Nature and Paganism in Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Author(s): Charlotte Bonica
Reviewed work(s):
Source: ELH, Vol. 49, No. 4 (Winter, 1982), pp. 849-862
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2872901 .
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NATURE AND PAGANISM IN HARDY'S TESS
OF THE D'URBERVILLES
BY CHARLOTTE BONICA
"I sometimes
In May,1877,ThomasHardyobservedofhimself,
Natureas pensivemutes."And,
lookuponall thingsin inanimate
I cannot
"In spiteofmyself
yearslater,he confessed,
nearlytwenty
and tempersin objectsof scenery."'
help noticingcountenances
to imbuenaturewithhumanqualitiescharacThe sametendency
ofan Augustdawnin Tessofthe
description
terizesa well-known
D'Urbervilles:
personal
The sun,onaccountofthemist,hada curioussentient,
foritsadequateexprespronoun
themasculine
look,demanding
sion.His presentaspect,coupledwiththe lack of all human
in a moin thescene,explainedtheold-time
heliolatries
forms
ment.One couldfeelthata sanerreligionhad neverprevailed
beaming,
was a golden-haired,
underthe sky.The luminary
gazingdownin the vigourand
God-likecreature,
mild-eyed,
withinterest
uponanearththatwasbrimming
intentness
ofyouth
forhim.2
The impulsethatHardyperceivedin himselfand thatcharacto perceivesentiencein an interizesthispassage-thetendency
in Hardy's
innature-arises,
animateenvironment,
andparticularly
an innateandinescapablehumanneedtomakesenseof
view,from
terms,a need thatran
the universein humanlyunderstandable
ofthings.
counterto Hardy'sownintellectual
understanding
those in his later
Hardyinvestshis characters,particularly
needtodiscoverintheuniversea
novels,withthesameinexorable
and a systemofvaluecapableofreplacingthe
moralsignificance
them.AngelClare,
thatno longersatisfy
orthodoxies
traditional
ofhis partheolatry"
havingrejectedthe "untenableredemptive
fromwhat
ents'faith(153),arrivesat TalbothaysDairysuffering
whatDavid DeLaura has
Hardycalls "the ache of modernism,"
ofthosewhoseinteldescribedas "thedistressand rootlessness
a senseofProvidence."3
lectualhonesty
forcesthemtolivewithout
toChrisalternative
AtTalbothays
Angelseemstofinda satisfying
849
ELH Vol.49 Pp. 849-862
? 1982 byTheJohnsHopkinsUniversity
Press
0013-8304/82/0494-849
$01.00
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heathens
in the"pagan"existenceofthe"summer-steeped
tianity
in theVarVale" (197-98):
Latterly
he hadseenonlyLife,feltonlythegreatpassionate
untrammelled
by
unwarped,
uncontorted,
pulseofexistence,
would
attempt
tocheckwhatwisdom
futilely
thosecreedswhich
toregulate.
be content
(199)
seemstoAngelmorecloselyattunedtothenatuLifeatTalbothays
ralworld,andhence,morenearlysuitedto humandesirethanthe
it seemstobearouthis
lifehe has knownbefore.Moreimportant,
ifGreece
notion"thatitmighthaveresultedfarbetterformankind
and not
hadbeen thesourceofthereligionofmoderncivilization,
Palestine"(199).
to
Attheheartofthecountry
people'spaganismis thetendency
in theirownlives,
see congruence
betweeneventsand situations
in thenaturalworld:thedairyworkers
accountfor
andphenomena
the
tocomebysurmising presenceoflovers
thefailureofthebutter
of
thecock'scrowontheafternoon
inthedairy(172);theyinterpret
in spiteofher
Tess's weddingas a bad omen(257-58).Tess herself,
ofher
Christian
worldwithprojections
training,
peoplesthenatural
and emotions.
ownimagination
superstitions,
Angel,ofcourse,neversubscribesto thecountry
neverdeliberatelyadoptsthe ruralconsciousnessthatanimates
naturewithhumanforms
andhumanqualities.Yethe doesbeginto
make
hehadbefore
known
withphenomena
which
closeacquaintance
andevening,
butdarkly-the
seasonsintheirmoods,
morning
trees,waters
tempers,
andnoon,windsintheirdifferent
night
andmists,shadesand silences,andthevoicesofinanimate
things.
