摘　要

托马斯•哈代是19世纪末期的一个著名的批判现实主义作家。在1891年发表的“德伯家的苔丝”是其最有影响力的杰作。该小说描述了一位天真的农村姑娘苔丝为经济所迫去附近的本家认亲并找份工作，但却遭她主人的诱奸。后来，却因为婚前失去贞洁而遭丈夫的遗弃。最后，她将之前的主人杀死并受到了死刑的惩罚。这个天真女性的生活是悲惨的，但是这样的女性悲剧并非偶然，甚至可以说是一种必然，这种必然不仅是因为文中的三个角色—埃里克，安吉尔和苔丝的母亲，还因为当时的社会环境，农民艰辛的生活，对女性的不公和不公的社会体制。因此，本文将从社会因素和文中人物性格来分析这种悲剧的原因。作者将搜集英国19世纪的社会背景，并且通过阅读文献来借鉴学者的观点，最后做出全面的评价。

关键词：苔丝；悲剧；原因

Abstract

Thomas Hardy is a renowned critical realistic writer in the late 19th century. Tess of the D’Urbervilles, published in 1891, is the most influential masterpiece of all his works. The novel describes a tragedy of a pure rural girl, Tess. She goes to the D’Urbervilles family in hopes of finding a job so she can support her poor family. She is seduced by the younger master, Alec D’Urbervilles. Later, Tess is abandoned by her husband for losing her virginity to Alec. Finally, she kills Alec and is sentenced to death for this murder. The life of this innocent woman is a tragedy. However, this paper shows Tess's tragedy is inevitable because she is not only killed by these three people—Alec, Angel and her mother, but also the social environment, hard life for peasants, unfair morality for woman, and unfair legal system. In this paper, the author attempts to analyze the reasons of the Tess's tragic fate from the aspects of social reasons and the personalities of main characters, especially Tess herself. The author will collect the data of the social background in the late 19th century and collect the views of some scholars by reading literature, and then to make a comprehensive judgment.

Key words: Tess; tragedy; reasons

1    Introduction  
1.1 The introduction of Thomas Hardy
1.1.1 Thomas Hardy’ general information
Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), a renowned writer, is known for his fiction as well as his poetry. In his masterpieces, Hardy always describes the struggle and suffering of the ordinary people, especially those who experiences painful life and frustrated love.
1.1.2 Thomas Hardy’s life
Hardy, born in Higher Bockhampton on June 2, 1840, was the oldest of four children. Hardy studied languages and literature with a Dorset clergy and teacher. His father apprenticed him to a local architect to learn the technique of restoring churches when he was only 16. This first job lasted for about 10 years. In 1870, while making a sketch for the restoration of a church in Cornwall, Hardy met his future wife, Emma Lavinia Gifford. Married in 1874, they lived near London until 1864 when they settled in Dorset. By then, Hardy published his first novel and felt he was able to support himself through his writing.