Of the negative influences are upon Tess, the most
significant one is actually fate. In Tess of the D'Urbervilles,
Hardy promotes the idea of Fatalism--that no matter what one does in life, he or she has
a predetermined destiny that is useless to fight against. In Hardy's novels, that fate
is almost always negative and increasingly difficult; this is certainly true in Tess's
case. She is an innocent, kind character at the book's beginning, and she does nothing
to bring on most of the circumstances that end up ruining her
life.
In addition to an all-powerful fate, Tess is
influenced significantly by Alec. He takes advantage of her naivety and desire to
please. Even after Tess initially leaves Alec, she is not able to escape him, and his
treatment of her, of course, plays an important part in her
execution.
Similarly, while many would argue that Tess
finds love with Angel, it is also logical to stress that Tess might have been able to
live a better life it she had not met Angel in the first place. He does not love Tess
in the way that she loves him and demonstrates on several occasions that he is not
willing to sacrifice his own desires and goals to help Tess. This turns her to
hopelessness, and like Alec's treatment of Tess, is part of what drives her to her final
act.
In general, the negative influences of the novel are
common ones for most Hardy novels--a harsh physical environment (where Tess grows up),
poverty (which causes characters to act in desperate ways), and class warfare (which
causes some to feel superior and to treat others inhumanely and which results in
some--such as Tess and her family--being willing to endure such treatment because they
have been conditioned to do so).
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