哈代《还乡》中的人物悲剧性格探究
《还乡》中悲剧因素的分析
《还乡》中悲剧因素的分析托马斯·哈代是维多利亚时代最著名的小说家之一，他的作品继承和发展了维多利亚重要现实主义文学的卓著传统。
他的作品大多数属于悲剧小说。
1878 年出版的《还乡》算得上是哈代小说最有力的有力代表。
本文通过分析哈代这部典型的悲剧作品，审视造成该书女主人公悲剧命运的原因，并试图将他们与当时的时代社会背景联系起来，找到造成此类人物悲剧式命运的普遍性。
标签：悲剧；命运；哈代；《还乡》第一章简介托马斯·哈代, 维多利亚时期最著名的小说家。
他的作品继承和发展维多利亚时期的批评现实主义。
如今我们回顾哈代的作品, 可将其创作生涯分“性格与环境” “浪漫与想象” “独创小说”三个时期。
哈代的作品, 特别是他在“性格与环境”时期所创作出的作品，大多为悲剧。
如《绿林荫下》, 《远离尘嚣》, 《还乡》, 《卡斯特桥市长》, 《德伯家的苔丝》和《无名的裘德》等，在这些作品中, 后四部是反映哈代的写作风格经典之作。
哈代把爱格敦荒原设定为他小说故事的发生地点, 描写了那里的维多利亚时代年轻人与社会环境之间的激烈冲突。
基于哈代对那个时期的社会现实万分的失望, 且找不到解决社会问题的办法，于是他把这种情绪宣泄在作品创作中。
其女主人公的都有着悲剧般的命运。
1978年出版的小说《还乡》无疑是托马斯哈代小说的代表作之一。
在他的写作生涯中，哈代一直奉行文学“反映人生，暴露人生，批判人生”的这一主张。
哈代的众多小说中，《还乡》是最著名的悲剧之一。
男主人公克林·姚伯回归荒原的故事是小说的主要情节，然而，女主人公游苔莎逃离荒原的故事更发人深省。
哈代笔下的游苔莎野性，自负，有野心。
她是满脑子不切实际的幻想者，追求大城市的繁荣，渴望能够逃离爱格敦荒原。
游苔莎原本幻想着他的丈夫克林可以实现她的愿望，带她逃离荒僻的爱敦荒原，然而她后来才发现这场婚姻也是错误的。
“无论过去还是现在，极度的悲伤和不幸的遭遇时常发生。
生态女性主义角度解读《还乡》中的两位女性形象
从生态女性主义角度解读《还乡》中的两位女性形象摘要托马斯·哈代是十九世纪英国著名的小说家、诗人，女性和自然是他小说中的两大主题。
生态女性主义是女权运动和生态运动相结合的产物，是对社会及自然的重新讫释。
其中最突出的观点便是女人同自然具有密不可分的联系，认为自然是女性的生存沃土。
《还乡》是哈代第一部结合女性与自然的悲剧小说，体现了他超前的生态女性主义意识。
在小说中，自然就像一面镜子，反应了女性命运的走势，顺应复归自然就能获得力量追求幸福，一旦游离自然便失去自我走向悲剧。
本文通过分析《还乡》中游苔莎和托马辛的形象，呼吁当代女性积极对待生活，从自然中获得能量，进而在社会中寻求自我，实现个人价值。
关键词：托马斯·哈代，生态女性主义，《还乡》，游苔莎，托马辛An Ecofeminist Interpretation of Two Female Characters in The Return of the NativeAbstractThomas Hardy is a famous British novelist and poet in the nineteenth century, women and nature are the two main themes in his novels. The ecofeminist is the product of combining feminist movement and ecological movement, which is a reinterpretation of society and nature. The most prominent view of ecofeminist is that women are inextricably linked with nature, and nature is the homeland of women. The Return of the Native is Hardy’s first women and nature tragedy novel, which reflects his advanced ecofeminist consciousness. In the novel, nature is like a mirror, reflecting the fate of women. Returning to nature can give women the power to pursue happiness, without that power they will lose themselves. This thesis will have an interpretation on the destinies of Eustacia and Thomasin from an ecofeminist perspective and aim to advocate contemporary women to be positive in life, get energy from nature and achieve personal values in society.Key words：Thomas Hardy, Ecofeminism, The Return of the Native, Eustacia, Thomasin1. IntroductionThomas Hardy, as the most important novelist in Britain at the end of thenineteenth century, was born on June 2, 1840 in Dorset. His novels, according to his own classification, fall into three kinds: novels of character and environment, also called “Wessex novels”; romances and fantasies; and novels of ingenuity. Hardy’s novels inherited the characteristics of realism works, but also developed the characteristics of modernism. The study of his works is divided into two major categories: one is the traditional interpretation of Hardy’s works, these articles are mostly concentrated in the tragedy, characterization, religious view and the artistic features in Hardy’s Nove ls; another one is the modern interpretation of his works, including symbolism, feminism, modern psychology, structuralism. Wessex novels are quite popular among his novels, and they are Jude the Obscure (1895), Under the Greenwood(1872), Under the Greenwo od(1887), Tess of the d’Urbervilles(1878), The Mayor of Casterbridge(1886), Far from the Madding Crowd(1874) and The Return of the Native(1878). History proved that Hardy’s work has a permanent vitality, his work has been attracting a large number of resea rchers after his death. Hardy’s literary works has become an important literary research object in the world.The Return of the Native was Thomas Hardy’s sixth novel, and it was probably begun at the end of 1876 and completed in the spring of 1878. The novel is a symbol that Hardy’s works change from comedy into tragedy. In China, The study of The Return of the Native and Hardy’s literary works has more than a hundred years of history. The study about Hardy in China began the New Culture Movement beginning in the 1920s. Xu Zhimo was a well-known representative that researched Hardy during that period. Analysis of Hardy’s literary works from the perspective of ecofeminism is a new one which has appeared in recent years. The earliest was Hardy’s View on Nature and the Tragedy of Eustacia and Tess (Zhang Qunfang) published in the Journal of Harbin University in 2004. The author thinks that the women of Hardy’s works are closely connected with nature. Hardy is good at using the changes of the natural world to reflect the psychological changes of women, express the image of women, and also use the women’s tragedy to convey the pain of organic nature. Then, in An Ecofeminist Reading of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles, the author, Yu Kun, focuses on the anal ysis of the tragedy of Tess fromthe ecofeminist perspective.Hardy's novel, especially his “character and the environment” novels, not only describe the natural world which is magic and full of vitality, but it also depicts the rich personality and spirit of the resistance of female characters, expressing his attention to nature and women. The Return of the Native is Hardy’s first women and nature tragedy novel, which reflects his advanced ecofeminist consciousness. In the novel, nature is like a mirror, reflecting the fate of women.Ecofeminist studies on the relationship between women and nature, and the novel The Return of the Native reveal Hardy’s ecofeminist consciousness. This paper will focus on the study of two major female characters, Thomasin and Eustacia in Hardy’s novel The Return of The Native. Through a detailed analysis of these two characters by using the contemporary Ecofeminist theory, this paper tries to have an in-depth comprehension of Hardy’s views on the relationship between women and nature and tries to call for new women to find their inner world from nature.This thesis consists of four parts. The first part is the introduction, which is about the literature review of Thomas Hardy and his works The Return of the Native. It also includes the purpose and composition of this thesis. The second part is about the development of ecofeminism and the ecofeminist consciousness of Hardy. The third