(157)
Thispassageimmediately
thatat Talbothays
followsthestatement
freefromthechronicmelancholy
Angelhas become"wonderfully
whichis takingholdofthecivilizedraceswiththedeclineofbelief
is that,in thepagan
in a beneficent
Power"(156).The implication
attitude
towardthenaturalworld,Angelbeginsto discovera new
fortheexhaustedcreedofhis
sourceofvalue and a replacement
parents'faith-anew wayofmakingsense ofa universebereftof
Providence.
ofone
forAngelis clear:it is the sympathy
Hardy'ssympathy
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conclusionspreventedhimfrombeliefin
whoseownintellectual
butwho,late in life,describedhimselfas
anysortofProvidence,
and
as instincts
sense,butinsofar
notin an intellectual
"churchy;
seek
to
the
impulse
emotionsruled"(Life,376). Hardyunderstood
designsin existence.He also undermeaningsand Providential
stoodthe uneasinessand pain of "advanced" individualswho
Yet
orthodoxies.
couldno longerfindsuchmeaningsin traditional
unexamined
and
vague
of
a
kind
HardyshowsthatAngel'ssolution,
butdangerous.In enshrinprovesnotonlyillusory,
neopaganism,
of
daughter
ingTess in hispaganpantheonas "a freshandvirginal
Nature"(158),Angelturnsherintoa symbolofa wayoflifeand a
role in her
playsan important
systemof values,and ultimately
destruction.
ofAngel'sneopaganto Hardy'sharshtreatment
In comparison
Indeed,the
oftheruralpagansis sympathetic.
ism,his treatment
like the two cited above,
thatmanyof theirsuperstitions,
frost
orovecorrectsuggeststhatforthempaganismis, in Hardy'sview,
existence.But because
an appropriateway of comprehending
ofcivilization,
bytheencroachment
theircultureis circumscribed
ofthe
theirpaganismis powerless.Likethegenteelevangelicalism
elderClares,whomhe also rendersin a sympathetic
light,their
of its
creedis dying.ThoughStonehengeremainsas a reminder
paganismis no longerpowerfulenough,exceptin
pastbrutality,
the handsof a neopaganlike Angel,to effectreal harm.Indeed,
pagans,includingTess herself,with
the country
Hardyportrays
in Tess is
thatcriticshavearguedthathisintention
suchsympathy
withnatureoffersmodern
to suggestthatthe paganrelationship
forChristianity.
individualsa usefulreplacement
ofhuman
Thosewhodo so failtosee thatinTesseveryascription
ofmoralmeaningin
qualitiesto naturalobjects,everyperception
naturalphenomena,is qualifiedand renderedunauthoritative.
Mostsuchpassagesdescribenotnatureitself,buttheresponseto
natureof some characteror impliedobserver.For example,the
encounter
in theTalbothays
gardenduringTess's first
atmosphere
that
andso transmissive
withAngelis "in suchdelicateequilibrium
if
not
senses,
three
or
with
two
objectsseemedendowed
inanimate
on
five"(161).AndlaterthehotweatherofJuly"seemedan effort
Dairy"
thepartofNaturetomatchthestateofheartsatTalbothays
(189; emphasisadded in bothquotations).
has recently
arguedthat,thoughHardydiscounts
BruceJohnson
theruralpaganismthatTess
thevalidityofAngel'sneopaganism,
851
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unconsciously
espousesrepresents
a positivestandard
inthenovel:
"Hardyseemsto associatetheabilitytobe in touchwithprimeval
paganmeaningswiththeabilitytobe in touchwiththeemotional,
primitive
sourcesofone's ownbeing."4Usingthe"heliolatry"
passage citedaboveas a basis forhis argument,
Johnson
claims,
HardyimpliesthatChristianity's
forcreating
capacity
guiltis
unfortunate
andthat
theoldheliolatry
hadnosuchintent-that
it
must
havebeeninthisregard
anunusually
sanereligion.
