THE TREATMENT OF FEMALE CHARACTERS IN

THOMAS HARDYS FAR FROM THE MADDING

CROWD, THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE, THE
MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE AND TESS OF THE
DURBERVILLES

BY

BILKIS AKHTER

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the

requirements for the degree of Master of Human
Sciences (English Literary Studies)

Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human

Sciences
International Islamic University Malaysia

JUNE 2009
 ABSTRACT

The aim of the thesis is to analyse the presentation of women characters in Thomas
Hardys selected novels and to explore to what extent Hardy accepts the Victorian
view of women. Is Hardys approach to women often influenced by Victorian society
in which he lives? Does he show sympathy or does he put much blame on women
while presenting them in his novels? At that time, the society itself was largely
controlled by men and male superiority was not questioned at all. As a result, women
suffered injustices at the hands of the men. Women are mothers, wives and lovers.
They are exposed to different roles during different stages of their lives. In the course
of time while performing their legitimate duties they are sometimes oppressed by men
rather than they oppress men. They are more victims than victimizers. They are not
prone to sinning, rather they are sinned against. Thomas Hardy in his novels shows
women performing their different roles in various manners. Sometimes they are
independent and sometimes they have to depend on others for their survival. They
frequently become the victims of male domination or patriarchy. The study will also
explore the issues of womens oppression in the Victorian society on the basis of the
selected novels. In general, female characters in Hardys novels are always depicted as
docile and submissive. Hardys major female characters, despite their individuality,
share the same sentiments and suffer from the same class and gender oppression. It is
always their effort to fight back that bring them anguish and tragedy. Some of them
though hardened and stoic are still unable to overcome their social and economic
deprivations. In Hardys celebrated novels, Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), The
Return of the Native (1878), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886) and Tess of the
dUrbervilles (1891) women are subjected to all kinds of human indignities by men.
They always fail in their attempts to extricate themselves from their social and
economic entrapment. Hardys enigmatic and unforgettable heroines, Bathsheba
Everdene, Fanny Robin, Eustacia Vye, Thomasin Yeobright, Susan Henchard,
Elizabeth-Jane, Lucetta Templeman and Tess Durbeyfield in their actions, reactions
and interactions are embodiments of social wretchedness and inferiority. This thesis
analyses the treatment of women in the selected novels in an attempt to explore
feminist ideas in his works. The study also explores Hardys novels from the Islamic
perspective on women.

ii


.



.


.

.
.

.
.

.
. Far from the Madding
Crowd (1874), The Return of the Native (1878), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886),
) )Tess of the dUrbervilles (1891

.

.


.