part is the main part of this thesis. This part has an interpretation on the destinies of two major female characters, Thomasin and Eustacia, from an ecofeminist perspective. Finally, the fourth part is the conclusion, which will summarize the thesis: employing the literary theory of ecofeminism and interpreting Hardy’s ecofeminist consciousness. These will not only help the reader to understand Hardy’s novel from a new angle, but it will also call for contemporary women to be positive in life, get energy from nature and achieve personal values in society.2. Hardy's Ecofeminist Consciousness2.1 A Brief Introduction to EcofeminismAccording to the definition from Wikipedia: “Ecofeminism is a term that links feminism with ecology.” Ecofeminist theory appeared in literary studies in the end of 20th century. Ecofeminism was coined by Francois d’Eaubonne in her book LeFeminisme ou la Mort in France in 1974, she called for combined ecological and feminism movement, to understand the relation between women and nature. Early ecofeminist theory think that the split can only be healed by the feminine instinct for nurture and holistic knowledge of nature’s processes. Its advocates say that capitalistic society has led to a harmful split between nature and culture. Modern ecofeminism, or feminist ecocriticism, eschews such essentialism and instead focuses more on intersectional questions, such as how the nature-culture split enables the oppression of female and nonhuman bodies. Shiva and Mies said: “Ecofeminism is an activist and academic movement that sees critical connections between the exploitation of nature and the domination over women both caused by men.”[](p.29) The main members include Karen Warren, Maria Mies, Greta Gaard, Vandana Shiva, Noel Sturgeon, Val Plumwood and Ariel Salleh.In the introduction of Rosemarie’s book Feminist Thoughts: A more Comprehensive Introduction, the author analyzes the four branches of ecofeminism: “ecological feminism of nature or culture; spiritual ecofeminism; social and social construction ecofeminism; socialist ecological feminism and reform - socialist ecological feminism (philosophical ecofeminism).”[](p25) Karen J. Warren is the most authoritative scholar in the study of ecofeminist, and she has many monographs on feminism and ecofeminism., such as: The Power and the Promise of Ecological Feminism, Ecological Feminist Philosophies, Feminism and the Environment: An Overview of the Issues, Feminism and Ecology: Making Connections. And the book Death of Nature by American ecological feminist scholar Carolyn Merchant is also one of the classical representative works. Since then, ecofeminism as a non-traditional theory of environmental philosophy and ecological ethics has a considerable impact.Early ecological feminism focuses on the harmony between women and nature and the concept of women’s natural equality. Griffin points ou t the connections between nature and women in Woman and Nature: The Roaring Inside Her “We known ourselves to be made from this earth. We know this earth is made from our bodies. For we see ourselves. And we are nature. We are nature seeing nature. We are nature with a concept of nature. Nature weeping. Nature speaking ofnature to nature.”[](p.96)The patriarchal worldview emphasizes that men have absolute domination of nature and society. This view leads to the disdain and oppression of ecofeminism, and this is fully embodied in many literary works. As there are several different types of feminism and different beliefs held by feminists, there are different versions of ecofeminism. Charlene Spretnak has argued that there are three main paths to ecofeminism, and that they draw in a diverse group of people, which strengthens any movement. The three paths are: “through the study of political theory as well as history; through the belief and study of nature-based religions; and through environmentalism.”[]However, all ecofeminist theories agree that women are closer to nature and there are special relationships between women and nature. Just like Mellor said, “Women have a sense of identity to nature, which is associated with nature in a concrete and loving way. Therefore, women are closer to nature, more suitable for consideration and understanding of the relationship between man and nature.”[](p65) This thesis will have an interpretation on the destinies of two major female literary characters, Thomasin and Eustacia, under this ecofeminist perspective.2.2 Hardy’s Novels and WomenHardy’s works are not to read, T.S. Eliot has criticized the lack of passion in his novels, his text remains plain and in shortage of aesthetic beauty (because of the description of rural life). However, reading The Return of the Native, especially when reading the part Eustacia standing in the wilderness and asking why it is so unfair to her fate, nature is silent, the silence let us mistake the author is silent. I feel the author Hardy is a passionate man with strong compassion. Female characters are always under a web wave by the “ghost”, trap them in the moral and ethical concepts. The traditional female take a subordinate role in the patriarchal society in the literature. The women will be sanctified, if they sacrifice themselves for men. And the women will be demonize, if they refuse to obey. But Hardy, at this point is different from other male writers. Women in his novels are depict as a normal person with flesh and blood.The social biased public opinion says women are always in a hostile environment. No matter how women struggle in the hostile environment, trying to escape, they nevertheless will be defeated in the end. As a male writer, Hardy is very concerned about the plight of the women, for them he had deep sympathy. In the 19th century, Victorian women were defined as loyal obedient. Many authors portrayed women as innocent figures. Hardy rejected the traditional one-sided emphasis on ethical moral obligation, which ignores emotional rights in an all-round way. Hardy creates the new female images that shook the Victorian female role models. The women characters in his novels have the right to pursue marriage freedom and happiness from love. From this perspective, Hardy is a women sympathizer, understanding the plight of women. He supported women’s rebellious thoughts, appreciating the spirit of women to pursue a happy life. We have noticed that, on the other hand, Hardy didn't put the female characters as “angel” or “the devil” image. In the literature of patriarchal society, women tend to be portrayed as an angel or as a devil.