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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

More Hardy themes

Sadness?

Waste and frustration?

Naturalism

An overwhelming feeling of irony

“Life’s Little Ironies” published in 1894

Emma Gifford HardyAt 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.

Emma Hardy in later yearsEmma 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.

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.