iii
 ABSTRAK

Tujuan tesis ini adalah untuk menganalisis tentang persembahan watak-watak wanita
dalam novel-novel terpilih Thomas Hardy. Ia juga untuk mengkaji sejauh mana Hardy
menerima pandangan cara Victoria tentang wanita. Adakah pendekatan Hardy
terhadap wanita dipengaruhi oleh masyarakat Victoria di mana dia tinggal? Adakah
dia menunjukkan simpati atau pun dia menyalahkan wanita apabila menggambarkan
mereka dalam novel-novelnya? Pada zaman tersebut, sebahagian besar daripada
masyarakat dikuasai oleh lelaki dan kelebihan lelaki tidak dipersoalkan langsung.
Kesannya, wanita menderita di atas kezaliman lelaki. Wanita merupakan ibu, isteri
dan kekasih. Mereka didedahkan dengan pelbagai peranan semasa melalui peringkat
hidup yang berbeza. Sewaktu mereka menjalankan tanggungjawab dan kewajiban
mereka, mereka tidak menzalimi lelaki sebaliknya dizalimi oleh lelaki. Mereka lebih
cenderung menjadi mangsa daripada pemangsa. Mereka tidak cenderung untuk
berdosa tetapi dilayan seperti orang yang berdosa. Thomas Hardy menggambarkan
dalam novel-novelnya bahawa wanita melaksanakan pelbagan peranan mereka dengan
cara yang tersendiri. Kadang-kadang mereka mampu berdikari dan kadang-kadang
mereka perlu bergantung pada orang lain untuk terus hidup. Mereka kerap menjadi
mangsa penguasaan lelaki ataupun patriarki. Kajian ini juga mengkaji isu-isu tentang
penindasan wanita dalam masyarakat Victoria berdasarkan novel-novel terpilih.
Secara amnya, watak-watak wanita dalam novel Thomas Hardy selalu digambarkan
dengan sifat jinak dan submisif. Walaupun watak-watak utama wanita Hardy
mempunyai identity tersendiri, namun mereka berkongsi penderitaan yang sama
akibat penindasan terhadap golongan wanita. Selalunya usaha mereka untuk melawan
balik akan membawa penderitaan dan tragedi kepada mereka. Walaupun sebahagian
daripada mereka gigih dan cekal, namun mereka tidak dapat mengembalikan hak
sosial dan ekonomi mereka. Dalam novel-novel Hardy yang terkenal seperti Far from
the Madding Crowd (1874), The Return of the Native (1878), The Mayor of
Casterbridge (1886) dan Tess of the dUrbervilles (1891), wanita tertakluk kepada
semua jenis penghinaan oleh kaum lelaki. Mereka sentiasa gagal dalam percubaan
mereka untuk membebaskan diri mereka daripada kurungan sosial dan ekonomi.
Heroin-heroin Hardy yang penuh misteri dan tidak dapat dilupakan seperti Bathsheba
Everdene, Fanny Robin, Eustacia Vye, Thomasin Yeobright, Susan Hechard,
Elizabeth Jane, Lucetta Templeman dan Tess Durbeyfield digambarkan melalui
perbuatan, reaksi serta interaksi mereka yang melambangkan rendah diri dan
penderitaan masyarakat. Tesis ini juga bertujuan untuk menganalisis tentang layanan
terhadap wanita dalam novel-novel yang terpilih dengan usaha untuk mengkaji fikiran
feminisme dalam hasil kerja Thomas Hardy. Kajian ini juga melihat novel-novel
Hardy dari perspektif Islam.

iv
 APPROVAL PAGE

I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion it conforms
to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and
quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Master of Human Sciences (English Literary
studies)

.............................................................................
Umar Abdurrahman
Supervisor

I certify that I have read this study and that in my opinion it conforms to acceptable
standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a
dissertation for the degree of Master of Human Sciences (English Literary studies)

............................................................................
Aimillia Mohd Ramli
Examiner

This dissertation was submitted to the Department of Psychology and is accepted as a

partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Human Sciences
(English Literary studies)

............................................................................
Mohammad A. Quayum
Head, Department of English
Language and Literature

This dissertation was submitted to the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and
Human Sciences and is accepted as a partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
degree of Master of Human Sciences (English Literary studies)

............................................................................
Hazizan bin Md. Noon
Dean, Kulliyyah of Islamic
Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences

v
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigations, except

where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently

submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions.

Bilkis Akhter

Signature . Date...

vi
 INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION

OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH

Copyright 2009 by Bilkis Akhter. All rights reserved.

THE TREATMENT OF FEMALE CHARACTERS IN THOMAS HARDYS

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD, THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE, THE
MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE AND TESS OF THE DURBERVILLES

No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder
except as provided below.

1. Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research

may only be used by others in their writing with due acknowledgement.

2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies (print
or electronic) for institutional and academic purposes.

3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieval system
and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other
universities and research libraries.

Affirmed by Bilkis Akhter

. .
Signature Date

vii
This work is lovingly dedicated to my parents-in-law Mahmuda Begum and Md.
Fazlul Haque who inspired me to pursue my studies overseas.

