The chief characteristic
about Hardy's style of characterization, which includes
informing the reader of his opinions regarding the
characters, is that of direct commentary about
psychological and emotional states of the characters. This is significant
since Hardy followed the school of Realism introduced by Balzac in France around 1840.
Realism grew following the publications of Balzac's Human Comedy
beginning in 1829 and ending in 1837. This kind of detailed narrator commentary was
earlier predicted by Hawthorne's style of characterization in America with his works
published beginning in 1828.
An example
of Hardy's approach to this is clearly set out in his introduction of
Tess in Chapter II of Tess of the d' Urbervilles.
When we meet her, her description is superimposed over the information we get in Chapter
I that she is the daughter of the last of the noble d'Urberville line of Norman descent
having come to England with the Norman Conquest. We learn that she has noble impulses
and is given to anger and shame for unjust and ignoble causes,
respectively.
"Look here; I won't walk another inch with you,
if you say any jokes about him!" Tess cried, and the colour upon her cheeks spread over
her face and neck. In a moment her eyes grew moist, and her glance drooped to the
ground.
With this passage,
Hardy lays bare her deepest psychological impulses, those
of righteous indignation and shame for her family's and her own folly. These same
impulses will guide and prompt her throughout the story. We also learn she is young and
without experience to temper her emotions. This lack of experience is probably the
central factor leading to her tragedy. We also learn that Tess is a commanding and
upright young lady who gives her slightly wayward parents a well-deserved reproach with
the flash of an eye and an example set by her own exemplary
behavior:
and
hardly was a reproachful flash from Tess's dark eyes needed to make her father and
mother rise from their seats, hastily finish their ale, and descend the stairs behind
her,...
So, the
dominant means that Hardy uses
to inform the reader of his opinions regarding the
characters, as exemplified by his introduction of Tess, is to comment upon the
character's internal struggles and conflicts with psychological motives
and forces, thoughts, emotions and understanding. It is through these
means also that Hardy proves his thesis that the story of
Tess is the story of A Pure Woman (the subtitle) because this
characterization technique within Realism shows her inner psychology that stands true
despite external circumstances.
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