The structural basis of Hardy's imaginative universe in "The Mayor of casterbridge" and "Tess of the d'Urbervilles"
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Université Stendhal (Grenoble)Disciplines:
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Abstract EN:
The main objective of the first part of this study is to underline the structural basis of the works in question. The development and continuity of the mayor of casteroridge are achieved by adhering to two main principles: amelioration and degradation. The relationship between the author and his story is subjective. The novel's narrator shares the same problems as his creator and the other characters. In hardy's works the characters are manipulated; they live by laws which do not have a place in their environment. Detail, colour and secondary facts play an essential role in the construction of the story. In tess of the d'urbervilles the animal imagery refers to universal truths such as injustice and suffering more so than the content of the story. The second part of this study encompasses various interpretations of hardy's work; mythological, symbolical, psychological and anthropological. The blood motif in tess of the d'urbervilles conditions the heroine's destiny. Its importance in the novel stems from the different significances which it implies. The sun and earth motifs confirm the procession of tess's hope and despair. The role of the element of music in the two novels is to help the characters to express themselves and to overcome social conflicts. Hardy's pessimism must be conceived as a general framework of his vision of life in the english countryside. He sees social change and the introduction of the machine in dorset as a threat to the romance of the countryside and to human values. It should be noted that structuralism alone does not provide us with an adequate understanding of hardy's novels. It favours narrative techniques and the beauty of form at the expense of content.
Abstract FR:
L'objectif de la premiere partie du travail est de souligner la base structurale des deux oeuvrages en question. La coherence et le developpement de l'histoire du mayor of casterbridge sont maintenus par les deux principes: amelioration et degradation. La relation de l'auteur avec son histoire est une relation subjective. Le narrateur du recit partage les memes soucis que son createur et les autres personnages. Chez hardy, les personnages sont manipules; ils existent selon des lois externes a leur environnement. Le detail, la couleur, et les faits secondaires ont un role primordial dans la construction de l'histoire. Dans tess of the d'urbervilles, l'imagerie "animale" depasse le contenu de l'histoire, et renvoie a des realites universelles d'injustice et de souffrance. La deuxieme partie du travail englobe des interpretations diverses : mythologie, symbolisme, psychologie et anthropologie. Le motif du sang dans tess of the d'urbervilles, conditionne le destin de l'heroine. Son importance dans le roman est due aux differentes significations qu'il implique. Les motifs du soleil et de la terre concretisent la continuite de l'espoir et du desespoir de tess. Le role de l'element de la musique dans les deux romans est d'aider les personnages a s'exprimer et a depasser les conflits sociaux. Le pessimisme de thomas hardy doit etre concu dans un cadre general de sa vision de la vie de la campagne anglaise. Il voit le changement social et l'introduction de la machine dans le dorset comme une menace de la romance paysane et des valeurs humaines. Il est a signaler que le structuralisme n'offre pas une comprehension generale des romans. Il favorise les techniques narratives et la beaute de la forme au depens du contenu des oeuvrages.