Year 12 Rationale for Emulative Coursework Before embarking on producing your c. 1000 word draft copy of your Hard-esque re-creative piece, fill in this plan/ rationale firstly. Only after I have approved it with you and signed this document, may you begin writing. When/What? What are you going to recount or describe? What happens before and after in the text? Does it presage future occurrences or echo earlier ones? Why? What would have been Hardy’s (usually social) purpose(s) for writing this passage? Who? Which characters appear? How will you distinguish them in their dialogue? Do they act in a manner consistent with their character? Which themes will you link your passage to? Injustice and Fate? Nature and Modernity? Social Criticism? Paganism and Christianity? Women? Be aware it is not enough to merely reference these themes obliquely, you must, as Hardy does, say something about them (indirectly, often through….) …How? What features of Hardy’s style will you use? How will diction choices be informed? Symbolism? Biblical references? Irony? Satire?

Angel's Somnambulism

•What does the sleepwalking incident reveal about Angel? •How does Tess respond to the incident, and what does this show about her? •Look particularly at references to death and dying. ◦What, in fact, has really died? •What does Hardy emphasize in the visit to the dairy? •Look at Tess and Angel's farewell. ◦What are the terms and conditions Angel lays down? ◦Hardy seems to suggest that if Tess had tried harder, she may have been able to make Angel change his mind. Would you agree? ◦What chances do you think exist for the marriage at this point? ◦Is Angel's behaviour here any different from Alec's in Ch 12? •Hardy also suggests there is a fatal family flaw. ◦What is this? ◦Is Hardy being fair to Tess here?

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how "the voice" by Thomas Hardy links to the character of Tess

How ‘the voice’ by Thomas Hardy links to the character of Tess

The poem ‘the voice’ was written for Hardy’s first wife, Emma, who died in her room whilst hardy was outside in the garden after they separated more and more along separate paths. It was only after her death that he realised how much she meant to him and began to write poems about his loss after he received too much hate for how scandalous and pessimistic his novels were. 

Hardy appears to embody her within the character of Tess as seen through the similarity of the Tess to the woman in the poem - Emma. Firstly, he only refers to her as ‘woman’ in the poem, similarly to how Alec rarely refers to Tess by her real name, preferring to give her nicknames such as “My big beauty” to make her his possession. The lack of their real names also links to the victorian society, showing how since men are the dominant sex, they do not need to refer to women by their real names.

This is also seen in the way that he orders her in the same way that Alec leads Tess around his land to show off his wealth. This is seen through his statement ‘let me view you then’, showing how the two women have to do what the two men say and obey them without knowing what they are doing. This is again showing how the men are the ones with the control, and so the women have to do what they say.

Connections to Tess characterisation in 'The Voice'

Connections to Tess characterisation in 'The Voice'

In the poem Hardy is hearing the voice of his estranged dead wife from when they were once in love. It is full of regret and remorse towards the lonely times that he spent without her after her death.

The setting is very similar to Tess of the D’Urbervilles as it is set in a the cold isolated moors with the wind blowing metaphorically through the words such as “wistlessness” and “listlessness” as though the past that he remembers simply blew away in the wind. This metaphor of the wind could also be interpreted as a ghoul of his dead wife that is haunting Hardy and the reflects similar ideas in the ghoul of Alec that Tess must carry with her throughout her times in the story. The fragility of Tess’ situation is mirrored in Hardy’s relationship with his wife as both see the future as bleak due to the past. Therefore the setting has an almost pathetic fallacy continuum that can be associated with both the novel and the poem.

listlessnessHardy reflects similar characteristics in both his wife and Tess as he refers to the time in which he wishes to remember his wife, he remembers her in an “air-blue gown” for which is similar to the white gown that Tess wore before she went off with Alec. He presents this time as before she had ‘changed’ which can also be said for Tess who does not return home again till after the incident that changes her life.

Notes on article named: Tess: A Pure Woman?

Tess: A Pure Woman?

Questioning the actions of Tess and the impact of Alec upon her conscience state puts into questions whether Tess was a pure heroine who is then a victim of crime that she is no way complied with or whether she in some ways was attracted to Alec, the mysterious and unconventional stranger.

