrayal of Gender Issues in Tess of the D’Urbervilles: A Feminist Approach

摘要

This article aims at examining women’s social position in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles . A special emphasis has been given to the portrayal of Tess, her seduction and the aftermath of her rape. The narrator also describes the male-female relations in Tess of the D’Urbervilles . The exploration of gender issues in the novel has put forth the discussion in terms of patriarchy. Although the first reading of the novel produces a negative picture of Tess, a close reading unfolds Hardy’s artistic mastery over picking up the total screening of the Victorian age. The discussion why Tess did not protest to Alec’s seduction is not the case; rather Tess reflects on how women are unheard and justified for her being a woman. Her situation also reflects on how she becomes cheap to a society when she is seduced. Tess, a pure woman, becomes a fallen woman. Literally, the novel becomes a social narrative that marks an unjust gap between the male and the female in the Victorian society.