Portrayal of women:

Reflection of 19th century is clearly depicted in the portrayal of women. Women were treated as 2nd class citizens in the Victorian society. They were victim of sexual lust and repression. They suffer more as compare to men. They rely on the men and it is up to men how they rule or exercise their authority over them. Women are portrayed as helpless creature by Hardy and he also shows his great sympathy for women. Women are struck in life always because of financial issues and poverty.

”poverty makes all types of adjustment and submits to wealth”

Hardy calls Tess a “pure woman” and “standard woman” it is because she is not morally corrupted or lustful as other characters. Her morals are of heart and mind. Henry Charles Duffin says about Tess that;

“She is moral as any prude, her behavior, her thoughts, her desires on all perilous occasions with Clare and others, and her shame or remorse all are infinite” 

In women portrayal Hardy also presented double attitude and moral standards of society towards women. Tess is ready to forgive Angel but Angel is not ready to accept her after knowing her past. Women suffer in society even more than men and they are weaker vessel in society. Hardy depicted women full of beauty, interest, fascinating and having loveable qualities of all kinds. He has given a great role to women in his novels to play. His portrayal of women is based on his keen observation and study around him and his estimate is very high. It is sad to see that in his novels as in this novel there are very rare incidents when women are free, undimmed and ideal. Women are having desire for men while men also consider them essential as Angel calls Tess “artemis”.     

 Hardy’s pessimistic attitude:

Hardy is considered a painter of dark side of human life. He is hypersensitive because of his own gloomy and tragic life. His contemporary society has some characteristics. Doubts, frustration, lust, industrial development, social and economic structure are all characteristics of his age. We can see all these elements in his writings and his characters are spokesman of all these elements. For example life of Tess is deprived off even a single happiness.

                        “Happiness is but an occasional episode in a general drama of pain”

Her constant sufferings make us feel sorry for her. Hardy believes life as gloom and melancholic. His novels deal with sufferings of poor people and they do not find any way to get rid of their sufferings in other words these suffering s are indispensible. Tess did her utmost effort to get rid of her sufferings but failed and in the end she murdered Alec because it was the only possible way now available to her if she wishes to unite with Angel Clare. She in the beginning goes to D’Urbervilles but she was raped and later she was rejected by society. She goes to Talbothays diary where Angel inspires her and she marries but he leaves her. This all shows Hardy’s melancholic attitude towards life. In King Lear these sentences are fit according to situation.

                        As flies to wanton boys,

                        Are we to gods,

                        They kill us for their sports

 But here there the rule of God is not responsible for tragedy of Tess but it is the cause and effect and role of fate and she has no control over these circumstances. For her time of happiness is negligible while time of suffering and misery is prolonged even her love for Angel also proved futile. Some critics though do not call Hardy a misanthrope, cynic but he is a meliorist in the views of postmodern critics.