Thomas Hardy, página 7 de 27

Thomas Hardys "The Woodlanders" masterfully weaves a tale of love, nature, and the constraints imposed by society in the fictional village of Hintock. The novel is notable for its rich, evocative prose and its deep exploration of the tensions between rural life and the encroaching forces of industrialization. Hardys literary style is characterized by a keen observation of the natural world and intricate character development, showcasing the struggles of his protagonists, particularly the woodlander Giles Winterbourne and the ill-fated Felice Charmond, as they navigate the complexities of human relationships against the backdrop of a changing society. Thomas Hardy, born in 1840 in Dorset, drew heavily from his own experiences in rural England, providing him with an intimate understanding of the landscapes and social dynamics he portrayed in his works. His reputation as a chronicler of human despair is underscored by his early career as an architect and his subsequent barometer of social change in Victorian England. "The Woodlanders" reflects his philosophical skepticism and deep empathy for the plight of human beings intertwined with their environment. For readers seeking a profound exploration of love fractured by societal pressures, "The Woodlanders" is an essential read. Hardys portrayal of the impact of societal norms on personal choices invites reflection on contemporary issues, making it a timeless work relevant to readers in any era.

In "A Laodicean," Thomas Hardy delves into the complexities of love, societal expectations, and the struggle between modernity and tradition. Set against the backdrop of late 19th-century England, the novel artfully weaves a tale of its heroine, Paula Power, who grapples with her identity amidst the forces of industrial progress and moral ambiguity. Hardys signature literary style is characterized by vivid descriptions, emotional depth, and keen social commentary, placing the work in the context of the Victorian eras rapidly changing values. The narrative unfolds with rich symbolism and explores themes of free will, class disparity, and the inherent conflicts of human desire, creating a poignant and multifaceted portrayal of a womans journey toward self-determination. Thomas Hardy, a prominent figure in English literature, often drew inspiration from his own experiences in a rural setting, which shaped his worldview. This personal context, combined with his disillusionment with Victorian norms, led Hardy to craft narratives that question societal constructs and convention. "A Laodicean" reflects his evolving philosophy as he began to embrace modernist themes, pushing the boundaries of traditional storytelling. For readers seeking a thought-provoking exploration of personal and societal dilemmas, "A Laodicean" is an essential read. Hardy captures the tumultuous intersection of love and duty while inviting readers to reflect on their own convictions in an ever-changing world. This novel not only enriches our understanding of HardyAos oeuvre but also resonates with contemporary themes of choice and identity.

In "Late Lyrics and Earlier, With Many Other Verses," Thomas Hardy masterfully intertwines themes of love, loss, and the inexorable passage of time through a collection of poignant poems. The book showcases Hardys signature style, characterized by vivid imagery, emotional depth, and an earnest search for meaning amidst a changing world. Written during a period when Hardy was increasingly concerned with human fragility and existential contemplation, this collection serves as a literary reflection of the tumultuous social and personal issues of the early 20th century, blending both lyrical beauty and sobering realism. Thomas Hardy, renowned as a novelist and poet, experienced significant personal loss and disillusionment throughout his life, which profoundly influenced his poetic voice. His earlier works, such as "Tess of the dAoUrbervilles," laid the groundwork for his evolving perspectives on human relationships and societal norms, while later works reveal his deepening introspection. HardyAos own struggles with the themes of fate and free will resonate throughout this collection, offering readers insights into the complexities of human emotion. I highly recommend "Late Lyrics and Earlier" to readers who appreciate poetry that transcends mere aesthetics, delving into the profound mysteries of the human experience. Hardys reflections in this collection are both accessible and richly layered, inviting readers to ponder their own relationships with love, memory, and the relentless march of time.

