Abstract:
Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), one of the representatives of English critical realism authors at the turn of the 19th century, is a famous English poet and novelist. Tess of D’Urbervilles, published in 1891, is the most remarkable work of Thomas Hardy. It gives an account of the short lifetime of Tess, its heroine, and displays her tragedy. Although she has all the innocence and purity that the nature has endowed, Tess is pushed to the stake finally. Any tragedy is not isolate or accidental, and it is caused by a lot of elements. Tess’s tragedy is not exceptional also. Her tragedy coagulates with social and personal causes. This paper will analyze the causes of Tess’s tragedy through three aspects: direct killer, accessory and real killer. The first part is an introduction, which gives a brief introduction to Thomas Hardy and Tess of the d’Urbervilles. The following part is the most important part. In this part, it tries to figure out the real causes of Tess’s tragedy through analyzing the cruel society and different people, such as two men in Tess’s life (Alec and Clare), her parents and herself. At last, the paper concludes it is not only the human being but also the cruel society who push Tess to the stake. It shows that the society nowadays should pay more attention to women’s rights and take measures to protect women.

Key words：Thomas Hardy; Tess of D’Urbervilles; tragedy; causes

摘要:
托马斯•哈代（1840 - 1928年）是19世纪英国批判现实主义的代表人物，也是英国著名的诗人和小说家。出版于1891年的《德伯家的苔丝》是哈代最为著名的代表作。小说讲述了女主角苔丝短暂的一生，并揭示了她人生的悲剧。虽然她拥有大自然赋予的无辜和纯洁的秉性，但她最终却被推上了火刑台。任何悲剧的发生都不是孤立和偶然的，都是由很多因素造成的。苔丝的悲剧也不例外，她的悲剧凝结了社会和个人的因素。本文将从三个方面来探究苔丝的悲剧的造成原因：直接凶手，帮凶和真正的凶手。第一部分简要介绍了托马斯•哈代以及小说《德伯家的苔丝》。接下来的第二部分是本文的重点，通过分析残酷的社会和不同的人物，例如：出现在苔丝生活中的两个男人（亚雷和克莱）、她的父母以及苔丝自己，来揭示造成苔丝悲剧的真正原因。最后本文总结出谋杀苔丝的不仅是 “人”而且是“残酷的社会”，这说明当今的社会更应该关注妇女的权利并采取相应的措施保护妇女。

关键词：托马斯•哈代；《德伯家的苔丝》；悲剧；原因

1 Introduction
Thomas Hardy is a famous critical realistic novelist at the turn of the 19th century. His novel, Tess of D’Urbervilles is published in 1891, which is the most remarkable work of Thomas Hardy.
Tess of D’Urbervilles is an extraordinarily remarkable book, as well as a moving one. It gives an account of the short lifetime of its heroine, Tess, and displays her tragedy experience. She is killed not only by people, including her selfish and incompetent parents, her cruel seducer, Alec D’Urbervilles and morally stubborn husband, Clare, but also by the cruel society.