viii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, praise be to Allah (S.W.T.) for the good health and motivation
bestowed upon me to complete this research. I would like to express my profoundest
gratitude to all those who were involved and had assisted, either directly or indirectly
in making this study possible. I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation and
sincere thanks to Prof. Dr. Syed Nasir Raza Kazmi, for his assistance in the
completion of this study. I am truly grateful to Associate Prof. Dr. Arshad Islam for
his fatherly care and affection throughout this difficult period of completing this
study. I owe a special debt of gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Umar Abdurrahman,
who has shown great patience in guiding me. My affectionate gratitude too goes to my
second examiner, Dr. Aimillia Mohd Ramli, for the valuable suggestions concerning
the content and arrangement of the thesis. I also owe my sincere gratitude to Prof. Dr.
Mohammad A. Quayum for his assistance throughout the hard time in completing this
research. I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to Dr. Nor Faridah
Abdul Manaf and Dr. Juliana Othman for their constant encouragement in completing
this study. I would also like to express my utmost gratitude to my dearest family and
friends, especially my parents and my husband Mahfuzul Alam Taifur, for their
endless support and prayers during the course of my studies. Lastly, I am deeply
indebted to all my teachers who have shown me the light of knowledge. May Allah
(S.W.T.) reward them all and forgive me for all errors and shortcomings.

ix
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ................................................................................................................. ii
Abstract in Arabic ................................................................................................. iii
Abstract in Bahasa Malaysia ................................................................................. iv
Approval Page ....................................................................................................... v
Declaration Page ................................................................................................... vi
Copyright Page...................................................................................................... vii
Dedication ............................................................................................................. viii
Acknowledgements .............................................................................................. ix

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................... 1

1.0 Background of the study ...................................................................... 1
1.1 Statement of the Problem .................................................................... 6
1.2 Objectives of the Study........................................................................ 7
1.3 Significance of the Study ..................................................................... 8
1.4 Scope of the Study ............................................................................... 10
1.5 Research Questions.............................................................................. 10
1.6 Literature Review ................................................................................ 11
1.7 Theoretical Framework........................................................................ 17
1.8 Methodology ....................................................................................... 19
1.9 Limitations of the Study ...................................................................... 20
1.10 Islamic Point of View ........................................................................ 20
1.11 Organization of Chapters ................................................................... 22

CHAPTER TWO: FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD ............................ 24

2.0 Introduction ......................................................................................... 24
2.1 The Predicament of the Life of Bathsheba Everdene .......................... 24
2.2 The Tragedy of Fanny Robin Versus Bathsheba Everdene ................. 33

CHAPTER THREE: THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE................................. 41

3.0 Introduction ......................................................................................... 41
3.1 The Predicament of the Life of Eustacia Vye...................................... 42
3.2 Eustacias Idealization of Love ........................................................... 47
3.3 The Predicament of Thomasin Yeobright ........................................... 53

CHAPTER FOUR: THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE: A STORY OF A MAN

OF CHARACTER .............................................................................................. 63
4.0 Introduction ......................................................................................... 63
4.1 Selling of Wife and Child is a Violation of Human Right .................. 65
4.2 The Sublimation of Passion ................................................................. 68
4.3 Elizabeth-Jane is a Role Model of Self-Sacrifice ................................ 71

x
 4.4 The Predicament of Lucetta and Susan ............................................... 74

CHAPTER FIVE: TESS OF THE DURBERVILLES .................................... 81

5.0 Victorian Notion of Female Purity ...................................................... 81
5.1 Tess and Alec: Rape or Seduction ....................................................... 84

CHAPTER SIX: THEORY OF FEMINISM AND ITS BRIEF IMPLICATION

IN THE NOVELS ............................................................................................... 96
6.0 Exploration of Hardy as a Feminist ..................................................... 96
6.1 Orthodox Values in Hardys Depiction of Female Characters ............ 100
6.2 Hardys Portrayal of Traditional women ............................................. 118
6.3 Feminist Ideas in Tess of the dUrbervilles ......................................... 121

CHAPTER SEVEN: SELECTED NOVELS OF THOMAS HARDY: AN

ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE ................................................................................ 132
7.0 Significance of Marriage and Men-Women Relationship in Islam ..... 132
7.1 Marriage and Divorce .......................................................................... 135
7.2 Freedom of a Woman in Choosing Her Life-Partner .......................... 135
7.3 Responsibility of a Husband ................................................................ 138
7.4 The Qualities of a Good Wife.............................................................. 144
7.5 Intoxicating Liquor or Drug is Haram in Islam .................................. 145
7.6 The Inhumanity of Michael Henchard................................................. 146
7.7 Solution of Family Disputes in Islam .................................................. 148
7.8 The Nobility of Forgiveness ................................................................ 148
7.9 Obedience to Parents ........................................................................... 150
7.10 Taking Good Care of Parents in Their Old Age is Admired ............. 152
7.11 Erotic Gaze is Forbidden in Islam ..................................................... 157
7.12 Forgiveness is Appreciated by Islam ................................................. 158
7.13 Avoidance of Fithnah ........................................................................ 158

