Tess as a Victim of Male Dominance and Victorian Morality in Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Abstract

In my thesis I will explore how Tess is exploited by physical and moral male dominance. Firstly, a short historical overview on women’s position in the era is necessary to set the conditions and lack of choices of Tess. Next, I will exemplify how Alec victimizes Tess physically; how Tess is mastered by her seducer. Several examples from the novel justify the cruelty of Alec and shows Tess in a light of a victim. Lastly, the more abstract notion of Angel’s symbolical violence is demonstrated, symbolising Victorian morality. Both Alec and Angel contribute to the sacrifice of Tess on the altar of social injustice, but I will claim that the way Angel conquered Tess’s existence and soul is worse than Alec’s rape of her. I argue that Tess is a victim of male dominance and Victorian morality.