The novel has been described as “a profoundly irreligious novel”, and among all other
things, by critics such as Michael Millgate, “introduce implicit comparisons with Christ”. It
certainly seems that on reading Hardy’s novel, he uses his characters to make
observations that may have displayed his dispute with the beliefs of the Church at that
time. Nevertheless, some traits on the book reveals that it is not entirely an irreligious
novel. For example, “1st person up of all the world” which directly refers to Adam and Eve.
Almost the whole novel is presented as irreligious and it is written in a way which might
suggest religion is a worthless debasement of primitive spiritual ideas. For example, when
Tess and Angel arrives at the temple of monoliths before arriving at Stonehenge, “day of
vanity, the Sun’s day” and “affecting business with spiritual things.” The bitter irony of this
regards Christianity is lowering the moral value of people by reducing the content and this
shows Hardy possibly wanted to present the book as a “irreligious novel” to reveal religion
is doing harm in people.
Another example of the novel showing it is irreligious is the use of the fire which is
“reflected” from “his fork” makes Alec rather satanic. The fire being a suggestion of hell
and the fork portrays to be the trident that devil carries. There are number of other
The Term Paper on Kristev
... that man plays in the vast universe, is, in contrast, irreligious in the truest sense of the word." I think, but ... finally, is less narcissistic than people say, and hence more .. . irreligious, in the Freudian sense to which I have just alluded. ...
occasions which Alec himself is associated with fire or Satan, is the entrance of Alec as
they are all unexpected. For example, when Tess is whistling every morning to the
chickens, Alec spied on her that “better of his freak to terrify her.” This event is predatory
and he is trying to sabotage the moment of peace Tess got as if he is pouncing on his prey
and waiting for it silently.
In the scene of Tess’ seduction in the Chase, Hardy refers Tess as the “hopping rabbits…”
in which the critics by Irving Howe, where she says Tess “is a woman…powers of survival
and suffering.” Hardy indicates one of his main theme, the cruelty of fate as he states “the
wrong man the woman…failed to explain to our send of order.” Tess is described as a
woman with natural simplicity and beauty in which agrees with what Howe says since if the
horse Prince did not die, she would not has a sense of duty to make reparation for the loss
of it. Tess’s freedom is trapped and is limited by the fates which make her begin her
suffering. Hence, this irreligious event might have proven the book as a “profoundly
irreligious novel.”
However, Hardy pulls the book together with another dimension which comes in to show
the novel is religious. Tess baptizes the child Sorrow herself after the vicar rejected to
baptize him and to bury him as vicar. After that, Tess says, “if providence would not
ratify…did not value heaven lost by the irregularity.” Tess as well as Hardy thinks the burial
of Sorrow should be treated as other burial but on contrary, burial carried out at night to
shield her from the church-goers. The vicar’s noble doctrine makes him say he can’t give
the baby a Christian burial as the baby is illegitimate. This conveys that because of Tess’s
simplicity and sincerity which she wishes to give the dead Sorrow a proper burial, I
consider the refusal from the vicar is not a loss to Tess herself but to Christianity. The
name of the baby, “Sorrow” might as well criticizes the harshness of the church (vicar).
The Christians ritual in the small rural areas like Marlott, the May Dance is a religious
celebration celebrating the end of winter and beginning of summer. Hardy describes,
“singularity…in the members being solely women.” Tess’s purity and innocence are
demonstrated as May Day Dance is welcoming the arrival of spring as well as the
The Essay on Israeli Folk Dance
Israeli folk dancing has been around for many years since Israel as a country was established in 1948. Originally Israeli folk dance was created to mix new culture with the old land, by combining different dance from around the world. This was created for Israelis to dance to in Israel to start a new culture. The dances are performed in a circle or partner like western country side line dancing. ...
“purity” of the season. As well as signifying the “purity” of the season, critics by Peter
Widdowson says “naturalized representation of realism” as we can see the
characterization of “Pure Woman” in Tess and the May Dance as well. Despite of that,
Tess “falls from grace” in the second phase of the book after her rape by Alec in the
Chase, is the miniature copy of the natural world. Widdowson’s comment and Hardy’s
intent signifying the importance of the May Day Dance somehow reveals Tess’s
righteousness and psychological state before her fall since the day of the dance is she first
realizes her real identity as a d’URberville which leads to her tragic end. Indeed, Tess is a
“pure woman”, but she is also pushed by an pagan lifestyle as the gap between the
Victorians celebration of the dance as to the holiday’s pagans, indicates the tragic behind
Tess which Howe says, “Tess…fails to satisfy the standards of the world”.
Bruce Johnson writes that “Christianity representing an interference” as we see Hardy
from two distinct perspectives, biblical illusion together with the knowledge of a believer
but a non-believer at the same time. This gives us reason to think that where the novel is
“profoundly irreligious” and that although it is irreligious, a small part of it reveals it as
religious.