"Tess of the dUrbervilles: A Pure Woman" is a poignant exploration of the tragic life of Tess, a young woman ensnared by societal norms, fate, and class struggles in Victorian England. Hardy employs a naturalistic literary style, employing vivid imagery and symbolism to depict the harsh realities of rural life, as well as the constraints imposed upon women of the era. The novel embodies a critical commentary on the moral hypocrisy of society, demonstrating HardyAos belief in determinism and the often ruthless forces of nature that shape human destiny. Thomas Hardy, born in 1840 in Dorset, England, was deeply influenced by the rural landscape of his upbringing and the evolving social dynamics of his time. His own experiences and observations of the constraints of Victorian morality led him to sympathize with the plight of women, reflecting a progressive outlook that was rare for his time. HardyAos literary journey was characterized by his desire to challenge societal conventions and explore existential themes, as evident in the deeply affecting narrative of Tess. Readers seeking a profound and unflinching examination of love, responsibility, and the human condition will find "Tess of the dUrbervilles" both captivating and unsettling. Hardys masterful character development and evocative prose invite contemplation on the intersection of fate and free will, making this novel a timeless classic that resonates with contemporary audiences.

This is the annotated edition including a rare biographical essay on the life and works of the author.Some regard this book as Hardys masterpiece. Here again we have a rural setting and a powerful and moving plot. The characters, too, are striking and well drawn, and one of them, Clym Yeobright, the hero, just misses greatness. Unlike Mr. Hardys previous works, it is predominantly a tragedy; but it is not a thoroughly artistic success, because our pleasure at the artists triumph is overbalanced by disagreeable sensations caused by the repulsiveness of many of his characters and of the environment in which they move. Mr. Hardy himself must have felt the effect of this repulsiveness, for his humor is almost entirely absent. A passion for excessive realism, too, has taken a greater hold upon this essentially poetic idealist, and it is only when he is in the presence of inanimate nature that his soul appears to be truly inspired. The descriptions of Egdon Heath in this novel, and of the effects of its sombre vastness upon its scattered inhabitants, are unequalled in modern fiction. But if nature has taken hold of Mr. Hardy as it has done of few men since Wordsworth, it has not disturbed him "with the joy of elevated thoughts," as Wordsworth sang; it has not proved itself to be the power "whose secret is not joy, but peace" of Matthew Arnold; but rather it has proved itself to be the mysterious, inscrutable counterpart in the world of the senses, of that "insoluble enigma" with which Herbert Spencer and so many modern minds have found themselves confronted in the world of thought.

Like " Tess of the DUrbervilles," the story of "Jude the Obscure" is a manifestation of the authors later mannera manner which is a natural and almost inevitable development in a writer who possesses Mr. Hardys extraordinary capacity for observation, profound knowledge of human nature, and philosophical ideas concerning the problem of existence. Mr. Hardy has never been an author to write novels merely for the purpose of providing entertainment, or for illustrating in more or less persuasive form some preconceived didactic proposition. He has been content to take men and women as they are, and no one in English fictionpossibly no one in the whole range of modern literaturehas been able to surpass him in depicting the reaction of circumstances upon character. In this carefully reasoned, closely woven narrative of " Jude the Obscure" he sets before us the entirely natural and consistent experiences of two sensitive and impulsive creatures, who have been profoundly and disastrously affected by the changes in popular thought regarding ideals of religious faith and personal conduct; who, yielding to their thoroughly undisciplined emotions, work out for themselves a destiny full of bitterness and sorrow. It has been said that Mr. Hardy is not a writer to work on preconceived theories,but he certainly has some effective doctrines regarding the behavior of the two sexes under similar conditions, and when one comes to analyze this story one finds that a settled conviction underlies its entire texture, and this conviction is that misfortunes and disappointments, which soften the heart of man and tend to make him more considerate and charitable in his dealings with his fellows, have as a rule a contrary effect upon the heart of a woman.

