ABSTRACT：In the 19th centry, England and other western countries experienced the Industralization Revolution which was symboled by the invention of steam machine. The development of the industries had a stupendous impact on many aspects of the English society. The whole society system was forced to change. Thomas Hardy in this special period was regarded as Shakespeare in English novelists by the critics. He showed us a beautiful, pure but tragic artistic image Tess in his greatest novel, Tess of the D’Urbervilles. The contributing factors of Tess’s tragedy lie in the combination of the persecution of capitalist state apparatus and religion，the devastation of traditional moral principles and the weak points in her characteristics, so on and so forth.
Key words: England; Thomas Hardy; Tess of the D’Urbervilles; Tess; tragedy; reason
摘要：19世纪以来，在英国和其他西方国家发生了以蒸汽机的发明为主要标志的工业革命。工业的发展侵蚀了英国传统农业社会的宗法秩序。处于该时期的英国著名批判现实主义小说家哈代在他的小说《德伯家的苔丝》中给读者讲述了一位美丽、善良的少女苔丝的悲剧人生。分析苔丝的悲剧成因对于正确认识19世纪的英国社会所处的状况、哈代和及其小说《德伯家的苔丝》都有一定的启示意义。
《德伯家的苔丝》是托马斯•哈代的代表作之一 ，从其1891年问世到现在已有一百多年，但仍经久不衰，是文学史上必读的作品之一。普遍评论家和学者认为《德伯家的苔丝》中的苔丝悲惨命运与社会状况、制度、道德及其自身性格等有着不可分开的关系。本论文将在前人成果的基础上，继续沿着这一方向进行尝试性地学习和研究。
关键词：英国；托马斯•哈代；《德伯家的苔丝》；苔丝；悲剧；根源
Thomas Hardy, the last great novelist of the Victorian period, and the most popular one of his times, was born and brought up in Dorset, an agricultural district in the south of England, which he called Wessex in his books. And among the Wessex Stories the most successful and controversial at the same time was Tess of D’Urbervilles.
Just from the title of the book it caused numerous debates because the subtitle of it was “the Pure Woman”. Many readers and critics were opposed to this title with the reason that such a girl who was seduced was not matched to the quality of pureness but the author still maintained to adopt it no matter how strong the opposition was. The question arose from the divergence between the two parties. Why did they object so mightily while the author still adhered to his own opinion? What were the reasons for the miserable fate of Tess? When we know the answer to this question then other questions will be readily solved.
The thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter One is the brief introduction to Thomas Hardy and Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Chapter Two is the background knowledge of the England society in 19th century, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, and Tess. Chapter Three is a detailed analysis of Tess of the D’Urbervilles and the reasons for the tragedy of Tess, based on three important reasons. Chapter Four is a conclusion of the thesis and the significance of the study of the reasons for Tess’ tragic fate.
