Feeling Sympathy for Tess in Tess of the DUrbervilles Essay -- Tess o

Feeling Sympathy for Tess in Tess of the D'Urbervilles I think that throughout the novel Thomas Hardy uses many different techniques that lead his readers to feel sympathy for Tess. Through reading Hardy's 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' I have realised that it is invaluable that the readers of any novel sympathise with and feel compassion for the main character. In writing 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' Thomas Hardy is very successful in grabbing the attention and sentiments of the reader and then steering their emotions so that they feel empathy and understanding for the character Tess. Hardy does this from the very first time we are introduced to Tess. The first time we see Tess is at the Woman's Walking Club Festival, Hardy describes her as 'a fine and handsome girl, with a mobile peony mouth and large innocent eyes' (Chapter II), 'a small minority would look long at her in casually passing and grow momentarily fascinated by her freshness' (ChapterII).This description of pure beauty and innocence captures the imagination of the readers and we begin to build a relationship with the character. The beauty and goodness that we see in Tess draws us to her, and engenders a feeling of affection for her, in this way Hardy is preparing us for later in the book when we see Tess suffering, and feel sympathy for her. Hardy is leading us to feel sympathy for Tess by using her attractiveness and personal qualities. From the first scene in which we meet Tess, Hardy leads us to feel sympathy for her by giving the impression that we (as readers) are slightly overlooking Tess; a place in which this technique is used is whilst Hardy is describing the effects of her appearance on others. Hardy describes the more extraord... ...herself to save Angel's dignity. All this evidence leads us to the conclusion that Tess is a natural victim, trodden by society: 'Every day it seemed more was expected of Tess and every day seemed to throw upon her young shoulders more and more of the world's burdens' (Chapter VI). I conclude that although Thomas Hardy uses many different and varied techniques to lead us to feel sympathy for Tess he pays particular attention to portraying Tess as a natural victim. Hardy also spends a great amount of time (particularly at the beginning of the book) building Tess' character and building a relationship between Tess and the readers. This is an effective method of leading the audience to feel sympathy for Tess because the reader is more likely to like and consequently, feels more compassion and sympathy towards Tess later in the book when she is suffering.