Hardy on Religion: Tess of the D'Urbervilles

The novel has been described as “a profoundly irreligious novel”, and among all other

things, by critics such as Michael Millgate, “introduce implicit comparisons with Christ”. It

certainly seems that on reading Hardy’s novel, he uses his characters to make

observations that may have displayed his dispute with the beliefs of the Church at that

time. Nevertheless, some traits on the book reveals that it is not entirely an irreligious

novel. For example, “1st person up of all the world” which directly refers to Adam and Eve.

  Almost the whole novel is presented as irreligious and it is written in a way which might

suggest religion is a worthless debasement of primitive spiritual ideas. For example, when

Tess and Angel arrives at the temple of monoliths before arriving at Stonehenge, “day of

vanity, the Sun’s day” and “affecting business with spiritual things.” The bitter irony of this

regards Christianity is lowering the moral value of people by reducing the content and this

shows Hardy possibly wanted to present the book as a “irreligious novel” to reveal religion

is doing harm in people.

  Another example of the novel showing it is irreligious is the use of the fire which is

“reflected” from “his fork” makes Alec rather satanic. The fire being a suggestion of hell

and the fork portrays to be the trident that devil carries. There are number of other

occasions which Alec himself is associated with fire or Satan, is the entrance of Alec as

they are all unexpected. For example, when Tess is whistling every morning to the

chickens, Alec spied on her that “better of his freak to terrify her.” This event is predatory

and he is trying to sabotage the moment of peace Tess got as if he is pouncing on his prey

and waiting for it silently.

  In the scene of Tess’ seduction in the Chase, Hardy refers Tess as the “hopping rabbits...”

in which the critics by Irving Howe, where she says Tess “is a woman...powers of...