[](p.38)It's hard to see female’s life from Hardy’s novels was happy, even there is a happiness it will be a short one. As Stave said, “Tragedy has al ways been a Hardy creative theme, especially the tragedy fate of the female characters.”[](p104) However, what causes the tragedy of women? Hardy believes is the fault of environment and destiny. Conflict between character and environment caused character’s misfortune in life. As Jagdish said, “In Hardy’s works, we can see: in front of control the fate of the powerful environment, people seem so helpless.”[](p.78) A conflict between people and the environment is difficult to solve. Destiny coincidences sudden events, the character is not guarded against sudden attack which make their lives change. And let them fall into the abyss of unfortunate destruction. Many researchers noticed that Hardy’s novels always reveal a distorted and mystic atmosphere with help less pessimism. Hardy believes that the universe controls human ability and their fate, so Hardy’s works prevail a mysterious atmosphere, as well as a variety of coincidence. Swigg says:“The Return of the Native itself does possess a staying power of a ci rcumscribed but decisive kind. By the creation of Egdon Heath, Hardy porpounds a mental。
欲望的悲剧——分析《还乡》中悲剧的根源
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欲 望 的 悲 剧
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分析《 乡》 还 中悲剧 的根 源
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安徽 桐城 师 范学校 （３ ４ ０ 毕 ２ １０ ）
【 摘
要 】 《 乡》 还 是哈代 第二部 著名的“ 性格 与环
境小说 ” 。关于《 乡》 还 的主题 ， 同时代的人 有着不 同的 不
１尤 苔 莎 ．
尤苔莎美艳绝伦 ， 她的家庭出身 以及她早 年在资本
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中 学 教学 参 考 ｆ 旬 ） ２ ０ ．１ 总 第 ３ 期 上 ０ ９１ １
Ｉ
华 的城市 ， 美丽的楼舍 ， 俊的情人 。 的第一个梦想之 英 她 地是布达茅斯 （ 那是 离埃格 墩有二 十多英里 的一个 具有 个性化 的海滨 胜地 ）可 自从 随着 “ 色祥光 ” 巴黎归 ， 金 的 客克林 还乡后 ， 巴黎对 于尤苔 莎来说 ， 就显得 更加具 有 诱惑力 ， 巴黎式 的生活让她魂牵梦绕 。可无论尤苔 莎憧 憬什 么样 的世 界 ， 有一 点是肯定 的 ： 来 的面貌在她 的 将 心里永远是个 未知数 ， 法确定下来 。她本人 又没有一 无 个特定 的寻求 目标。尽管她看 到了埃格墩荒原时空上的 局 限性 ，但她不知道 自己适合 于什 么样的生活环境 ， 更 不知道怎样行动起来 实现她 的梦想 。因此 ， 以说 ， 可 尤苔 莎也是徘徊在她的第二世界之外 。 陷于这两个世 界之 深 中， 可又无法在这两个世界 中生 活下来 ， 可想而知 ， 尤苔 莎的悲剧结 尾是 可以预见 的。 作为一个 女性 ， 尤苔 莎完全 没有 自主 、 自尊 的女性 意识 。她把一切 的不满 归罪于所谓 的命运 ：我都怎么要 “ 强来着 ， 可是命运又怎么老是跟我作对 啊 ！” 我本来能 “ 够做好多事情 的啊 ， 可是一些我控制 不了的事物却把我
哈代《还乡》中的悲剧艺术
回归的迷失的悲剧
作为 世 纪之 交 的作 家 哈代超 越 了他 的 同 时代人 触及 到 一个 现 代 作 家经 常探 讨 的 问题 ： 人们 总想逃 离 现 在而 寻求 回 归 。但过 去 已不 是原 来 的过 去 ，回 归 足不 能实现 的 。剩下 的只 有 与环 境 的妥 协 和 妥协 后 的孤 独 。
的本身是没有错的，错就错在他们都将梦的实现建构在对方的身 上。他们都太固执了，希望对方顺从 自己的理想。克林娶游苔莎
因为 他相 信 ， 他 的感 化下 ， 苔莎 会成 长 为 一个 乡村 女 教师 。可 在 游
了。当“ 别的东西， 都两眼朦胧， 昏昏入睡， 这片荒原， 才好像慢慢醒
来， 悄悄 静听 。它那 泰坦 一 般 的形体 ： 每天 夜里 ， 都仿 佛在 ￣ Ｊ等 候 ＩＬ ］ 什么 东西 似 的。 不过 它那 样 一动 不 动地 等候 ， 了那么 多 世纪 了， 过 经
把 自己作 了头 一 个牺 牲 的 单位 ”来 为一 般 人谋 福利 。他 的这种 克 己付 出的 信 念支撑 着 他 放 弃 了在 巴黎成 功 的珠 宝经 营行 业 ，来 到
方设法接近克林。 因为她觉得在巴黎拥有过辉煌 的克林是带她逃离 荒原的唯一机会。满怀信心的她如愿 以偿地嫁给 了克林 ， 自以为 并 可以实现梦寐以求的理想了。 事实 ．她陷入 了更大的烦恼 ， ｔ － ， 因为克 林这次不是简 单的返乡， 而是决定放弃都市的繁华， 定居荒原， 改造
切 都预示 着 悲剧 的一 触 即发 。就 是在 这样 的当 口儿 ， 克林 来
到 了荒原 。 克林 有理想 ， 追求 ， 放弃 了成功 的 巴黎 珠 宝经 营行 业 ， 然 有 他 毅
回到家乡爱敦荒原， 打算办学， 拯救荒原的孩子。 克林的到来重新燃 起 了游苔莎的希望。在海滨城市度过 了童年的她 ， 父母双亡后随外 公来到荒原。 她感觉 自己仿佛是从天堂被放逐到了地狱 。 她的梦想 就是摆脱这个地狱 ， 像一个～等女人一样住在时髦的城市里。和韦 ｓ Ｉ ．
《还乡》女主人公尤苔莎的形象解读——以女性主义为视角
Ｈａ ｄ ｎ ｉ ｗ ｒ ｓｉ ｏ ｒ ａ ｉｎ ｆ ａ ｃ ｏ ｄ ｙＳｐ ｒｕ ｔ ｆｈ ｒ ｎ ｏ ｓ ｅ ｓ ｒ ｙ ａ ｄ ｈ ｓ ｏ ｋ ｓ ｆｇ ｅ ｔｓ ｉ ｃ ｎ ｅ ｆｒ ｔ ａ ’ ｕ ｓ ｉ ｏ ａ ｍｏ ｉｕ ｎ ｓ ． ｇ ｉ ｏ
ｗｏ ｔ ｔ ｙ ｎ ｒｈ ｓｕｄ ｉ ｇ：ｓ ｅ ｗａ ｏ ｎ ｉ ｉ ｉｙ ｂ ｔｈ ｄ ｔ ｉ ｅ ｉ ｈ ｅ ｔ ｈ ｓ ｂ ｒ ｎ ａ ｂ ｇ ｃｔ ｕ ａ ｏｌｖ ｎ ｔ ｅ ｈ ａｈ：ｓ ｅ ｔｉ ｄ ｈ ｒｂ ｓ ｏ ｅ ｃ ｐ ｒ ｍ ｈ ｒｅ ｅ ｅ ｔｔ ｓ ａ ｅ ｆｏ ｔ ｅ ｔ ｕ ｉｄ ｉ ｔｉ ｈ ｎ ｈｅ ｈ ａｈ ｂ ｔｄ ｅ ｎ ｉ ｎ ｔ ｅ ｅ ｄ．Ｔ ｉ ｅ ｌｉ ｎ ｌ ｚ ｄ ｔ ｒ ｕ ｈ ｔ ｅ ｆ ｍｉ ｉｔｐ ｉ ｔｏ ｉｗ．Ａｎ ｌ ｓｓｏ ｈ ｓｒ ｂｅ ｓ ａ ａｙ ｅ ｈ ｏ ｇ ｈ ｅ ｎ ｓ ｏｎ ｆｖｅ ａｙ ｉ ｆ
托 马斯 ・ 哈代 （ ｈ ｍ ｓＨ ｒｙ ， 国 １ Ｔ ｏ ａ ａｄ ） 英 ９世 纪著 开拓 了英 国 ２ ０世 纪 的文学 。究 其一 生 ， 为英 国文 学 名 的 小 说 家 ，Ｏ世 纪 重 要 诗 人 。 哈代 １ ４ ２ ８ ０年 出生 以及世 界 文学 留下 了 极 其 丰厚 的财 富 ， 文 学 史 上 在 于 英 国西南 部 的多塞 特郡 ， 早年 从事 建筑 业 ， 他 后来 占据着 极其 重要 的地 位 。 选择 文 学创 作 作 为 其 终 生 职业 。从 １７ ８ １年 第 一 部
中 图分 类 号 ： ０ ． Ｉ ６４ １ 文献标识码 ： Ａ 文章 编 号 ：６２ ９０ ２ １ ）５ ０ ５ — ４ １７ — ２ Ｘ（０ ２ ０ — ０ ３ ０
哈代《还乡》中的悲剧根源
二 、《还 乡 》悲 剧 根 源 探 索
（一 ）环 境 因 素 埃顿荒原在克林眼 里 是 个 迷 人 的 地 方，因 为 这 里 是 他 的 故 乡，他生于斯长于斯，对 这 里 充 满 感 情。 在 巴 黎 生 活 时，他 常 常 将城市的浮华和故乡的淳朴相比，后来终于 毅 然 抛 弃 了 城 市，回 到故乡。 但在游苔丝眼里，荒 原 却 是 落 后 的 形 象。 这 主 要 是 由 于 游 苔丝出生在城市，接受 过 文 明 洗 礼，犹 如 一 个 高 贵 的 女 神，应 该 生活在众人膜拜的氛 围 中，她 的 生 活 习 惯 已 经 适 应 了 港 口 城 市 蓓口，由于父母双亡，她只能跟随外公来 到 埃 顿 荒 原。 荒 原 上 的 闭塞、落后让游苔丝无 比 失 望，荒 原 的 开 阔 和 空 旷，让 所 有 人 都 变得渺小，而清高自诩的女神更不能与这种 环 境 相 容，对 于 荒 原 上的一切处处不适应。而荒原上的人也将她当做异类。这使她 倍 感 孤 独 ，也 渴 望 早 一 点 离 开 这 样 的 环 境 。 在这种环境下生活的人们，和城市相比，在 思 想 上 也 相 对 落 后，比如，苏珊夫人的孩 子 生 病，她 竟 然 相 信 是 因 为 游 苔 丝 施 展 了巫术，在教堂刺伤了游苔丝，还焚烧游苔丝 的 蜡 像 来 为 孩 子 祷 告。而游苔丝的外祖父也从来不会真正关心游苔丝。 游苔丝想尽一切办 法 接 近 克 林，但 克 林 的 母 亲 却 和 当 地 人 一样，看不惯她的做派，反对他们的婚姻。 这 些 环 境 也 成 为 杀 死 游苔丝的间接凶手。 （二 ）情 感 因 素 游苔丝的悲剧还和 她 个 人 情 感 分 不 开，她 是 个 激 情 大 于 理 智的女孩，凭着自身的 姿，她 幻 想 着 一 场 轰 轰 烈 烈 的 爱 情，有 一 个特别爱她的男人出现。在荒原上，她爱 上 了 韦 迪，其 实 这 场 爱 情是游苔丝打发空虚寂寞的游戏。她在韦迪准备结婚迎娶朵荪 时，把韦迪拉到自己身边，阻止他结婚；但 韦 迪 准 备 和 她 结 婚，并
一曲希腊精神的哀歌——论《还乡》中游苔莎的悲剧
一曲希腊精神的哀歌——论《还乡》中游苔莎的悲剧
本文旨在分析《还乡》中的女主人公游苔莎.斐伊。
共分为四章。
第一章着重分析游苔莎的性格。
她的性格主要由两部分组成：其理想化的视点及蒲罗米修斯型的叛逆性。
第二章陈述了其所处的进退维谷之境。
游苔莎与自然环境及社会环境的冲突导致她与它们不能共存。
第三章集中论述了她的悲惨结局。
第四章为结论：游苔莎是一个值得人同情的角色，她的悲剧不仅仅是个人的不幸，更重要的是，它代表了希腊精神的不合时。
《还乡》中游苔莎的悲剧命运分析
《还乡》中游苔莎的悲剧命运分析摘要19世纪英国著名的现实主义小说家托马斯·哈代创作的《还乡》是一部“性格与环境”的代表性悲剧小说。
被哈代称之为“夜之女王”的女主人公游苔莎，一直以来也被文学界所关注。
本文先从游苔莎在爱敦荒原的生活，与克林的婚姻，以及不可避免的死亡来展现其悲剧，再从三个方面对游苔莎的悲剧命运展开剖析：首先从她个人的性格因素着手，然后分析其当时生存的自然环境和社会环境，最后是推动情节发展的巧合因素。
外部环境起到的只是推波助澜的作用，内在的性格弱点才是其悲剧命运的根源。
因此本文着重从三个方面对游苔莎的内在性格因素进行分析：酷似“女巫”的个性；游戏爱情与婚姻的态度；爱抱幻想的思维。
本文通过分析游苔莎的悲剧命运，尤其是她的性格弱点，旨在加深读者对这部作品的理解。