Unlike
Hardy'susualconception
ofdeities,thesun-god
findsearth
withinterest
"brimming
forhim."5
Johnsonoverlooksthe factthatthe sun appears a beneficentdeity
because ofthe presence ofthe mist,a distorting
mediumthatfunctionsthroughout
Tess as a signal ofmoralor intellectualconfusion.
(Tess is seduced on a mistynight;the morningmist encourages
Angel's dangerousillusions about her.) Furthermore,
Johnsonfails
to see as significant
the phrase "one could see that,"whichimplies
thepresenceofan interpreting
observer.WhatHardyis sayinghere
is thatthe appearance of the sun-distorted by the mist-makes it
possible to understandthe pagan impulse to perceive it in an anthropomorphic
and beneficentdeity. The old "heliolatries" may
seem saner,may even seem to have a more understandablebasis
in the appearance of things.Hardymay even be implyingthat,in
comparisonwith Christianity,paganism may representan ethic
more nearly suited to human desire. But for all that,paganism,
in whateverform,is neverthelessbased on the impossiblepremise
thatthe naturalworld can functionas a source ofhumanvalue.
Moreover,the pagan perceptionof natureas alive with meaning to humans can be a double-edged sword. Althoughat times
natureseems to reinforcehumanjoy, it can also intensifyhuman
sorrow.If Tess can feel on her way to Talbothaysthat
herhopesmingledwiththe sunshinein an ideal photosphere
whichsurrounded
her as she boundedalongagainstthe soft
southwind.She hearda pleasantvoicein everybreeze,and in
everybird'snoteseemedto lurka joy,
(140)
she can also feel,afterhearingthe storyofJackDollop, who refused
to marrythe woman he had seduced, that
the eveningsun was now uglyto her,like a greatinflamed
woundin thesky.Onlya solitary
cracked-voiced
reed-sparrow
greetedherfrom
thebushesbytheriver,
ina sad,machine-made
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tone,resemblingthatofa past friendwhose friendshipshe had
outworn.
(174-75)
Andlater,oppressedby theconflict
betweenherwishto accept
Angel'sproposalofmarriage
andherscruplesagainstdoingso,she
sees in the setting sun
a great forge in the heavens, and presently a monstrous
pumpkin-likemoon arose on the otherhand. The pollard willows,torturedout oftheirnaturalshape by incessantchoppings,
became spiny-haired
monstersas theystoodup againstit.
(219)
Hence, although the sun may sometimes seem a beneficent deity,it
can sometimes seem also to heighten human experience of suffering and sorrow. Worse, the natural world seems at times to be animated with a consciousness antipathetic to Tess's situation. After
her liaison with Alec, during her evening walks,
her whimsicalfancywould intensifynaturalprocesses around
hertilltheyseemed a partofherown story.Rathertheybecame
partofit,fortheworldis a psychologicalphenomenon,and what
they seemed theywere.... A wet day was the expressionof
irremediablegriefat her weakness in the mindof some vague
as the God of
ethicalbeing whomshe could notclass definitely
her childhood,and could notcomprehendas any other.
(120)
AlthoughTess's sense of guilt and her conception of a disapproving
deity may be derived fromconventional morality and traditional
Christianity,her ascription of a disapproving consciousness to the
natural world is entirelypagan. In short,she is a victim as much of
her paganism as of her Christian training. And Hardy is quick to
dismiss her sense of guilt as based on illusion:
She looked upon herselfas a figureof Guiltintrudingintothe
hauntsofInnocence.Butall thewhile she was makinga distinction where there was no difference.Feeling herselfin antagonism,she was quite in accord.She had been made to break
in
an accepted social law, but no law knownto theenvironment
whichshe fanciedherselfsuch an anomaly.
(121)
Citing this passage in support of his argument that in Tess pagan
attitudes toward nature represent a valid model forhuman values,
Johnson argues,
CharlotteBonica
853
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ormoodthatis antipathetNaturewithan attitude
Tess animates
ic to it: she feelsshe is "guilty"and thatNatureis "innocent."