This is the annotated edition including a rare biographical essay on the life and works of the author.This romance, as the author entitled it in the English edition, is in some respects a successful, and in all respects, a powerful book. It is not devoid of humor, as the delightful description of the choir practice amply proves. It is certainly a romance if a strange and almost bizarre plot can give a story as claim to that title. It does not yield to any of our authors stories as a character study, nor does it yield to any story of modern times in its absolute truth to the fundamental principles of human nature under certain given circumstances. More than any of Mr. Hardys novels it gives one the impression of being a study undertaken on definite lines and with a definite object. That object is the endeavor to show the misery that must come to the woman who allows her passion for a man to blind her to the obstacles which difference of age, of rank, of education, of social aim, have set between them. The absorbing, the disastrous passion of Lady Constantine for her young astronomer, Swithin St. Cleve, the secret marriage, the terrible complications that arise upon her discovery that she was not a widow when she contracted this marriage, her anxiety to do no wrong to the budding genius of her boy husband, who still finds more to gaze at in the stars of heaven than in her own love-lit eyes, her open marriage to the Bishop of Melchester to save her reputation, the awakening of St. Cleve to the fact that there are other women in the world besides his quondam wife and patroness, and finally the death scene in the tower when the heart of her that loved not wisely, but too well, has snapped beneath its weight of griefall these particulars make up a story of intense power and interest.

This is the annotated edition including a rare biographical essay on the life and works of the author."Under the Greenwood Tree" is a year-long rural idyl. The nine chapters of the first part entitled "Winter," are taken up with a wonderfully humorous description of the old-fashioned wind-instrument choir of the parish of Mellstock trudging around on Christmas night to serenade every dweller in the parish, and with an equally humorous description of the party given by honest Reuben Dewey, the tranter, or wagoner. The other parts, named after the other seasons, commemorate the love of Dick Dewey, the tranters son for Fancy Day, the village schoolmistressa love which ends in the most typical of rural weddings, in spite of the fact that the young rector himself is somewhat smitten with the fair schoolmistress who plays the first organ set up in the parish church. The despair of the old choir at the advent of this organ and their visit to the rector in expostulation are described with a humor that puts Mr. Hardy alongside of Dickens if not, as some think, above him.

This is the annotated edition including a rare biographical essay on the life and works of the author.The reader of Mr. Hardys novel, "The Trumpet Major," will at once ask himself, "Is not this author making a brave struggle against the scepticism, the pessimism that have been assailing him? Will not the optimism of the poet and idealist finally conquer the pessimism of the realist?" If Mr. Hardy had died after writing "The Trumpet Major" the last question might well have been answered in the affirmative. Few more charming, spontaneous, wholesome stories than this have ever been written by an English novelist. Sweet Anne Garland may well be set by Sweet Anne Page, and her two devoted swains, fickle Bob Loveday, the sailor, and staunch John Loveday, the Trumpet Major, are worthy to live as long as the language in which their adventures are told. This is the only one of Mr. Hardys stories that at all claims the titlethe great title in spite of some modern criticsof an historical romance. The scene is laid on the southern coast of England during the exciting days of Napoleons contemplated invasion. The historical setting is worthy of all praiseindeed, as we shall see later, Mr. Hardy shares with Thackeray the power to move as freely in the past as in the present. We consider "The Trumpet Major" to be the most charming of Mr. Hardys stories, and if all its characters had possessed the nobility of the unselfish hero and if its action had been more tense and pitched upon a higher plane it would easily have been his greatest work. As it is, it is one of the cleanest, most interesting, most wholesome stories that can be recommended to readers old or young.

