Existence and Essence of Cosmic Absurdity in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56062/gtrs.2022.1.7.5Keywords:
Janus, Rampant, Proto-existentialist, Blip, Etiquettes, Ethics, Hara-kiriAbstract
Thomas Hardy, a world-famous English novelist, is not only known as the ‘Saint of Max Gate’ but also a ‘Proto-Existentialist’ in the domain of English literature. Both his life and his works are in the grip of Existentialism. As his novels, especially tragic ones, are, either directly or indirectly, affected by the themes, thoughts, and concepts of Existentialism, his sensitively hectic life is also, either directly or indirectly, influenced by the existential thinkers and writers like Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Sartre, Nietzsche, and Camus, etc. As his thoughts existing in his works prove, his novels reflect the predicament of human existence, which is concerned with the experiences of individuals’ life. The Absurdity of the cosmos and human life, angst, authenticity, dread, despair, existential crises, preceding existence over essence, facticity, and the Other and the Look, are such existential concepts as are brimming in his novels. The concept of ‘Cosmic Absurdity,’ which is related to the concept of the ‘Absurd,’ that is the crux of ‘Absurdism,’ is an axis around which revolves around his most tragic novels. This article explores the existence and essence of ‘Cosmic Absurdity’ in Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles. In addition, it discusses its tools and how more or less, they affect the plot, characters, and theme of the mentioned novel.
References
Arnold, Matthew. “The Function of Criticism at the Present Time.” Culture and Anarchy and Other Selected Prose, edited by P. J. Keating, Penguin, 2015, p. 109.
Benatar, David. “Preface”. The Human Predicament: A Candid Guide to Life’s Biggest Questions. Oxford Printing Press, 2017, p. i.
Boumelha, P. Thomas Hardy and Women: Sexual Ideology and Narrative Form. Harvester Press Ltd, 1982, pp. 123-24.
Grene, Majorie. Introduction to Existentialism. Phoenix Books, the University of Chicago Press, 1948, p. 26.
Guru, G.P. Thomas Hardy, the Artist and the Thinker: A Study of His Novels, recited by Arnold Kettle, Pradip 1998, p. 34.
Hardy, Florence Emily. The Life of Thomas Hardy. Palgrave Macmillan, 1962, p. 148.
Harvey, Geoffrey. The Complete Guide to Thomas Hardy. Routledge, 2003, p. 169.
Hardy, Thomas. Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Nelson Doubleday Inc. Garden City, 1891.
Lavrin, Janko. Nietzsche: A Biographical Introduction. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1971, p. 43.
Marshall, Percy. Masters of the English Novels. Dennis Dobson, 1962, p.183.
Michelman, Stephen. The A to Z of Existentialism. The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2010, p. 27.
Miller, J. Hillis. Fiction and Repetition: Seven English Novel. University Printing Press Cambridge, 1928, p.119.
Odubajo, Tola, and Odubajo, Dayo. “Gender Prejudice in the Victorian Era: An Elucidation of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles” Gender and Behaviour, vol. 15, no. 2, 2017, p. 9229.
Rutland, W.R. Thomas Hardy: A Study of His Writings And Their Background. Basil Blackwell, 1938, p. 89.
Sartre, J.P. Existentialism and Humanism. Translated by Philip Mairet, Metheun & Co. Ltd.,1948, p. 52.
Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet”. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Edited by W.J. Craig, Magpie Books,1992, p. 886.
Shakespeare, William. “King Lear”. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Edited by W.J. Craig, Magpie Books, 1992.p. 930.
Sherman, George William. The Pessimism of Thomas Hardy. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. Press,1976, p. 447.
Solomon, Robert C. Existentialism. McGraw-Hill.1974, pp. 1-2.
Web Resource:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism. Retrieved on 15 Sep. 2022
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