CHAPTER EIGHT: CONCLUSION ............................................................... 161

BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................... 165

xi
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Women in Thomas Hardys novels function in accordance with social norms and

prescriptions, which privilege men over women. Womens position of utter inferiority

makes them vulnerable to all forms of abuse and exploitation by men. Female

characters are treated harshly and unjustly to the extent of being reduced as mere

chattels to be disposed of at will by men. For instance, in The Mayor of Casterbridge

(1886), Michael Henchard, careless and drunkard husband sells his wife, Susan and

his daughter, Elizabeth-Jane, for only a few shillings. Even more importantly,

Henchards behavior is motivated by a strong desire to satisfy his alcoholic and

gambling habits. In this case, a mans selfishness and material obsession has lead to

the humiliation of his wife and consequently, the destruction of cherished fundamental

societal humane and family values. This tragic incident underscores the gravity of the

situation in which human decency is no longer valuable.

Female characters in Thomas Hardys novels are always depicted as docile and

submissive. These stereotypical images are often created and enforced by reactionary

values of the intensely patriarchal society to which Hardy belongs to and addresses. A

majority of Hardys female characters is portrayed as less endowed intellectually

which often inhibits their desire and struggle for social and economic justice. As a

result, their social and economic status and welfare are predetermined by the norms

compatible with the patriarchal system. Although a few women either by luck, strong

will or destiny manage to openly challenge marginalization of women by the society

1
through stereotyping and gender bias. The rebellion and non-conformity of these

women are usually crushed by the male dominated society in a dramatic way by

enforcing the negative stereotypes in literature.

Hardys female characters continue to suffer from all forms of gender

discrimination, sexual exploitation and abuse, economic exploitation and physical and

mental enslavement by men. Hardy probes these predicaments of female characters

with sensitivity and candor. Hardys presentation of women as victims of men and the

patriarchal culture is a subtle way of condemning the systematic dehumanization of

women by civilized societies. Hardy believes that these archaic social values not only

entrench but also perpetuate a patriarchal system detrimental to womens social and

economic well being.

Like some other novelists of his time, Hardy draws them with sympathy and

understanding. In their moral conducts and actions, female characters are always

pitted against formidable and destructive human and natural forces. Hardy graphically

portrays them facing challenges of life, sometimes winning, other times losing, but

never giving up. But ultimately, their destinies either individually or collectively

collide with those of men, some of whom are dominated by excessive material

tendencies. Thus the women often end up losing the battle.

The nineteenth century, when Hardy had his roots, was a period of debate and

shifting beliefs. England became the workshop of the world and the first industrial

nation, but at a horrific cost in human suffering and anguish. Industry brought with it

insecurity of employment with the cyclical changes of trade. New slums grew and

diseases spread without any control. Longevity became a matter of social class. The

average working class length of life was seventeen years for Liverpool and nineteen

for Manchester. Industrialization had started showing its ugly face in the form of

2
urban poverty and unemployment. The social and economic gulf between the upper

and lower classes widened. The world of home and domesticity got idolized. The

responsibility for making the home a heavenly place fell on the shoulders of the

women. Women were taught to experience satisfaction and fulfilment in their roles as

wives and daughters. The conventional Victorian ideology ignored the sexual desires

in women except in the mistresses or prostitutes. Sexual reticence was adopted and

practiced by media and publishing houses. Any knowledge of sex was considered

dangerous for women for its amoral effect on them. The novelists of this period

remained in constant fear of their books being banned or censored by the editors of the

magazines and the lending libraries.