This is the annotated edition including a rare biographical essay on the life and works of the author.This compilation of Thomas Hardys short stories is one of the most complete on the book market. Every single story was tracked down and integrated into this book. Hours of enjoyable reading lies ahead of you because Hardy was a real genius among the English fiction writers.From the contents:A Changed ManThe Waiting SupperAlicias DiaryThe Grave By The HandpostEnter A DragoonA Tryst At An Ancient Earth WorkWhat The Shepherd Saw: A Tale Of Four Moonlight NightsA Committee-Man Of The TerrorMaster John Horseleigh, KnightThe Dukes ReappearanceA Family TraditionA Mere InterludeThe First Countess Of WessexBarbara Of The House Of GrebeThe Marchioness Of StonehengeLady MottisfontThe Lady IcenwaySquire Petricks LadyAnna, Lady BaxbyThe Lady PenelopeThe Duchess Of HamptonshireThe Honourable LauraThe Sons VetoFor Conscience SakeA Tragedy Of Two AmbitionsOn The Western CircuitTo Please His WifeThe Melancholy Hussar Of The German LegionThe Fiddler Of The ReelsA Tradition Of Eighteen Hundred And FourA Few Crusted CharactersTony Kytes, The Arch-DeceiverThe History Of The HardcomesThe Superstitious Mans StoryAndrey Satchel And The Parson And ClerkOld Andreys Experience As A MusicianAbsent-Mindedness In A Parish ChoirThe Winters And The PalmleysIncident In The Life Of Mr. George CrookhillNetty Sargents CopyholdAn Imaginative WomanThe Three Strangers... and many more ...

This is the annotated edition including a rare biographical essay on the life and works of the author.The scenes of Hardys novel are located chiefly on "The Isle of Stingers," South Wessex, and the story deals with the emotional experiences of Jocelyn Pierston, a sculptor and native of the isle. Pierston is condemned by his mental constitution to pursue through life his ideal of woman, a curiously capricious, protean creature, who never tarries long in the same human form. The sculptor is, he declares, always faithful to his Well-Beloved, but she has so many embodiments that he produces the effect of extreme volatility. She is "a spirit, a dream, a frenzy, a conception, an aroma, an epitomized sex." She is never in two places at the same time, but she is never in one place long. She has a habit of appearing in a fresh incarnation at the most inconvenient seasons. In the first book, for instance, just as Pierston has promised marriage to Avice Caro, an island girl who is, like himself, of the old stock there, and whom he respects largely because she does not embody the Well-Beloved, the latter lady turns up in the person of Marcia Bencomb, and the sculptor deserts Avice abruptly and returns to London. He does not marry Marcia, but goes on making capital out of his emotions by translating his unattainable dream into plaster, winning popularity thereby. When he comes back to the island, after twenty years, he finds the creature of his visions in the daughter of Avice, and would marry her if he could.

A Novel By the author of " Far from the Madding Crowd,""A Pair of Blue Eyes," etc."A valuable accession tothe ranks of modern novel writing authors. . . Not only quick observations and sparkling humor, and true moral instinct, but a delicate and subtle analysis of varieties of character and moods of feeling, a poets sympathy with human passion, and an artists eye for every aspect of nature." London Spectator"A remarkable story. . . . The plot is worked out with abundant skill, but the essence of the book is precisely what it ought to be, namely, the evolution of character. . . His deserts are of no ordinary kind." London Saturday Review."The characters of the story are often exceedingly good. The construction of tile story is very curious. "-London Athenaeum.

"The Hand of Ethelberta" (1876) was described by Hardy as "A Comedy in Chapters." It bears out fairly well the claims of its sub-title. The heroine, Ethelberta, is a butlers daughter, who, having been educated above her station, marries a young, wealthy, and well-born husband and is soon left a fashionable widow. She now essays the difficult role of moving in polite society while still preserving secret relations with her family. Her sister becomes her maid, her brother her footman, and once she is actually waited on at a dinner party by her father, the butler. Naturally such a plot furnishes Mr. Hardy with much opportunity for delicate satire on fashionable society as well as for indulging in his accustomed humor. Ethelberta publishes poems, recites her own stories, loves a poor gentleman, is wooed by several eligible suitors, and finally marries a worn-out peer. If it were not that she gets the upper hand of her old husband and is enabled to lift up and support her family the end of the story would be tragic, rather than comic; but, viewed as a whole, it is an amusing comedy which deserves more popularity than it seems to have had. Certainly Mr. Hardy has drawn few more interesting characters than his "squirrel haired" Ethelberta.