关键词：游苔莎；爱敦荒原；悲剧1．IntroductionThe Return of the Native is the representative tragic novel of Thomas Hardy, who is considered as the last great novelist of the Victorian period. In Hardy’ novels, he seems to be continuously complaining about an overwhelming, persuasive blind force, which he considers as Fate and Chance. D. H. Lawrence praised Hardy with ambivalence, and associated him with Tolstoy as a tragic writer in Study of Thomas Hardy he wrote. Hardy is outstanding for his tremendous power of producing tragedies comparable to classic tragedies.The Return of the Native is a tragic novel which analyzes the psychological paradox of the characters and the conflict between man and nature. When the novel was published in 1878, a great number of commentators praised Hardy for his vividdescriptions of the geographical landscapes—Edgon Heath, especially those in the first chapter. While, on the contrary, others thought that his portrayal of the local characters was shallow and unconvincing. A review in Athenaeum deemed it “distinctly inferior to anything of his novels we have yet read.”Jean R. Brooks commented that this fiction “strikes a harsher note than Far from the Madding Crowd”[1]269.Eustacia, the heroine of The Return of the Native,has attracted extensive attention from academic readers. For example, Albert J. Guerard holds the opinion that Eustacia is the first of Hardy’s irresponsible and mildly neurotic hedonists[2]127. Havelock Ellis believes that “superficially she was timid; it was beneath that timidity that her stronger and more rebellious spirit dwelt.”David Eggenschwiler sees Eustacia as the consequence of a dialectical struggle in Hardy with regard to his own Romanticism; while in Perry Meisel’s opinion, Eustacia and her story represent Hardy’s own return of the repressed. In a word, Eustacia received both appreciation and criticism, so did the causes of her tragic fate. In this paper, the author plans to analyze the tragic fate through three aspects: surroundings, inner characters and coincidental factors. On the basis of natural and social influence, the author is going to try to explore more inner characteristic elements that give rise to the tragedy.2. The author and the novelIn The Return of the Native, Hardy makes a deep contemplation of woman. On the one hand, he shows a great concern for the suffering of Eustacia. On the other hand, it is impossible for him to arrange a good fate for his heroine: the strong woman in his novel dies in the end. Observing Eustacia’s little power to fight against her fate, Hardy, the creator, can do nothing but stand silently.2.1 Thomas HardyThomas Hardy (1840-1928) , born and brought up in Dorset shire, where later became the famous “Wessex” in many of his novels, is considered as an English poet and regional novelist, and also a short story writer, essayist, playwright, and architect. He was keen on architecture, music, country folk-tables and literature, which appeared in his novels and his own life. When he was young, he always experienced the life of common people. He showed great sympathy to those poor traders, women and farmers, who led the miserable life under the influences of capitalistic development. His experiences of a simple rural life later became the plentiful materials of his novels.Hardy began to write poetry and novels from 1867, and he devoted the first part of his career to the novel. There were statistics that Hardy produced more than 20 long novels in his whole life. His novel writing can be classified into three stages. In the first stage, he has a strong interest in romanticism. The major works are: Under the Greenwood Tree (1872), and Far from the Madding Crowd (1874). Then he goes to another one, in which he mainly depicts the social tragedies in Wessex. The Return of the Native (1878) and The Mayor of Caster bridge (1886) are two typical novels in this stage. In the last stage, Hardy tries his effort to describe the tragic fate and the bankrupt peasants of Wessex, which we can learn through Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891) and Jude the Obscure (1895). He also handed down many collections of poems, such as Wessex Poems, Poems Past and Present, The Laughing Stock of Time as well as Early and Late Lyrics. Hardy’works not only handed down the great tradition of England realism, but also led a bright way for British literature of 20th century. Until his death at 87, he remained there writing novels and later poetry, living simply and quietly in spite of his worldwide fame.2.2 The brief introduction to The Return of the NativeThe story begins with two women, Thomasin Yeobright and Eustaeia Vye, simultaneously falling in love with Damon Wildeve, whose marriage to Thomasin Yeobright is delayed by some errors in the marriage certificate. As a matter of fact, Wildeve, to some extent, uses Thomasin as a device to make Eustacia jealous,because he is infatuated with Eustacia Vye. Diggory Venn loves Thomasin. When Venn learns that Eustacia and Wildeve have an unusual relationship, his own love for Thomasin induces him to intervene with them, which he will go on doing throughout the novel. However, Venn's efforts to persuade Eustacia to consent Wildeve to marry Thomasin, just like his own marriage proposal to Thomasin, are failed.Eustacia finally marries Thomasin’s cousin Clym Yeobright, a native man who returns from Paris, despite the strong objections of Mrs. Yeobright. Eustacia sees urbane Clym as a chance to escape from the hated heath. But it is not long before she is thoroughly disillusioned with her husband. Eustacia's dreams of moving to Paris are rejected by Clym, who comes back to stay in the village because he is tired of city life. He has，on his return，the intention of running a school. When Wildeve hears of Eustacia's marriage with Clym, he begins to desire her again, although he is already married to Thomasin. He met Eustacia in a country dance, seen by the omnipresent observer Diggory Venn, and later when Wildeve visits Eustacia at her home while Clym is coincidentally sleeping. During this visit, Mrs. Yeobright knocks at the door. She has come hoping for reconciliation with the couple. Eustacia, however, in her confusion and fear at being discovered with Wildeve, does not allow Mrs. Yeobright to enter the house: heart-broken and feeling rejected by her son, she succumbs to heat and snakebite on her way home, and finally dies.When Clym finds out the truth of his mother’s death, he separates with Eustacia. After a fierce argument between the couple, Eustacia leaves Clym for her grandfather’s cottage. Soon, Wildeve offers to help her, hoping she will become his mistress and leave Egdon with him. Clym writes a letter to Eustacia