Abstract:

In Hardy’ s novel, Tess is a character who is pure, beautiful, intelligent, and kind-hearted. During her lifetime, she goes through many sufferings, and scholars at home and abroad have made a great deal of research on the causes to her tragedy. Although Tess’s fate is doomed to be tragic due to her poor family, unfortunate love experience and the social backgrounds, her happiness is undeniable, no matter how tiny or short it is. This paper aims at discovering her happiness in her love story, her family and her independence. Meanwhile, the effect of Tess’ personality on her happiness is analyzed.

Key words: Tess, tragedy, happiness, personality

摘要：

在哈代的小说中，苔丝是一个纯洁、美丽、勤劳、善良的形象。在她的一生中她经历了一系列的苦难，国内外学者也对其原因进行了大量研究。尽管苔丝因其贫困的家庭，不幸的恋爱经历,在特定的社会背景下,其命运注定是悲剧的，但是她也有幸福快乐的时刻，无论这样的幸福是多么的微小或短暂。文章旨在从苔丝的爱情故事、她的家庭以及她独立自主的经历中去发现她的幸福。并分析苔丝的性格对其幸福的影响。

关键词：苔丝，悲剧，幸福，性格

1. Introduction
1.1 A Brief Introduction to Tess of the d’Urbervilles
Tess of the d’Urbervilles is a master work of Thomas Hardy’s which tells the story of a country woman—Tess Durbeyfield. In the novel, she is described as a pure, beautiful, intelligent and kind-hearted woman. However, life is not easy for her. As the eldest daughter in a poor family, she has to shoulder the burden to support the family. After the horse, their only tool for making a living, died, Tess Durbeyfield has no choice but to come to their aristocratic relatives, the D’Urberville, and tries to find work there. Tess’s beauty quickly attracts Alec D’Urberville. During her working in his family, he seduces her and soon abandons her. Sorrowing for the death of her little baby, Tess decides to restart her life in a farm far away. There she meets the young man Angel and falls in love with him. But she is fooled by destiny again. Angel abandons her at the night of their wedding for she tells him her experiences. Tess has to rely on herself to live. What’s worse, her father’s death compels Tess to yield to Alec, the man who pushes her into the abyss of greater sufferings, in hope that her family members could survive the straitened economical circumstances. When Angel returns, Tess finally wakes up from her embarrassing situation. To strive for freedom, she kills Alec and runs away with Angel. In the desert, Tess and Angel spend the most wonderful days in their life. In the end, Tess is caught and sentenced to death for killing Alec, and Angel takes her sister for a new start of life.