Tess of the D'Urbervilles

Industrialization in Tess of the D'Urbervilles

"Although They Were Proud of Their Material Success, the Victorians were often Profoundly Uneasy about the loss of the Rural Community that Industrial Society Experienced." From Your Reading of Tess of the D'Urbervilles and other Victorian Novels show how you have found this to Be True.

Victorian Novels regularly portray Industrialisation as corrupt, dirty and unrestrained capitalism. In Tess of the D'Ubervilles Hardy does this primarily through the description and actions of the characters in a similar way to Dickens. Alec D'Uberville is part of a group of newly Rich industrialists from the north and the fact "ville" is included in his surname suggests that Alec is symbolic of all Town industrialists. Therefore Alec's actions, such as the rape scene, where he took advantage of Tess' "beautiful feminine tissue" suggests subtlety that industrialisation and industrialists are ravaging the country. Alec's prominent, red bricked and obviously "new" house in the country as well as the fact he has bought rather than inherited the previously pastoral family name D'Uberville more graphically Hardy's opinion that Alec and the industrialisation he represents has...

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