to call her back. Meanwhile, Eustacia consents to leave with Wildeve at midnight without receiving it.A terrible storm begins to savage the heath as Eustacia slips out of the house to meet Wildeve. On the way, however, she realizes that escaping with him is not a solution. Losing all hope and being frustrated, she drowns herself to death.3. The embodiment of the tragic fate of EustaciaEustacia’s tragic fate is so obvious in this novel, such as her life in Egdon Heath;marriage with Clym and her inevitable death. The Heath survives by endurance and submission, so does it require of its dwellers, Eustacia realizes this, but feels it rather ashamed. She wants to realize her dream depending on her future husband and wishes he would help take her escape Egdon Heath. Instead of meeting her desires, marriage shatters her life dream. Losing all hope, she drowns herself to death.3.1 Life in Egdon HeathTragedy arises out of the gap between what the character is—his true self—and what he does—the identity he presents to the outside world [3]59. Eustacia is portrayed as a prisoner on Edgon Heath by the author, which frustrates not only her passion, her sexuality, her consciousness of time, but also all her escaping attempts.Egdon Heath is a primitive, primal Heath, where the instinctive life heaves up. “Paradoxically, the heath is not only a metaphor for the cosmos, but it mirrors mankind’s common internal chaos” [4]37. It is serious, and its indifference to human feelings and complete ignorance of the effect of time are hated by Eustacia, whose greatest desire is “to be loved to madness” and to live a life filled with “music, poetry, passion, war, and all the beating and pulsing that is going on in the great arteries of the world”. Rather than living in harmony with Egdon Heath, Eustacia is contradictory to it in all its related meanings. Egdon is stoic, but she is tragic; Edgon accommodates, but she violates; Edgon approves solemnity and self-restraint, but she aspires to burn out with a great passion; Edgon ignores time, but she likes to stare at the sand running out in her small hourglass. [9]88She enjoys protruding herself by mocking its conventions: “On Saturday nights she would frequently sing a psalm and it was always on a weekday that she read the Bible, that she might be oppressed with a sense of doing her duty” [5]179.On Egdon Heath, it appears that only Eustacia, equipped with her grandfather’s telescope and her grandmother’s hour-glass, which are metaphors of “transience”, is especially concerned with the passing of time. Watching the sand running out in her small hour-glass, she feels that “any love she might win would sink simultaneously with the sand in the glass”[5]92.Eustacia’s desire to enjoy the present moment, according to Brooks, Jean R, is the universal thrust of life to grow out of the primal stage of blind, self-absorbed groping towards the sun to a state of being where light, form, and meaning are imposed on matter [1]62.However, Eustacia’s consciousness of time is threatened by timeless Egdon. Instead of doing any good to her, it makes hermiserable, strengthening her escaping wish. We are told that she once lived for a while in Budmouth, a world of art and fashion, in which she had been addicted. That is why she becomes more and more dissatisfied with her role in the natural region. She has become a reluctant nature goddess. Unable to meet her satisfaction or fulfill her enthusiasm, Eutacia cries anguished cries on Egdon: “O if I could live in Budmouth as a lady should, and go my own ways, and do my own things, I would give the wrinkled half of my life” [5]128. Seeking and attempting, Eustacia can never realize her dream of escaping. All her efforts grow aborted. On the night of her last escape, Egdon with heavy storm becomes in Eustacia’s mind most intensely her enemy. Helpless and despaired, Eustacia is found drowned in the weir. And eventually, Egdon becomes her “death”.3.2 Marriage with ClymIn nineteenth century, in everyone’s heart, men were the superior sex. “The purpose of women’s lives was marriage, and their proper sphere was home, while men had all the rest of the world to exercise their talents”. [6]37 The privileges occupied by men in economic status and social life made women inferior to men. It was unable to realize their self-fulfillment for women.Eustacia, together with all her “romantic dreams of Heroic love and social brilliance” marries Clym under the dream that he will be her gateway to Paris. In the nineteenth century, when a woman married in church she promised to obey her husband, and from then on her husband is in the first place in her heart. “Marital closeness implied that a wife should be able to share her husband’s interests, which she could only do if she had received at least some education.” [6]49Clym’s words verified this view when he talks to his mother that Eustacia “is excellently educated, and would make a good matron in a boarding-school.”[5]158However Clym and Eustacia belong to two different kinds of people: one has rejected the worldly vanity of Paris and the other is eager to leave for this prosperous city. Their purposes are on the completely contrary. Clym plans to start a school on the heath and teach the rural people there. He wishes to carry out the plan without any delay, so he works day and night. But after his marriage, his eyesight is greatly weakened because of excessive reading, and he becomes a furze-and-turf cutter. Certainly, Eustacia cannot bear Clym’s furze-cutting; her life dream gets shattered. Regarding to her marriage withClym, she tells passionately to Wildeve: “But do I desire unreasonably much in wanting what is called life—music, poetry, war and all the beating and pulsing that is going on in the great arteries of the world? That was the shape of my youthful dream; but I did not get it. Yet I thought I saw the way to it in my Clym.” [5]256 Wildeve does not deserve her, nor is Clym Yeobright. The confined and confining world deprives her of any enjoyable experience and she is therefore “constantly restless, perpetually on the move, endlessly roaming”.Marriage for Eustacia is a life gambling and she loses. She comes to realize the meaning of it until she has been