The Victorian novelists took special care to keep their women characters

within the acceptable standards of society and literary tradition. Womens main

concerns were marriage, love, home and family. Any deviation from the set standards

of morality on the part of women would receive authorial lashing. The womens

private sexual experience would hardly be talked of by the authors. The novels in that

time have to convey that a fallen women can be accepted by the society if she purges

herself of her sin through a life of moral purity and asceticism. The Victorian novelists

were unable to question the basic assumptions of society that brought women to their

degrading and subordinate positions. Nevertheless, by the end of the nineteenth

century, a gradual change in the outlook of society began to take place. People spoke

about private sexual experience in public. The complexity of the female mind was

treated with intellectual subtlety. English writers turned to direct realistic analysis of

love, marriage and sex. Alternatives to marriage such as divorce and free-sex were

offered. In other words, morality came to be redefined. A number of novels depicting

strong, independent and unorthodox women appeared. These novels attacked the

3
mores and conventions of society, which curb the individual growth of women. Sarah

Grands The Heavenly Twins (1893), Mona Cairds The Daughters of Danaus (1894),

Grant Allens The Women who Did (1895), are some of the novels worth mentioning

in this context.

During this time, Hardy along with writers like Elizabeth Gaskell and George

Meredith made pioneering effort to do away with the unsurmountable barrier placed

upon English fiction by the society. As a subject sex was taboo in Victorian fiction.

They wanted to push the subject under the carpet. Even marriage in Victorian fiction

is largely a matter of property. Young men look for wealthy heiress not pretty women.

Hardy aimed to break down the sexual taboos and presented his themes of love,

marriage and sex with frankness. He openly condemned the double sexual morality

endorsed by the prevalent ideology and voiced against the torture of marriage system

in his last novel Jude the Obscure (1895). He even criticized the Divorce Law that

went in favour of men. Hardys commitment to the unconventional notions led to

much criticism as he published novel after novel. The most vociferous condemnation

greeted his last two novels; Tess of the dUrbervilles (1891) and Jude the Obscure.

This was the price he had to pay for challenging the Victorian ideology and raising

voice against it.

The feminist sensibility achieved by Hardy towards the later part of his career

as a novelist was a steady growth of his stance from the feminine to feminist. Hardys

early novels beginning with Desperate Remedies (1871), Under the Greenwood Tree

(1872), A Pair of Blue Eyes (1873) and Far from the Madding Crowd (1874) to some

extent deal with his women characters portrayed in light of accepted female

stereotypes. Hardy became bolder and bolder as his fame grew; he cared less and less

for conventional morality. When his last two novels were published, he decided to

4
turn from prose fiction to verse rather than make a compromise with his social and

religious conventions. Consequently, his women characters grew increasingly

independent, self-assured and liberal in the broadest sense of the term.

The gradual shift of Hardys women towards feminist stance is linked with

Hardys growing sympathy for the suffering women in the patriarchal society. Hardy

lashes out at the system of double moral standards for men and women who live in the

same society and in the same era. He also criticizes the male characters for their

misunderstanding of women and their inability to shake off the conventional moral

judgment.

Hardys criticism of conventional morality with regard to women becomes

more intense in Tess of the dUrbervilles. Indirectly he puts forward his belief that sex

and marriage should be left to the individual to consider. No social law can assume

control over these areas of human experience. Tesss surrender to Alec, is innocent as

it lacks tact or experience on her part. Hardy even considers her self-blame irrelevant.

In his subtitle, he calls Tess a pure woman and challenges the idea of female purity

upheld by Victorian moral standards. In The Return of the Native (1878), Hardy offers

a touching description of the death of Eustacia Vye who too is a fallen woman in the

eyes of the orthodox society. Hardy seems to hold contemporary English society

responsible for not acknowledging Eustacias aspirations and abilities. He also

exposes the inadequacy of a sexual ideology which forces women to suffer personal

and emotional disasters. He also comments on the invalidity of sexual ideology that

conditions women to remain confined to purely personal and emotional sources of

satisfaction.

