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Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy. 1840-1928 “Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew And I was unaware.”. Novelist and Poet. First known as a novelist, Hardy’s novels capture the flavor of life in rural Dorset, as well as the inner lives of his memorable characters. Early Life. Childhood.

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Thomas Hardy

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  1. Thomas Hardy 1840-1928 “Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew And I was unaware.”

  2. Novelist and Poet • First known as a novelist, Hardy’s novels capture the flavor of life in rural Dorset, as well as the inner lives of his memorable characters

  3. Early Life

  4. Childhood • Born in Higher Bockhampton, Dorset on June 2,1840. • Eldest child of builder, Thomas Hardy II and his wife, Jemima Hand. • Three more children followed him. • The young Hardy was deeply influenced by the natural world around him.

  5. Education and Profession • Hardy attended local school until he was apprenticed to a Dorchester architect at 15. • After six years apprenticeship, Hardy went to London in 1861. • Hardy read widely in London and became interested in fiction and poetry while practicing architecture.

  6. Return to Dorset • Hardy returned to Dorset as an architect and builder. • He continued to write, and by 1871 had published his first novel. • He married Emma Gifford in 1874.

  7. Major Novels • Under the Greenwood Tree 1872 • A Pair of Blue Eyes 1873 • Far from the Madding Crowd 1874 • The Return of the Native 1878 • The Mayor of Casterbridge 1886 • Tess of the D’Urbervilles 1891 • Jude the Obscure 1896

  8. Why did he stop writing novels? • The subject matter of Hardy’s novels, which to modern eyes seems pretty tame, outraged many Victorians. • Jude the Obscure was deemed “Jude the Obscene” and was publicly burned by the Bishop of Wakefield. • Henry James said it was a disgusting book on a disgusting subject.

  9. So… • Public perception about Hardy’s view of marriage and religion caused a huge outcry and widened rifts between Hardy and his wife, Emma. • He was widely condemned in the papers and in critical writing. • After Jude, Hardy writes only poetry and some drama.

  10. Major Themes in Hardy • Man’s impotence against greater forces—of nature, of society, of his own impulses. • A shaken, if not completely fractured view of the relationship between humans and God. • Pessimism? Hardy prefers the term “meliorism,” that is the belief that the word CAN be made better by human effort.

  11. More Hardy themes • Sadness? • Waste and frustration? • Naturalism • An overwhelming feeling of irony • “Life’s Little Ironies” published in 1894

  12. Emma Gifford Hardy • At first, the Hardys seemed to have a happy marriage, but they drifted seriously apart. • They had no children, and Hardy, though probably physically faithful, had a wandering eye.

  13. Emma Hardy in later years • Emma came to resent Hardy’s growing fame as well as the demands that put on their marriage. • She died in 1912, and Hardy mourned her forever, it seems. • The “Emma poems” are among his finest.

  14. Thomas and Florence • In 1914, Hardy married Florence Dugdale, his long-time secretary. (1879-1937) • He is 39 years older than her. • Hardy dies in 1928.

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