caught. She has intended to escape from its confinement, but with “no money”, she “can’t go”. Without economic power, she has to be deprived of all her desires and ambitions. Eustacia is reluctant to give up her desire and finally she died.3.3 Inevitable deathWhen Clym finds out the truth of his mother’s death, he said; “If there is any justice in God, let Him kill me now. He has nearly blinded me, but that is not enough. If He would only strike me with more pain I would believe in Him forever!” [5]316 After a fierce quarrel between the couple, Eustacia leaves Clym for her grandfather’s cottage. Soon, Wildeve gives a hand to her, hoping that she will become his mistress and leave Egdon with him. Meanwhile, Clym writes a letter to Eustacia to call her back. However, Eustacia consents to leave with Wildeve at midnight without receiving it. A terrible storm begins to attack the heath when Eustacia goes out of the house to meet Wildeve. On the way, however, she understands that escaping with him is not a solution. Losing all hope, she drowns herself to death. In order to save Eutacia, Wildeve also drowns to death. Her last words are very grievous: “How I have tried and tried to be a splendid woman, and how destiny has been against me... I do not deserve my lot! O the cruelty of putting me into this imperfect, ill-conceived world! I was capable of much; but I have been injured and blighted and crushed by things beyond my control! O how hard it is of Heaven to devise such tortures for me, who have done no harm to Heaven at all! ” [5]304Eustacia is a soul in search of herself on Heath. But unfortunately, her attempt fails. In her eyes, there is nothing but the subjective reflection on her own. Even her desperate search for love is nothing but the self-reflective quest for the confrontation of her own being [6]29. Dissatisfied and depressed with her life, Eustacia begins tomake a decision. She seeks a way to flee from the Heath, only to be drowned. However, no matter whether her decision is right or wrong, Eustacia finds her new self in death. “To Eustacia the situation seemed such a mockery of her hopes that death appeared the only door of relief if the satire of Heaven should go much further.”[7]71 It is a tragic result; while from another aspect, it is a victory to her too.4. The analysis of the tragic fate of EustaciaThe reasons of the tragic fate of Eustacia lie on three perspectives: the social and natural background Eustacia lives in, the weaknesses deep inside her characters, and the coincidental factors throughout the paper. In spite of the surroundings Eustacia lives in, the essential reason which leads to her tragic fate is her inner weaknesses.4.1 The factors of Eustacia’s inner charactersThe life of Eustacia in Heath makes us think of her as a beautiful and tragic woman whose mind and aspiration are those of a romantic schoolgirl. She is misunderstood by the inhabitants in the heath, unwilling to be accustomed to and rebels against the surroundings, customs and misfortunes on the Heath. She is also repressed by the simple and lonely life on the Heath and eager to pursue a romantic and passionate love. Eustacia’s weaknesses of her inner characters make her tragedy inevitable.4.1.1 Characters of “witch”Eustacia’s rebellious behavior destroys her fame and makes her become a witch in the eyes of the inhabitants on the heath. She is “an integral part of the universe she inhabits---at one with the body of the Heath.” Both Heath and woman are stern and unforgiving, desolate and empty, interchangeable with each other [14]46.She is hated by Susan Nunsuch, who blames her son’s illness on her and injures her physically on purpose in the church. Susan even makes a portrayal of her and then burns it, which is a superstition way to punish witches at that time. Besides the resentment of Susan, Eustacia is also hated by Mrs. Yeobright, her mother-in-law, who never has a goodimpression on her. In Mrs. Yeobright’s eyes, Eustacia is far from a good woman but “a voluptuous idle woman”, “too idle to be charming”, useless “to herself or to other people”[5]182. Therefore, she resists completely Clym’s marriage with Eustacia, declaring “If she had been a good girl it would have been bad enough”and “If she makes you a good wife there has never been a bad one” [5] Her objective opinion of Eutacia results in a series of misleading, which in turn leads to her tragic death as well as Eustacia’s tragedy. Her bad impression of Eustacia and suspicion about her unusual relationship with Wildeve irritate her badly, when she was shut outside her son’s house after knocking the door for a long time with no results, because Eustacia was dating with Wildeve. In spite of the fact that she terribly needs to take a rest after a long walk on a hot day, she goes back with no further investigation and finally dies from exhaustion and the bite of an adder on her way back home. Discovering how his mother is shut outside his door, Clym utters such bitter words: “How bewitched I was! How could there be any good in a woman that everyone spoke ill of?” [5]284 Believing she had done nothing wrong, Eustacia won’t submit but declare that she will leave her husband forever. Her reproachful words are bitter: “But I cannot enter into my defense—it is not worth doing. You are nothing to me in future and the other side of the story may as well remain untold. Your blunders and misfortunes may have been a sorrow to you; but they have been a wrong to me. All person of refinement have been scared away from me since I sank into the mire of marriage. Is this your cherishing—to put me into a hut like this, and keep me like the wife of a hind? You deceived me—not by words, nut by appearances, which are less seen through than words.”