But,saysHardy,bothsheand Natureareinnocent....Although
phenomenon,
shecreatestheworldofNatureas a psychological
thepassagesuggeststhatthereis a more"real"Naturethather
cannottouch,a Naturenotsusceptible
perceptions
psychological
ofguiltthatmustbe calledinnocent.6
tojudgments
The truthis thatwhen Hardy says thatTess is "in accord" with
nature,he is merelysayingthathersexuality,ratherthanseparating
herfromthe naturalworld,actuallyrepresentsherconnectionto it.
Her mistakeconsists not in her perceptionof a moral distinction
between herselfand the naturalworld, but in her ascriptionto
nature,in the firstplace, of any moralityat all.
The point is thathuman notionsof innocence and guiltare entirelyirrelevantin nature.When Tess feels guiltyin comparison
withnature,she is wrong,not because she, like nature,is actually
innocent,but because in the naturalworldinnocence and guiltare
notat issue. JudgingTess and natureaccordingto Christianvalues
rendersboth guilty.JudgingTess and natureaccordingto pagan
values rendersthemboth innocent.But Hardy's pointis thatboth
value systemsare simplyirrelevantin the naturalworld.Contrary
to Johnson'sconclusion,natureis neitherinnocentnor guilty,except insofaras it functionsas a "psychologicalphenomenon"animated by the pagan impulse to perceive meaning in it. In itself,
natureis devoid of moralsignificance.
For Hardy,natureoperates accordingto laws thatare not only
independentof but at times at odds with human desire and the
is clear in
to humansuffering
humansense oforder.Its indifference
the episode in which Tess and her brothertransportthe bees to
Casterbridge.It is Tess who ascribes a kind of moral orderto the
stars,imaginingsome as "blighted"and some as "sound." The stars
themselvesshine"amid theblack hollowsabove, in serene dissociation fromthese two wisps of human life" (59). Nature is clearly
to humannotionsofworldlydistinction.At Talbothays,
indifferent
the sun casts againstthe barn wall the
[thedairyworkers]
shadowsoftheseobscureandhomelyfigures
everyeveningwithas muchcareovereach contouras ifit had
beentheprofileofa courtbeautyon a palacewall;copiedthem
as diligentlyas it had copied Olympianshades on marble
Caesar,and the
faqadeslongago,or the outlineofAlexander,
Pharoahs.
(142)
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More important,
the sun beats indifferently
upon individualswithout regardformoral distinctions.Even the countrypagan Tess
wonders"why the sun do shine on thejust and the unjustalike"
(165).
In fact,an essential qualityof the naturalworldis the absolute
absence fromitofanymoralvalue. It comprisesmyriaddynamicand
urgentforces,indifferent
not onlyto humanlife,but indeed to its
own individualcomponents:
Theseasondevelopedandmatured.
of
Another
year'sinstalment
flowers,leaves, nightingales,thrushes,finches,and such
whereonlya year
ephemeral
creatures,
tookup theirpositions
ago othershad stoodin theirplace whenthesewerenothing
morethangermsandinorganic
particles.
(168)
There is in Hardycriticisma long traditionthatargues thatthe
summumbonumin Hardy'suniverseis thelifelived "in tune"with
nature.GabrielOak and DiggoryVenn are oftencited as examples
of individualswho live such lives successfullyand, forthe most
part,contentedly.Characterslike Bathsheba,FarmerBoldwood,
Eustacia, and Clym make the mistake,in this view, of failingto
acknowledgethe supremacyofnature;consequently,theyremain
unhappyuntiland unless theylearn to do so. JohnHolloway,the
mostdistinguishedand persuasiveproponentofthisposition,says,
"The single abstractionwhich does most to summarizeHardy's
view is simple enough: it is rightto live naturally.... To live
naturallyis to live in continuity
withone's whole biological environment."7
Holloway bases his argumentin large part on Hardy's use of
metaphor-histendencyto describehumansin termsfromthe natural world,and to see in the naturalworld human qualities. He
cites,forexample,a passage fromThe Woodlandersthat"contains
no less thanten metaphors.All of themdo somethingto reinforce
the impressionthat Nature has a quasi-humanlife."8 He lists a
numberof comparisonsof humansto animals,statingthatamong
otherthingsthese metaphors"suggesta continuitybetween man
and Nature."9Hollowayconcludes,"the ultimateeffectofdeliberately confusinghuman and naturalin this way is to make them
seem,in essence,one and thesame."'10Similarly,
JohnPatersonhas
more recentlyargued thatHardy's use of such metaphorsmakes
ofwhollynaturalvalues and condi"people in novels . . . functions
tions ... participants in some larger nonhuman drama."" In each
855
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case the critichas drawna moralconclusionfromwhat is, for
Hardy,an essentiallyaesthetictechnique.