Hardys criticism of the traditional marriage system which condemns the

women too much is a reflection of the contemporary feminist debate on the subject. In

5
novel after novel, he invites the attention of the readers to the injustices of marriage

system which do not permit their freedom through divorce. Hardy has always been

interested in emphasizing the futility of the marriage system. In his novels, marriage

rarely brings happiness. His novels especially, the later ones are replete with anti-

marriage sentiments.

The early novels of Thomas Hardy such as Desperate Remedies, Under the

Greenwood Tree, Far from the Madding Crowd end with the happy reunion of lovers.

But there is a hint that the future may not be rosy for them. In The Return of the Native

and The Woodlanders (1887) the traditional concept of marriage is already brought

into question by the adulterous unions and relationships presented. In Tess of the

dUrbervilles, the very idea of an unmarried mother being called a Pure woman is a

reflection on the sanctity of marriage. Tesss state of being as an unmarried mother

and her staying with Alec as his mistress are all indications of peoples disrespect for

marriage.

1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Some critics have judged Hardy by his negative generalization of women and other

anti-feminist views in his writings. One of the main characteristics of Hardys work is

the dominance of women characters in his fiction. His deep sympathy for women lies

in the new sensitive portrayal of their sufferings in the Victorian era. It is noteworthy

that tragedy in Hardys novels is associated with the fate of the individuals revolting

against the societys conventional standards of behaviour. Women in Hardys novels

struggle to achieve self-fulfilment in the society which is deeply entrenched in the

Victorian concept of male superiority over women and female submission to men.

Hardy showed a considerable sympathy for these women who are enmeshed in the

6
idealistic view of virgin lovers, submissive wives and loving mothers. The dignity of

womanhood consisting in the limited role of a woman as wife and mother lies in the

sphere of home. Home is heaven presided over by women.

Those who find his novels full of female stereotypes and misogynist

generalization about women will assume this present study of showing Hardys deep

compassion for female characters as an exaggeration. In fact, Hardy has been both

condemned and praised for his portrayal of women. The contradictory mixture of

praise and condemnation continued with the heroines of his novels. In reality, it was a

time when writers were expected to adhere to the societys moral values that did not

allow women to be portrayed as sexual objects. The aim of the study is to analyse the

gradual development of Hardys view of women in terms of their femininity to that of

his portrayal of women as independent and progressive. This will be done by studying

the four selected novels from the viewpoint of his presentation of women characters in

Victorian era and his sympathetic attitude to the issues concerning women and their

liberation in the society.

1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objective of this thesis is to analyse the presentation of women characters in

Hardys selected novels and to explore to what extent Hardy accepts the Victorian

view of women. Is Hardys approach to women often influenced by the Victorian

society in which he lives? Does he show sympathy or does he put much blame on

women while presenting them in his novels? At that time, the society itself was

largely controlled by men and male superiority was not being questioned at all. As a

result, women suffered injustice at the hands of men. The study will also explore the

issues of womens oppression in the Victorian society on the basis of the selected

7
novels. The study will not only examine to what extent Hardys women characters

bring on their own suffering or tragedy on themselves, but also explore to what extent

other people, especially men, are responsible for causing their suffering. This study

has several objectives. Firstly, it aims to critically examine Hardys portrayal of

women as victims of men and the patriarchal society in the Victorian era. Secondly,

this study hopes to seek the social and religious perceptions of women in the Victorian

society. Thirdly, this study aims to assess female characters in Hardys selected novels

in terms of their relationships with men and to show how these relationships

undermine the integrity of women and reveal the deep-seated social stereotypes and

prejudices against women in the Victorian society. Fourthly, the objective of this

research is to show Hardys profound sympathy for the Victorian women caught in the

mesh of patriarchal ideology. Finally, this study seeks to deal with Hardys

consciousness for the women cause; which can be termed as feminist. There is a

degree of feminist consciousness in the novels which is revealed through his artistic

skill in the presentation of his themes concerning women. Hardy was sympathetic

towards the sufferings of female characters and sincerely wished for a change in their

lives.

1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The present study will focus on Hardys presentation of women characters and his

ideology related to women in the selected novels. Hardy has often been considered as

anti-feminist for his negative generalization of women in his novels. The present study

is an attempt to exonerate Hardy of this biased view by highlighting the aspects which

reveal his sympathy for the women cause. Examples of Hardys sympathetic attitude

towards women will be shown in the analysis of the four novels selected in this study.