 In a letter that Hardy wrote he said: “that the heroine was essentially pure”. However it is also noted from this article that in his autobiography it is stated that he enjoyed the debates of the “late- Victorian” and the provocation that came from men of whom loved to see women as “black and white” terms- either an angel or a harlot.

After re-reading the passage in which Tess becomes impregnated the ambiguity of Hardy’s description of the sexual act could suggest that this was so that there was the shock element of Alec’s act upon this harmless and innocent girl without provoking too much distress. The first phase shows Tess as an innocent farm girl who simply complies with the word of her mother and father whilst looking after her brothers and sisters. Therefore the ambiguity could to try and preserve some of her existing character whilst also shredding away her purity. I also think that the Victorian black and white perspective helped Hardy with the jarring element of rape because Tess is characterised as an innocent “goddess” who commits the act of which a “harlot” would.

A Pure Woman

Contrasting colours or red and white are used in the novel. Tess is seen to be wearing a pure white dress with a vibrant red bow in her hair. The connotations of both colours are obvious but the combination of the two introduces Tess’s dual character. Tess is seen to be a pure woman- in Victorian times this was a compliant and discrete housewife who would not step beyond the hidden line that society had drawn for them. However I think that Hardy shows Tess to be a woman who wished to go beyond this line and reaches for more than the life that society has given her. Hardy is seen to have said that he was “in love with Tess” ; this could be due to her remarkable character that he has given her; which is hard to find otherwise in the his (the Victorian) society due to the oppression that women are subjected to.

Changes to the Strawberry Scene

The article goes on to mention the notable changes that Hardy made to the infamous strawberry scene mentioning that this made Alec seem more “villainous”. By doing this Hardy has increased the vulnerability and seduction that hides Alec’s true intentions making him appear even more manipulative.

During his lifetime Hardy was forced to edit and remove parts of Tess because it was seen too controversial for Victorian readers.

 

The Voice-Thomas Hardy

After doing a bit of background research, I found that this poem was written for his first wife Emma, who suddenly died after she and Hardy grew further and further apart. The poem shows us the longing that Hardy had for his wife after she died, and how Hardy regretted not being able to come closer to her and say goodbye. It focuses on change; how a person can change and become a different person.

This links to the way Hardy has characterised Tess, in the sense that Alec has known Tess quite well form the beginning but now, she is a changed woman. Hardy has presented Alec as being a womaniser but perhaps now, he wants Alec to get to know Tess a bit better. The poem talks about what one would do if someone who used to close to them passed away, but in this case, we have to think about how Alec would react if Tess was to die.

The same assertive commands-"call to me"- appears again. Both Emma and Tess are the passive recipient, being ordered around, whether dead or alive.

The way that Hardy refers to Emma in the poem is very similar to how Alec thinks of Tess. Hardy calls Emma simply "woman" which shows how Hardy characterised Emma. He doesn't even give her a name, which makes her seem more of an object than someone who used to be close to him. In the same way, Alec characterised Tess as an object, something which he can adorn and look at. However, since Tess isn't dead yet in accordance to the poem, perhaps she is trying to say that she isn't an object any-more: she is a woman that now knows how to act for herself.

In terms of the setting, the poem is set out on a moor, where the wind blows a lot. This is very similar to the setting of Tess. That's all I've got.

The Voice - Thomas Hardy


This poem is in the voice of Hardy himself and he speaks of a love he once had for a women. It is unclear whether the woman was his wife or just a lover although I infer that it was indeed his wife from the line 'the one who was all to me', this indicates that this woman was clearly more important than just a lover.

Something that I noticed was the way the 'Woman' is not given a name, she is presented as a nameless being and for me this takes the attention away from the person itself and concentrates more on the emotional connection with the woman instead of maybe a physical attraction.

Another point I noticed was Hardy's use of  'listlessness' and ' wistlessness' these are both long drawn out words that are almost whispered when spoken, due to them being spoken from the front of the mouth, and requiring the use of the tongue for the S's. This gives me the impression of a ghost-like passing which suggests the woman he once loved has died and dissolved into the winds.