A Critical Study of Character of Thomas Hardy’s Tess
A Critical Study of Character of Thomas Hardy’s Tess

Summary/Abstract: Tess Durbeyfield is the heroine of the novel. According to the concept of Greek Tragedy a hero or a heroine should be great figure by birth or achievement. But Hardy created his heroes and heroines from ordinary Wessex men and women. In tragic grandeur and sublimity she stands in front rank. The simplicity of her nature, the nobility of her soul, the capacity to suffer, the spirit of effacement, and her purity all make her one of the sublimest heroines of English Literature. Tess is the simple sincere and passionately faithful and as different as possible from those fickle and elusive young women was display, in some of his other tales affections as veering as weather-cocks. Her stoicism and her devotion to her husband win the admiration and sympathy of many generations of readers. She has dominated the novel not by the aggressiveness of her character but by her sweet and tender humility. The present paper is an attempt to explore the different shades of Tess’ vivacious character.

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