echoes a passage fromHardy's
One of Holloway'sstatements
byEdwardClodd'sanswerto
prompted
notebooks-anobservation
of"a
thesuperstitions
between
similarities
the
about
Hardy'squery
remoteAsiaticand a Dorsetlabourer":
levelsofculofman,"he says,"atcorresponding
"Theattitude
muchthesame,yourDoris pretty
likephenomena,
before
ture,
idea
ofthebarbaric
thepersistence
representing
setpeasants
widegeneralizaandfounds
andthings,
persons
thatconfuses
analogies."
tionsontheslenderest
is,by
andthings"
persons
confuses
ideawhich
(This"barbaric
of
genius-that
imaginative
tothehighest
theway,alsocommon
thepoet.)
(Life,230)
is datedDecember
amusedobservation-which
Hardy'sironically
afterhe had completedthe adaptationof Tess for
1890,shortly
that"conthathis use of metaphors
serialpublication-suggests
not
of his artistic,
fuse"the humanand the naturalis a function
moral,vision.
Hardyponderedthequestionofthe
In an earliernotebookentry,
in
art:
nature
of
portrayal
mustbe lookedinthefaceandtrandefects
ifNature's
So then,
and novel-writing?
whencearisestheart in poetry
scribed,
mechanical
merely
showart,oritbecomes
mustcertainly
which
thebasisof
thesedefects
theartliesinmaking
I think
reporting.
themwith"the
byirradiating
beauty,
unperceived
a hitherto
in
butis seentobe latent
surface,
thatneverwas"ontheir
light
eye.
thembythespiritual
(Life,114)
than
of"defects"thataremoralrather
ThatHardyis herethinking
aestheticis suggestedby his use of a phrasefromWordsworth's
"Elegaic Stanzas."In the poem the poet pondersthe question,
Beforethat
deathat sea, ofnature'scruelty.
raisedbyhisbrother's
event,thepoetwouldhave castuponan imaginedseascape "the
gleam,/The lightthatneverwas on sea orland,/The consecration,
and the Poet's dream."'12
Hardy'sdecisionto make"Nature'sdefects... the basis of a
naa decisionto portray
unperceivedbeauty"represents
hitherto
conceivednotionsofmoralvalue,but
turenotin termsofhumanly
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in purelyaestheticterms;by seeingthemnotwiththeeye ofthe
moralist,
butwiththatofthepoet.
In 1890,Hardywrotein hisjournal,
andorder
Artis thechanging
oftheactualproportions
ofthings,
thanmight
otherwise
be done
so as tobringoutmoreforcibly
thatfeature
inthemwhichappealsmoststrongly
totheidiosyncrasyoftheartist.
(Life,228)
Hardy'sownself-confessed
"idiosyncrasy,"
as thepassagesquoted
atthebeginning
ofthispapersuggest,
was toemphasizetheapparent likenesseshe perceivedbetweenhumanlifeand the natural
world.His metaphors,
therefore,
may"confuse"humanandnatural
foraestheticreasons,buttheyare notintendedto suggesta moral
connection
betweenmanand nature.
fromnaPaterson'sawed responseto Hardy'suse ofmetaphors
tureblindshimtothelargermoralissuesofTess.His claimthat"to
Hardy,Nature... was whathisAngelClarewouldcall 'actualized
poetry"'ignoresthe unconsciousironyin Angel'swords-Angel
sees Tess notas she is, butas a figurein a Romanticpoemcelethe"transfigurations"
ruralsimplicity.