8
 The importance of the study is, to add a new perspective to the list of studies

on Hardys portrayal of women. Although there is a vast amount of critical writings

on Hardys novels, it is not a major barrier for this study since not many attempted to

look into Hardys female characterization from the Islamic perspective of womens

rights in society. Hence, the thesis contributes significantly to the literary tradition of

Victorian portrayal of women in the light of Islam.

Feminism which can be broadly termed as the fight for womens rights is a

universal ideology that is widely popular around the world. It is born out of

oppression against women by men in the patriarchal society. Feminism is a

phenomenal study that critically explores the tasks of feminist critics and also exposes

the male dominance over females. A feminist is one who is awakened and conscious

about womens life and problems. Hardy is also conscious about the life and problems

of women in his society. The novels selected for the purpose of this study conform to

the conservative portrayal of women. Moreover, the women characters, at one point or

another in their lives, have been the victims of male tyranny. Sometimes their

indecisions cause their sufferings and in some cases, they become the silent victims of

their own fate or destiny which brings harms to their lives. This study will focus on

such issues.

This study will also analyse women as individuals rather than mere shadows

of men. Though women depend on men for their social security, they are still able to

assert their own independence and show their capability of proving their own skills in

business as we see in Bathsheba Everdene in The Return of the Native. The aim of this

thesis is to discuss Hardys Victorian heroines in the light of Islamic perspective.

9
1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The research will examine the portrayal of women in Thomas Hardys Far From the

Madding Crowd, The Return of the Native, The Mayor of Castrbridge and Tess of the

dUrbevilles. Special attention will be given to Hardys depiction of the treatment of

women in the Victorian society which is intensely patriarchal and therefore prejudiced

against women. The prejudices against women by men and other social stereotypes of

women undermine their integrity and make it difficult for them to be successful. This

study will investigate how and why women are regarded as mens property to such an

extent that they can be sold by men as in The Mayor of Casterbridge or can be raped

in Tess of the dUrbervilles. Themes such as marriage, religion, domination of women

by men, morality and hypocrisy will be examined.

This study will also compare and contrast the treatment of women in Hardys

Victorian society and in the present day. In addition, this study will include the

Islamic perspective of the rights of Muslim women in the society.

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. Was Hardy sympathetic towards his female characters?

2. How does he show sympathy for the Victorian women caught in the

patriarchal ideology?

3. How does Hardys artistic skill reveal itself in the presentation of his ideas

concerning womens sufferings in his novels?

4. In what ways does Hardy uphold the deep-seated causes of womens

sufferings in his novels?

5. To what extent is Hardy successful in appreciating the feminine mind in

his novels?

10
 6. Is it fair to call Hardy a feminist?

1.6 LITERATURE REVIEW

Kristin Brady says that the works of Thomas Hardy have been explicitly and

obsessively associated with matters of gender. 1 To speak of understandings about

sexuality is, by definition, to speak of gender. Victorian notions of sexuality are

intriguingly obvious in nineteenth-century reviews of Hardys fiction, beginning with

the 1871 publication of the first novel, which provokes a set of responses that remain

roughly consistent at least until the 1891 appearance of Tess of the dUrbervilles.

Kristin Brady asserts that Hardys treatment of sexual desire as sensational, violent,

pagan, and bestial. Hardys female characters especially are seen as manifestations of

an inborn, involuntary, unconscious emotional organism. Hardy offers an unusually

explicit descriptions of female desire; more unconventional and troubling. Hardys

inconstant depiction of that female desire provokes contemporary reviewers to

comment on Hardys female sexuality as sensational, violent, pagan, and bestial.

Through the characterization of Tess Durbeyfield, Hardy shows that even the fallen

woman is expected to remain fixated on her first sexual partner. These heroines are

more like rapacious animals than like monogamous ladies, and their behaviour

digresses in disconcerting ways from the sentimental formula of love-at-first-sight-

followed-by-engagement-and-marriage. Kristin Brady is summarizing the opinions of

critics on Hardys treatment of female sexual desire. Though Brady has insights to

offer, he does not treat the subject with sufficient elaboration.