[5]216 Her characters of "witch" and rebellion to her husband irritate Clym and result in their separation4.1.2 Nonserious attitude to love and marriageEustacia always feels lonely, desiring and pining for the realization of her dreams and wishes. She wants love and her concept of love is quite different. She does not consider love as a god to whom she must surrender her freedom on religious devotion, but “To be loved to madness was her great desire. Love was to her the one cordial that could drive away the eating loneliness of her days. And she seemed to long for the abstraction called passionate love more than for any particular love” [5]176 she holds an unconventional view on love that “Fidelity in love for fidelity’s sake had less attraction for her than for most women: fidelity because of love’s grip had much. A blaze of love, and extinction, was better than a lantern glimmer of the same whichshould last long years.” [5]91 With such an attitude Eustacia is far from the value of the medieval traditions.Woman is declared made for family, not for politics; for domestic cares and not for public function[12]29. Marriage for Eustacica is a life gambling and she loses. Instead of fulfilling her desires, marriage shatters her dreams. Eustacia is not a docile woman, nor is she a docile wife. She never forgets her willingness to escape from Egdon and live a modern life in Paris, nor even a moment. Her decision to marry Clym is based on such an illusion that Clym might go back to Paris and take her away from Egdon. Clym is a scholar, not a singer. Sobriety in all things has been his discipline. But it seems as if, by resigning himself to his fate, he has developed a kind of joy that was foreign to him: "a quiet firmness, and even cheerfulness, took possession of him." [13]48 When their marriage becomes a failure, Eustacia feels so depressed that she has no intension to control her rage. Rather than accustomed herself to her husband’s simple way of rural life, she begs her husband to go back to Paris, saying “must I not have a voice in the matter, now I am your wife, the shares of your doom?”[5]116 Her rebellious attitude and disobedience to her husband irritates Clym and leads to their separation.4.1.3 Fantastic thoughtsEustacia is so different from the other girls on the Heath. She uses a thin fillet of black velvet across the upper part of her head, which is different from the neighboring girls who wear colored ribbon. She takes a rest, when the other people work. But on Sundays, she does some housework while singing a poem. She hates the traditional religion, the persons she admires are those who are tough, fierce or do not believe in God. “Her high gods were William the conqueror, Strafford, and Napoleon Buonaparte.” [5]152.She desires greatness, but doesn’t really understand what greatness is. She burns with love, while painfully aware of the inadequacies of her lover. This emotion drives her to distraction. It is this gap between her imagination and the reality that is the source of her tragedy [11]65.All women were brought up from the very youngest years in the Victorian period with the idea that they were inferior to men, and they were born to be dependent, obedient members of society. The freak woman, like Eustacia, was the woman who rejects to be selfless, behaved on her own initiative, and rejected the obedient role. She breaks the rules imposed on women, and becomes the intruder upon the Heath, the danger to the community.4.2 The factors of the surroundingsIn Hardy’s mind, human beings are the products of evolutionary and environmental forces which they factually cannot control, and people’s happiness and success mainly depend on the indifferent, even hostile environment. Eustacia, a “queen of solitude”, an ambitious and enthusiastic woman, is unable to explain why her destiny is thrown on the area of Egdon Heath, which appears to destroy her forever.4.2.1 The environment in Egdon HeathAs D. H. Lawrence points out in the Study of Thomas Hardy: “What is the great tragic in the book? It is the Heath. It is the primitive, primal Heath, where the instinctive life heaves up.”[8]37Egdon Heath is vast, isolated, primitive, uncultivated and mysterious. It is “neither so steep as to be destructible by weather, nor so flat as to be the victims of floods and deposits”. Because “the storm was its lover; nor the wind was its friend”[5]26. Weather cannot have effect on it, nor can it be affected by man. Any attempt of man to alter it is in vain and becomes disastrous. Man’s activity can never change the Heath and his relationship with it can only be “a symbiosis, not domination.”The comparison of the peculiar wildness of the Heath with the short human life can further reflect the ancient conflict between man and nature: “The Sea changed, the fields changed, the rivers, the villages, and the people changed, yet Egdon remained.” [5]32 “The Heath cannot be dominated; it can only be cooperated with”.Moreover, Egdon Heath has “a lonely face, suggesting tragical possibilities.” It has a mysterious power which is closely related to the fate of the protagonists: only people complying with the Heath can survive, otherwise they will encounter terrible disasters. However, “Eustacia is established as a genuine antithesis to the Heath in all its related meanings. Eustacia Vye’s tragedy is presented through her sharp clash with her existential place---Egdon Heath，whose primitiveness and severity fulfill neither her passion for love nor her desire for a luxurious life and thereby it becomes her "misery”[10]63.Eustacia is a very desirable and passionate woman, however, on Egdon Heath---the enemy of civilization, she is really a prisoner in the world of nature. Her aspirations, so out of tune with her surroundings, are doomed to failure.4.2.2 Social backgroundThe nineteenth century was a period in which the capitalist society wasexperiencing a series of enormous changes in politics, economy, of further industrial growth, and of freedom in the field of ideas. However, the status of women is always followed by a “shadow” image of their subjective confinement.The prevalent Victorian ideology that women are the inferior sex is deeply rooted on the Egdon Heath. Here the workfolk represent the safeguard for the traditional thinking world. Eustacia is not understood by the inhabitants. According to Sam, the turf-cutter, “Her notion is different. I should rather say her thoughts were far away from here, with lords and ladies she’ll never know, and mansions she will never see again.”