Religion in "Tess of the D'Urbervilles"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how Thomas Hardy frequently subverts social convention in his novels and how religion is unquestionably a theme that Hardy calls upon his reader to consider in "Tess of the D'Urbervilles". It looks at how he offers nature and fate as alternatives as well as established pre-Christian forms of belief and through his characters he debates their advantages and disadvantages. It covers parts of the novel dealing with Christianity, nature and superstition as systems of belief, including Tess's rape, Alec's conversion, the bible quotation, and Angel's beliefs.

From the Paper:

"However ambiguous Hardy's own ideas may be, much emphasis is placed on Angel's and hence Tess's beliefs. In particular, Hardy draws the reader's attention to this in the sixth phase, entitled "the convert". The title in itself is interesting. At first, the reader is led to believe that the title refers to Alec's reformation and conversion to Christianity. However, based on the later stages of this section it is possible to argue that the title actually represents Alec's conversion to Angel's beliefs, since "the convert" has connotations of a conversion to what is right. The use of ambiguity here is meant to unsettle the reader, to make them reconsider their first impressions. Despite the implication of a conversion to the correct belief system, his conversion is described as "whimsical" (p. 314): it seems unlikely that Hardy would advocate the rejection of Christianity with so weak a character as Alec as representative."

More papers on Religion in "Tess of the D'Urbervilles":

• Analytical Essay # 104714 : "Rape/Seduction Scene in "Tess of the d'Urbervilles"
• Analytical Essay # 150049 : "Setting in "Tess of the d'Urbervilles"
• Analytical Essay # 1237 : "Character Analysis of Tess in "Tess of the d' Urbervilles"

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