Paterson
of
brating
celebrates
thecountry
folkon theirwalkhomefrom
theChaseborough
dance,
withouttaking into account the larger implications of the
situation-thecountry
folk,immersedin an alcoholicdreamof"at
oneness"withnature,aresoontobeginthefracasfrom
whichTess
is forcedto escape intoAlec's arms.Patersonfailsto see thatthe
mistthatsettleson Tess's hairlike seed pearlsservesto reinforce
Angel'stendencyto see Tess notas she is, butas a goddess.13
In short,by failingto notice"how Hardy'snaturesimilesfunction fictionally,"'4
Patersonbegs important
questionsraised in
Tess.ByclaimingthatHardymakeshischaracters
not"functions
of
their merely social values and conditions[,]... participantsin a
merelyhumandrama,"but instead"functions
of whollynatural
values and conditions[,]... participantsin some largernonhuman
drama,"Patersonignores,first,
thatHardy'scharacters,
andTess in
are indeedparticipants
in a concretesocialsystem;secparticular,
ond,thatthereare no suchthingsin Hardy'suniverseas "wholly
naturalvalues,"becausethereareno valuesin nature,
exceptthose
imaginedbyhumans;and third,
that,thoughnatureitselfmaybe a
ofhumansintoitmust
"largernonhuman
drama,"theintroduction
necessarily
introduce
"social valuesand conditions."
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The interpretation
offeredby both critics-explicitlyby Holloway,implicitlyby Paterson-is thatsince thenaturalworldis grander thanhumanlife,since in a sense it supersedes humanlife,man
oughtto seek lessons in how to live fromnature,lessons thatin
effectare moral. It is true thatin Hardy's universe nature supersedes humanlifein a purelybiological sense, but naturecan never
entirelysatisfythe humanneed to findvalue and moralmeaningin
existence.It is, in fact,man's moralnaturethatdistinguisheshim
fromthe naturalworld and thatunfitshim to findsatisfactionin a
universe devoid of humanly understandable notions of justice,
morality,
and value. Hence, Hardy'soften-quotedlament,recorded
in his notebooksduringhis workon Tess:
developed
A woefulfact-thatthehumanraceis tooextremely
foritscorporeal
conditions,
thenervesbeingevolvedtoan activIt maybe questionedif
in suchan environment....
ityabnormal
Nature,orwhatwe call Nature,so farbackas whenshecrossed
did notexceed her
to vertebrates,
the line frominvertebrates
forhappiness
mission.Thisplanetdoes notsupplythematerials
to higherexistences.
(Life,218)
In a letter that appeared in the May 17, 1902, issue of The
Academyand Literatureand was reprintedin the Life, Hardy responded to a published review of Maeterlinck'sApologyfor Nature.Hardytakesexceptionto the reviewer's"approval[ofMaeterlinck's]vindicationofNature'sways,whichis (as I understandit) to
the effectthat,thoughshe does notappear to be just fromourpoint
of view, she may practisea scheme of moralityunknownto us, in
which she is just." Hardy goes on to expose the "sophistry"in
Maeterlinck'sargument:
Painhas been,and painis: no newsortofmoralsin Naturecan
thepastandmakeitpleasureforthosewhoare
removepainfrom
And no injustice,
its infallibleestimators,
the bearersthereof.
howgenerosity,
howeverslight,
canbe atonedforbyherfuture
everample,so longas we considerNaturetobe, orto standfor,
unlimited
power.
Hardy agrees with Maeterlinckonly in his conclusion, "that to
model ourconducton Nature'sapparentconduct can onlybring
disasterto humanity"(Life, 314-15).
