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Theme Of Religion In Tess Of The D Urbervilles

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Novelist, Thomas Hardy is commonly known for his agnostic writing style. Hardy became agnostic after having questioned his faith since childhood. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, an agnostic believes that an ultimate reality, such as God, is unknown and probably unknowable. Agnostics typically do not claim faith nor a disbelief in God which is true of Hardy, who, despite his questioning, is known to portray God in many of his works, specifically Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Although God is not portrayed as compassionate in the novel, he is in fact alluded to, most commonly through the subtle incorporation of Scripture scenes, the most prevalent being the story of Creation in Genesis. This allusion can be seen on page 260 where Alec, the …show more content…

In this passage, Alec returns to make amends with Tess, but his old temper gets the best of him as he ends up blaming her for his actions calling her a “temptress, you dear dammed witch of Babylon” (Hardy 260). This is ironic because in that same conversation Alec compares Tess to Eve saying “surely there was never such a maddening mouth since Eve’s” (Hardy 260). But, how could Tess be Eve if she is the temptress? Like Eve, Tess was led into temptation by someone in disguise. Eve encountered Satan disguised as a serpent, while Tess was tempted by Alec who posed as a convert. Eve, knowing she was …show more content…

It was not until after the initial fall that they were led into temptation thus falling with their lovers into the sin of disobedience. In the story of Creation, Adam acted as an accomplice after being told by Eve to eat the apple. Angel too was an accomplice as he helped Tess hide from authorities after she murdered Alec. Like Adam and Eve, Angel and Tess, in essence, were both disrobed upon Tess giving into temptation. Although they were not literally naked as Adam and Eve were, they were exposed to one another as they now were fully aware of each other’s past and could comprehend the passionate love they had for each other. Unfortunately, as in Genesis, because of their submissiveness to temptation, it would only be a matter of time before they were torn apart from each other. The lead cause of this temptation, Satan, Hardy compares to Angel mostly because he comes back into Tess’ life disguised as a convert when in reality she knows his ways have not changed. Hardy even describes his Satan like manner, depicting his maniacal, “soulless sneer,” and the “hot archness [that] shot from his own black eyes,” all characteristics that helped him assert dominance over Tess, instilling fear into her so he could lead her into temptation. Similar to Satan, Alec used this power to take advantage of Tess, coercing her to abandon what she knew to be

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