Tess
The Ache of Modernism
The Ache of Modernism
The Ache of the Age Reflected in Tess of the d’Urbervilles
Chen Zhen
. General Remarks
Behold man, without home orphaned, alone, impotent facing the dark abyss; . . . And in this strange mysterious night he sees and knows a fatal heritage. F. I. Tiutshev, “The Abyss”
Literature originates from life and reflects life in turn from a higher viewpoint. Literary work is set in a certain historical background and absorbs nutriment from social reality. As the dramatized reality, literature artistically represents many aspects of history and society, which serve as the sources for literature creation. Reversely history and society are woven into the fabric of a good literary work. In the perspective of dialectical materialism, history plays a great part in shaping Tess’s fate. To some extent, her tragedy is destined by the special history in which she exists; in turn, she, as the product of her history, reflects the qualities her history endows her generation. When Hardy wrote Tess, England was experiencing severe strains to adjust to immense alterations in its structure at the time of complete social transition from the old to new. The transition and problems juxtaposing it plunged the whole country into the nightmare of predicament “the ache of modernism” that is called the feeling of the age by Angel in the novel. Bewilderment and perplexity covered this old traditional European country. The old world still lingered with the remaining glories, while the new one was too tender to smash the old and thrive as the leading trend. People at this time were disoriented, groping in the darkness for the right way to a peaceful life. New phenomena and ideas emerged every day; however, no “ism” or doctrine could satisfy people as Christianity had and bring them back to the peace and tranquility of the longcherished patriarchy. Struggling on such a “blighted star” (TD ), life was doomed to tragedy.
The protagonists share the
The Ache of Modernism
The Ache of the Age Reflected in Tess of the d’Urbervilles
Chen Zhen
. General Remarks
Behold man, without home orphaned, alone, impotent facing the dark abyss; . . . And in this strange mysterious night he sees and knows a fatal heritage. F. I. Tiutshev, “The Abyss”
Literature originates from life and reflects life in turn from a higher viewpoint. Literary work is set in a certain historical background and absorbs nutriment from social reality. As the dramatized reality, literature artistically represents many aspects of history and society, which serve as the sources for literature creation. Reversely history and society are woven into the fabric of a good literary work. In the perspective of dialectical materialism, history plays a great part in shaping Tess’s fate. To some extent, her tragedy is destined by the special history in which she exists; in turn, she, as the product of her history, reflects the qualities her history endows her generation. When Hardy wrote Tess, England was experiencing severe strains to adjust to immense alterations in its structure at the time of complete social transition from the old to new. The transition and problems juxtaposing it plunged the whole country into the nightmare of predicament “the ache of modernism” that is called the feeling of the age by Angel in the novel. Bewilderment and perplexity covered this old traditional European country. The old world still lingered with the remaining glories, while the new one was too tender to smash the old and thrive as the leading trend. People at this time were disoriented, groping in the darkness for the right way to a peaceful life. New phenomena and ideas emerged every day; however, no “ism” or doctrine could satisfy people as Christianity had and bring them back to the peace and tranquility of the longcherished patriarchy. Struggling on such a “blighted star” (TD ), life was doomed to tragedy.
The protagonists share the