The "continuity"thatHolloway sees, the humanparticipationin
"some largernonhumandrama" thatPatersonsees, do exist in a
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limitedway;butthecontinuity
is notmoral.Humanvalues,human
desires,humandistinctions
betweengood and evil are, as Tess
sometimes
notices,entirely
irrelevant
in nature.To arguethatthe
naturalworldcould,in anysense,providemanwithanyprinciple
of moralorderis to ignorethe profound
moraldiscontinuity
betweenmanand nature.
The oneparticularly
exigentconnection
betweenmanandnature
is thatofsexuality.
Like othernaturalforces,
thesexualimpulseis
essentially
amoral;it influences
humandestinywithoutregardfor
humannotionsof appropriateness.In Tess especially, Hardy
dramatizes
itseffecton humanlife:
Amid
theoozing
fatness
andwarm
ferments
oftheFroom
Vale,at
a seasonwhentherushofjuices
couldalmost
be heard
belowthe
hissoffertilization,
itwasimpossible
thatthemostfanciful
love
shouldnotgrowpassionate.
The readybosomsexisting
there
wereimpregnated
bytheirsurroundings.
(189)
It is quite significant
thatthe metaphorin the last sentenceis
clearlysexual.The onlyreal"continuity"
betweenmanandnature
consistsin nature's"impregnation"
of the sexual impulseinto
humanlife.
Holloway'softensounddiscussionofnatureitselfin Hardy'sfictiondoes nottakeintoaccountthepervasiveness,
especiallyin the
laternovels,ofsexuality
throughout
nature.Thus,he failsto notice
thata numberofthemetaphors
he sees as reinforcing
theidea of
"continuity"
betweenmanand natureoccurin situations
charged
withsexuality.He pointsout,forexample,a passage fromThe
Woodlandersthatdescribes the affectionbetween Grace and
Fitzpiersas growing
"as imperceptibly
as thetwigsbuddedon the
trees."He noticesin Tess thenotionthatTess andAngelare"converging,
underan irresistible
law,as surelyas twostreamsin one
vale." He citesthegardenscene in whichTess listensto Angel's
harp"likea fascinated
bird."Buthe failsto noticethatthenatural
in thesepassagesareparticularly
metaphors
in view of
significant
Hardy'sconviction
thatnaturalforcesandhumanlifeconvergeonly
in thehumansexualimpulse.15
Holloway'sformula,
"It is right
tolivenaturally,"
thoughperhaps
to Hardy'searliernovels,is no longersufficent
appropriate
in the
universeofTesspreciselybecause"tolivein continuity
withone's
wholebiological... environment"
wouldmeantosurrender
tothe
CharlotteBonica
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forceofsexuality.Apartfrommoralobjectionsto such a way oflife,
the issue is complicated by human choice in such matters,by
human emotions,and by human notionsof value. Indeed, Holloway undermineshis own argumentwiththe statement,
sympathetic
The peoplewhomHardypresentsin an altogether
lightare like GabrielOak, DiggoryVennand Giles Wintersatisfiedwith
completely
characters
bourne-all solid sterling
theirpositionin lifeand at one withit.Theironlymisfortunes
arein love.16
Love, a wholly human emotion, is precisely what bars these
charactersfromlivingout Holloway's dictum.And Hardy'spointis
thathumanemotionsand humanvalues make it impossibleto "live
naturally."By the time ofTess, he shows thatsuch a way of life is
impossible not only forthe modernindividual like Angel, but indeed forTess herself,easily the most"natural"character,by Holloway's definition,in Hardy's fiction.Even the dairymaids,whom
Holloway describes as "resignedto disappointments[]... takingit
forgrantedthatAngel will notmarryone ofthem,"'17sufferacutely
fromthe intransigenceof theirsexual impulses:
seemedto palpitatewiththe
The air ofthe sleeping-chamber
underthe
feverishly
hopelesspassionofthegirls.Theywrithed
thrust
uponthembycruelNature's
ofanemotion
oppressiveness
law-an emotionwhichtheyhad neitherexpectednor dethemas individuwhichdistinguished
sired.... The differences
of
bythispassion,and eachwas butportion
als wereabstracted
calledsex.
one organism
(187)
To live as these women do in the midstofnaturalprocesses means
to feel acutelythe inescapable influenceofthe sexual force,which
operateswithoutregardforhumanfeelings.In theircase, it means
also to sufferacutelythe thwartingof theirsexual impulses by the
restraintsimposed not only by conventionalmorality,but also by
therealitiesofhumanemotions.That is, even withoutconventional
moral restraints,these women would sufferbecause they prefer
above other men Angel Clare, who himselfprefersTess above
them.In his notebookHardy says, "Emotions have no place in a
world of defect" (149), and in Tess he dramatizesthe statement
vividlywiththe plightof the dairymaids.