[3]58 Standing against the tradition, “coarse”world of common people and objecting it, Eustacia is isolated. She acts contrarily to the religion, customs and conventional rules at that time. Although only several people really know her, they do not hesitate to bring about their own ideas about her based on their “intuition”. She is “the beauty on the hill”to most men, “a proud girl from Budmouth”and a “voluptuous, idle woman”to Mrs.Yeobright, a disreputable rival to Thomasin and Diggory, and an evil witch to Susan [9]73 No matter how different the impressions may be, they all have one point in common that Eustacia appears to be neither one of them nor a model woman by any standard. Although she is desirable and ambitious and eager to make herself a big woman in the world, finally, all her attempts are failed and she has to accept the realities.4.3 The factors of coincidenceA variety of coincidental factors drive the s t tory into the depth of the development. Eustacia hears of Clym from people in Heath when they are talking about him, who comes back from Paris. She is eager to meet him, but the chance is not coming. Coincidentally, Mrs. Yeobright invites the Timeworn Drama to welcome the back of her son. Eustacia make herself up as a man in Timeworn Drama, so as to meet Clym. They get married by chance, too. Learning Christian has lost her one hundred guineas to Wildeve when gambling and Clym has got no money, Mrs. Yeobright’s first impression is that Wildeve had given money to Eustacia. Instead of looking into the whole event, she goes to Eustacia and urges her to admit that she has received money from Wildeve, which leads to a severe argument and the addition of their misunderstanding. On a hot summer day, Mrs. Yeobright decides to walk over to her son’s cottage to make reconciliation. However, she is prevented out of the door,because Clym is in deep sleep after his hard work and Eustacia is afraid of being found to be together with Wildeve. On her way home, Mrs. Yeobright is bit by a snake and poisoned to death. All these events are led by chance and chance to the worst place turned out death, and no reconciliation. If Mrs. Yeobright were not so old; if Eustacia had not dated with Wildeve in her house; if Clym had not fallen into such a deep sleep, then the tragedy could have been avoided. However, all of these events do occur. When Clym find the role Eustacia played in his mother's death, the couple has a fierce quarrel and she eventually decides to fly to Paris with her old lover Damon Wildeve, where she has always eagered to live. They will each abandon their spouses and live together. However, their flight is interrupted by a horrific storm and Eustacia plunges into the weir, whether by suicide or accident. Wildeve leapes into the water to save her, but both Wildeve and Eustacia die.5．ConclusionIn The Return of the Native, Hardy gives great sympathy on the subjection of Eustacia, who is beautiful, proud, full of imagination and rebellious. As a matter of。
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哈代《还乡》中的人物悲剧性格探究
【摘要】《还乡》是哈代“性格与环境”小说的经典作品，也是一部成功的悲剧。
小说中大部分人物都经历了悲剧命运，这与他们自身性格的弱点有着不可忽视的关系。
本文试从人物的悲剧性格方面来揭示人物悲剧命运的成因。
【关键词】《还乡》；悲剧；性格
托马斯·哈代是19世纪晚期英国最重要的批判现实主义作家，也是一位继承了英国传统文化，并且极具时代精神和现代性的作家。
哈代所生活的时代正是英国由自由资本主义向帝国主义过度的时期，资本主义在给英国社会创造了繁荣的经济的同时也加深了下层贫苦人民的困境。
一系列“性格与环境”小说正是对当时社会环境的展现，《还乡》是其中的代表作品，从《还乡》开始哈代看到威塞克斯社会的改善已无可能，悲剧不可避免地要发生。
本文就试从人物的性格方面探究《还乡》小说悲剧形成的原因。
一、叛逆女神——游苔莎
女主人公游苔莎在荒原上登场，她美丽高傲、性情热烈、充满异教精神，是从“古老宗法制母体中经过长期的内部阵痛后分娩出来的第一个叛逆女性”。
【1】
登场之时，她站在爱敦荒原最高点，犹如荒原上的美
丽仙子。
可事实上对游苔莎来说来到荒原就如充军发配一样，她视荒原为自己的牢狱，与尚处于宗法制的荒原格格不入。
游苔沙不是荒原本地人，她出生在繁华的资本主义化的港口城市——蓓口，受过人类文明意义上的良好教育，她向往繁华和城市文明，期盼能去巴黎享受都市生活的快乐，过一种文明的浪漫生涯，所以对游苔莎来说，爱敦荒原就是与之抗争的命运的象征。
哈代精妙地描述了游苔莎与荒原的疏远和隔阂：“在荒原上居住却不研究荒原的意义，就仿佛嫁给一个外国人却不学他的语言一样。
本来爱敦荒原的景物，能叫一个乐天知足的女人咏歌吟啸，能叫一个受苦受罪的女人虔心礼拜，能叫一个笃诚贞洁的女人祝颂神明，甚至于能叫一个急躁浮嚣的女人沉思深念，现在却叫一个激愤不平的女人忧郁沉闷” 【2】。
游苔莎生性喜欢幻想、冒险，独立不羁，追求个性解放，蔑视传统道德，对于荒原的习俗，她不屑一顾甚至故意与其作对。
平日别人劳作时，她独自休息，可到休息日那天，她却一边哼着小曲，一边干家务；她厌恶正统的宗教，憎恨礼拜天；她所欣赏的人都是个性强硬、暴戾严厉或不信上帝的——这完全与宗教、习俗和社会规范背道而驰。
由于这种高傲的、独来独往的个性，她被姚伯太太评价为贪图享乐的懒惰女人，村妇苏珊·南色则把她当做女巫并当众侮辱，连克林姚伯这样的“先进青年”也以局限的眼光褒贬她。
游苔莎热情好动，追求新鲜有趣味的生活，要求真挚、浪漫、热烈的情感。
荒原上的生活平淡乏味，爱情成了她唯一的兴奋剂。
韦狄刚开始之所以受到她的青睐，是因为她在荒原上找不到比之更好的人物，再者二人对荒原有着一样的憎恨。
韦狄并不是她理想中的情人，但她不甘心被抛弃，出于自尊心和虚荣心才把准备与朵荪结婚的韦狄拉回来，但得到以后感情也一下子就冷淡了。
这时巴黎归客克林出现了，她抛开了韦狄，开始对克林的狂热追求，并匆匆的同他结了婚。
游苔莎相信克林能够帮她逃离荒原去巴黎。
可是现实让她大失所望，克林不愿再回到巴黎，他要在荒原上教育民众，破除陋习，还因熬夜苦读患上眼疾，而后又加入砍常青棘人的队列——之前令人心醉神迷的英雄变成一事无成的懦夫，美丽的巴黎成了永远的幻影。
她极度苦闷，绝望痛哭。
失去克林后她别无选择，决定在一个风雨之夜痛苦地离开，却在途中坠入水塘——荒原吞没了她，她的灵魂也永远地留在了这里，死亡最终实现了她与荒原的和解。
游苔沙以自己特有的勇敢叛逆的性格向人们展示了一个充满矛盾和痛苦的心灵世界。
狂热地追求享受、爱情和理想，对生活充满不满并极力反抗，造成了理想和现实的对立，她也难逃成为激情牺牲品的命运。
二、耽于理想的偏激者——克林
克林生于荒原，后来到了巴黎担任了珠宝店经理的职
务。
但由于受到空想社会主义思潮的影响，他觉得巴黎的荣华富贵是虚伪和华而不实的，所以在经历了世路的腾达后他选择“回归”荒原，决心在荒原上做一番合理的事业。
他是一个力图理解荒原意义的人物。
克林的天性是淡泊的，理想是崇高的，但他却不能意识到自己的理想只是空中楼阁，乡村的人根本没有进步到能接受他的那种程度。
他没有实干家的精神，只是拘泥于书本的研读，他无视现实耽于幻想，看不到文化和精神层次上的差距会使他的教育计划很难得到乡民的认同。
他不听母亲妻子的劝告，认识不到自己的盲目和不切实际，不顾一切要把他的崇高理想付诸实施，虽用心良苦，却难逃一事无成的结局。
由于命运的捉弄，他又突患眼疾，进而为他的失败雪上加霜。
在爱情方面，克林对于游苔莎的认识也是盲目的。
他自以为是地认为游苔莎受过良好教育，一厢情愿的认为游苔莎在他的感化下会成长为一个优秀的乡村女教师，帮助他来实施他的教育计划，他甚至替她设想她应该做的工作。
可是事实上，游苔莎离乡村女教师的形象实在太遥远了，她老早就表明自己对同乡没有多少爱心，有时候甚至恨他们。
但是克林完全沉浸在自己的假想中，对游苔莎的话充耳不闻，孰不知他所向往的地方正是游苔莎千方百计想逃离的监狱。
这样一对性格理想迥异的青年男女，“多半出于外貌上的相互吸
引，再加上初识阶段彼此的错觉和误解，在一时的感情冲动之下结为婚姻伴侣” 【3】，其结果注定是悲剧性的。
在秉持的思想观念上，克林也显示出他偏激的一面，他先是执着于现代人先进的观念，后又陷于陈旧腐朽的传统道德中难以自拔，直接造成了他最亲近的两个女性的悲剧。
在和游苔莎的婚姻问题上，他受到现代文明的影响，大胆地违背母亲的心愿独自选择个人所爱，对母亲的竭力反对毫不妥协，甚至搬离住处，长时间没有跟母亲和好，最终酿成母亲的悲剧。
之后母亲的惨死使他遭受良心上的自我谴责，传统的伦理道德观念又作怪，让他赶走了“罪魁祸首”游苔莎，并把她推进了死亡的深渊。
接二连三的打击使克林消极颓废，最后只好放弃教育计划和感情追求，通过传教进行逃避。
克林认为“命运待他不好”，认为命运叫人出世“就是把人放到进退维谷的地位里——我们不能打算怎样在人生的舞台上光辉前进，而只能打算怎样能不丢脸地从人生舞台上退出【4】”，孰不知性格上的盲目、执拗和偏激更是造成自己如此境地的重要原因。
三、其他人物性格
姚伯太太是小说中的第二个悲剧女性。
她性格中的缺陷就在于自以为是，固执己见，争强好胜，端着封建家长的架子，苛刻地对待她不喜欢的人。
她开始时看不起文恩对朵荪的爱，因为他只是个地位卑微的红土贩子；她不喜欢韦狄，
增加了朵荪的痛苦，当恐怕朵荪的名誉受到损失又利用文恩对朵荪的爱慕“威胁”韦狄兑现承诺；她对游苔莎抱有成见，认定游苔莎是儿子不回巴黎的真正原因，因此千方百计排斥她，导致母子之间心存不满；儿子离开自己时，她心里感到绝望，却故作镇定；儿子走后她尝尽了孤苦伶仃的滋味，心里无限凄苦，却迟迟不肯做出让步；最后听从文恩的劝告去看儿子，却由于误会吃了闭门羹，高傲的尊严遭到挑战而悲愤交加，加上一路劳累又被毒蛇咬伤，最终孤独死去。
姚伯太太的不幸与她性格中的固执偏激不无关系。
酒店老板韦狄风流成性，他“渴望难得的，腻烦现成的，稀罕远的，讨厌近的，就是韦狄的天性”【5】。
他既放不下纯洁天真、真心爱他的朵荪，又忘不了美丽脱俗、气质非凡的游苔莎，他一开始时抛弃游苔莎要和朵荪结婚，后来听到游苔莎要结婚了，又对其萌发旧情，最后还不顾妻女和游苔莎一起私奔——一旦得到了所渴念的东西就对它失去兴趣，不可能得到的东西则让人始终渴念着，这实在是韦狄也是人类性格上的缺陷，正是这种性格让韦狄惨遭灭顶之灾。
我们看到，《还乡》中的悲剧人物既不是洁白无瑕的圣徒，也不是罪不可恕的歹徒，他们大都天性善良，但性格中小有瑕疵，他们在坚持自己的观念或追求自己的理想愿望时过于执拗、狂热，没有节制激情、偏见和野心等等灾难性性格因素，因此悲剧的发生不可避免。
注释：
[1]王捷.概论哈代小说人物性格的审美意蕴[J].外国文学研究，1990.
[2][4][5]托马斯·哈代.还乡[M].张若谷，译.北京：人民文学出版社，1998：104，499，295.
[3]张玲.还乡：前言[M].北京：人民文学出版社，1998.。