1
Kristin Brady, Thomas Hardy and matters of gender in The Cambridge companion to Thomas
Hardy, edited by Dale Kramer (Cambridge :Cambridge University Press, 1999), 93.

11
 Susan Beegel expresses condescending and self-congratulatory affection for

the unvirtuous side of Hardys heroines.2 Each heroine possesses the charm of the

simplest and most familiar womanhood, and the only character they have in common

is that of having each some serious defect, which only makes the readers like them

more. In the subject of matrimony, no young woman knows her own mind. Their

indecisions to choose the right partner make them first to have two lovers and then

marry a third. This instability in Hardys heroine makes them unappealing to the

female audience. Beegel says that the wavering desire of Hardys heroines makes

them attractive to many male readers because it reassures the male readers that they

are comparatively stable in the matter of sexual desire. Thus, Beegel is more

appreciative towards the male characters sexuality than the females presented in

Hardys novels.

Penny Boumelha refuses to think of Hardys female characters as mimetic of

actual women who are likeable or unlikable, realistic or unrealistic, positive or

3
negative stereotypes. Boumelha sees Hardys women as cultural signs,

representations of historical ideas about women and about gender. Rather than

presuming that a fictional representation can be natural (or unnatural), Boumelha

offers a historical analysis of how Victorians understand the Nature of Women

and she links this sexual ideology to Hardys use of conventional narrative

structures, which themselves embodied particular ideologies. Boumelha says that the

radicalism of Hardys representation of women resides, not in their complexity, their

realism or their challenge to convention, but in their resistance to reduction to a

single and uniform ideological position. Thus Boumelha is aligning herself with an

2
Susan Beegel, Bathshebas lovers: Male sexuality in Far from the Madding Crowd in Sexuality and
Victorian literature, edited by Don Richard Cox (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1984), 148.
3
Penny Boumelha, Thomas Hardy and women: Sexual ideology and narrative form, (Sussex:
Harvester, 1982), 5.

12
understanding of ideology as a framework of beliefs and social practices which gives

the power of resistance to the female characters against the patriarchy.

Kristin Brady says that critics have been giving more concerns about the

construction of masculinity in Hardys novels since the publication of his works. 4

Significant attention has always been given to Hardys male characters, but only in

recent years, with the rise of feminist and queer theory, have critics begun to look at

masculinity itself as contingent and changing rather than as normative and stable.

Elaine Showalter focuses on the issues of masculinity rather than solely on male

characters in Hardys novels. The description of Henchard selling his wife does not

celebrate women rights in the Victorian era. Elaine Showalter says:

To shake loose from ones wife; to discard that drooping rag of a

women, with her mute complaints and maddening passivity; to escape
not by a slinking abandonment but thorough the public sale of her body
to a stranger, as horses are sold at a fair; and thus to wrest, through
sheer amoral willfulness, a second chance out of life-it is with this
stroke, so insidiously attractive to male fantasy, that The Mayor of
Casterbridge begins.5

Through the character presentation of Michael Henchard, Hardy investigates the

Victorian codes of manliness, the mans experience of marriage, the problem of

paternity. Showalter also shows a kind of assimilation of female suffering in Hardys

novels. Showalter argues that Hardy understands the feminine self as the estranged

and essential complement of the male self.

Graham Handley, in Thomas Hardy: Tess of the dUrbervilles provides the

illustration of Hardys artistic awareness of the centrality of the heroine, Tess

Durbeyfield.6 Graham Handley focuses upon the phases of Tesss existence through a

4
Kristin Brady, Thomas Hardy and matters of gender in The Cambridge Companion to Thomas
Hardy, edited by Dale Kramer (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 104.
5
Elaine Showalter, The unmanning of the Mayor of Casterbridge in Critical approaches to the
fiction of Thomas Hardy, edited by Dale Kramer (London: Macmillan, 1979), 102.
6
Graham Handley, Thomas Hardy: Tess of the dUrbervilles, (London: Penguin Books, 1991).

13