Holloway seems to forgetthatafterAngel marriesTess, Retty
attemptssuicide, Marion seeks anothersortof oblivion in alcohol,
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and Izz sinksintoa deep depression.The pointis that,farfrom
providing
humanlifewithmoralsignificance,
the naturalworld,
particularly
throughits inexorablesexual force,displayscruelty
and injustice.
The idea thatnaturein Hardy'sfictionis fraught
withmoral
meaningis common.As I have suggested,
thisview springsfrom
the failureto takeintoaccounta shiftin Hardy'sattitudes.
The
earliernovelsreveala pastoralism
that,thoughqualified,seemsto
illustrate
thesuperiority
ofthesimplicities
oftheruralstateofmind
overthecomplexities
ofthemodernconsciousness.
Even Tess of
revealsa deep regret
overthepassingoftherural
theD'Urbervilles
culture.Yet howevernostalgicHardyfeels about the death of
country
life,he does not suggestthatits central,thoughunconscious,attitudestowardnature-itspaganism-can realistically
providea balmfor"theache ofmodernism.>'
AngelClare'sfreedomfromthis"ache" is brief.As soon as he
realizesthatTess is notthegoddesshe hasimaginedhertobe, the
fragileconstruct
of his neopaganism
collapses.Hardyinviteshis
readerto condemnAngel'scrueltyto Tess, buthe also revealsan
acuteunderstanding
ofAngel'sneed to findvaluesthatcan make
sense of existence.Indeed, the self-conscious,
almostsheepish,
toneofthesecondofthetwonotebookentriescitedattheopening
ofthispapersuggestsHardy'sawarenessofthepersistence,
after
twenty
years,oftheimpulsein himselfto imbuewithmeaninga
morally
vacuousuniverse.
The University
ofPennsylvania
FOOTNOTES
'Florence Emily Hardy,The Life of ThomasHardy,1840-1928(1928, 1930; rpt.
London: Macmillan,1962), pp. 114, 285 (second quotation,10 Feb. 1897). Subsequent quotationsfromthe Life are takenfromthisedition.
2 Tess of theD'Urbervilles(1891; rpt.London: Macmillan,The New Wessex Edition,1974),p. 122. SubsequentquotationsfromTess are takenfromthisedition.
3"'The Ache of Modernism'in Hardy'sLater Novels,"ELH, 34 (1967), 380-99.
4"'The Perfectionof Species' and Hardy'sTess" in Nature and the Victorian
Imagination,ed. U. C. Knoepflmacherand G. B. Tennyson (Berkeley: Univ. of
CaliforniaPress, 1977),pp. 259-77.
5 Johnson,
p. 262.
6Johnson, pp. 261-62.
7"Hardy" in his The VictorianSage: Studiesin Argument(1953; rpt.New York:
Norton,1965),pp. 245-89.
8 Holloway,p. 257.
9 Holloway,p. 270.
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10 Holloway, p. 267.
11"Lawrence's Vital Source: Natureand Characterin Hardy" in Natureand the
VictorianImagination(n. 2, above), pp. 455-69.
12 Wordsworth:
PoeticalWorks,ed. ThomasHutchinson,rev.Ernestde Selincourt
(London; OxfordUniv. Press, 1969),pp. 452-53,11.15-16.
13
Paterson,pp. 456, 465.
14
David J. DeLaura, "Nature Naturing:LiteraryNatural History,"Victorian
Studies,22 (Winter,1979).
15 Holloway, p. 269.
16
17
Holloway,p. 282.
Holloway,p. 283.
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