论文总字数：35455字

摘 要

达尔文主义是查尔斯·达尔文于19世纪提出的与生物进化有关的学说，即进化学说。这一学说还包括赫伯特·斯宾塞、托马斯·亨利·赫胥黎等人的社会达尔文主义的思想。这一学说不仅对19世纪的科学发展产生影响，还对当时的文学领域也产生了重要影响。托马斯·哈代的《远离尘嚣》便是其一。本篇文章旨在从社会达尔文主义出发，运用“优胜劣汰，适者生存”这一理论来探究达尔文主义对威塞克斯农村社会、农民阶级和个人在社会演化过程中的命运的影响。

关键词：社会达尔文主义；适者生存；个人命运；农民阶级；农村社区

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Influence of Darwinism on Personal Fate 3

2.1 Comparison among Bathsheba, Boldwood and Oak 3

2.2 Darwinism’s Effect on Personal Fate 6

3. Influence of Darwinism on the Peasant Class 8

3.1 Social Situations of Farmers 8

3.2 Darwinism’s Effect on the Peasant Class 9

4. Influence of Darwinism on the Demise of Rural Southern Area 10

4.1 Brief Introduction of Rural Area 10

4.2 Darwinism’s Effect on its Demise 12

5. Conclusion 13

Works Cited 14

1. Introduction

Thomas Hardy is the last Victorian novelist and the first modern novelist. Living in an age of transition and great social upheaval, he witnessed industrialization of production, the cruelty of modern capitalist civilization and the vanishing life of the locality. Hardy, a man in advance of his age, viewed the vanishing life as an irresistible trend, influenced by social Darwinism. Such philosophy runs through all his works, especially, Far from the Madding Crowd. This novel, published in 1874, a novel establishing his reputation is generally read as a pastoral tragicomedy. “Among modern critics, the novel receives either slight attention in any general consideration of Hardy’s works or agreement on its strength (such as a picture of rustic life) and vices (preoccupation with plot).”(Nelson, 1996: 124)Therefore the studies made by our predecessors of the novel often turn out to be static and incomplete. As a matter of fact, the novel deserves more attention and further study. In the present thesis, Far from the Madding Crowd will be re-interpreted from the perspective of the Theory of social Darwinism, specifically from the perspective of “survival of the fittest”.

Social Darwinism is a modern name given to various theories of society that emerged in England and the United States in the 1870s, and which allegedly sought to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology and politics. Social Darwinists such as Herbert Spencer generally argue that the strong should see their wealth and power increase while the weak should see their wealth and power decrease. The theory includes competition between individuals for limited resources, popularly but inaccurately described by the phrase “survival of the fittest”, a term coined by sociologist Herbert Spencer. In The Social Organism, Spencer compares society to a living organism and argues that, just as biological organisms evolve through natural selection, society evolves and increases in complexity through analogous processes. He argues that “the individual, rather than the collectivity, is the unit of analysis that evolves, that evolution takes place through natural selection, and that it affects social as well as biological phenomena.”(Spencer, 1867: 145)Spencer also holds that “Evolution is definable as a change from an incoherent homogeneity to a coherent heterogeneity, accompanying the dissipation of motion and integration of matter…At the same time that Evolution is a change from the homogeneous to the heterogeneous, it is a change from the indefinite to the definite. Along with an advance from simplicity to complexity, there is an advance from con fusion to order — from undetermined arrangement to determined arrangement.”(Spencer, 1867: 343)And in terms of the society, according to Spencer, the strongest and fittest should flourish in society, while the weak and unfit should be allowed to die. This is the concrete explanation of the concept of survival of the fittest to human society. Several scholars have their studies from the perspective of this principle.

Among modern studies of Thomas Hardy, Nie Zhenzhao and Zhu Haiqing gain notable achievements. Nie writes an article named Darwinism and Thomas Hardy’s Fiction. In this article he mainly discusses Darwinism and its influence on Hardy’s several fictions including the Mayor of the Casterbridge, Under the Greenwood, Tess, Far from the Madding Crowd and so on. In his work, Nie explores how Darwinism has had an influence on Hardy and his all works. In addition, he also makes a detailed analysis of embodiment of Utilitarianism in Tess. But he doesn’t study further on the impact of Darwin thought on Far From the Madding Crowd. And Zhu Haiqing publishes one paper entitled Influence of Darwinism on Hardy’s Novels .Zhu proposes that Hardy depicts the pictures of “the fittest survives” in his novels. He thinks that Thomas Hardy’s reading of evolution gave no hope of man’s being able to control his destiny. At the same time, he realizes a fact-that the human race is too extremely developed for its corporeal conditions, the nerves being evolved to an activity abnormal in such an environment and this planet does not supply the materials for happiness to higher existences. To be specific, either of them does research on Far from the Madding Crowd. This paper will make up for this limitation and aims to examine the influence of Darwinian thought on this novel.

This paper contains three parts: humankind’s brutal competition for survival and its effect on personal fate; the dramatic destiny the peasant class encountered during the drastic change occurred at that certain period in the fiction; reasons for the demise of rural area in southern England.

2. Influence of Darwinism on Personal Fate

2.1 Comparison among Bathsheba, Boldwood and Oak

Far from the Madding Crowd tells a story about a young woman, Bathsheba Everdene and her three suitors. One is Gabriel Oak, a sheep farmer, who goes bankruptcy in a disaster and ends up working for Bathsheba on her farm. Boldwood is a reserved, wealthy farmer, who falls a victim to Bathsheba’s crude joke. Troy, a charming yet irresponsible army sergeant, is the third one, who fascinates Bathsheba into marrying him yet fails to treat her kindly.

As one of the main characters, Bathsheba is depicted as a vain, selfish woman and she carries in herself a strong sense of vanity. Take Chapter One for example. When the waggoner came back to find the tailboard, she takes out a small swing looking-glass and examines her face. “There was no necessity whatever for her looking in the glass…She simply observed herself as a fair product of Nature in the feminine kind.”(Hardy, 2006: 6)She takes pride in her appearance and pretends to be uncaring. She even imagines “dramas in which men would play part-vistas of probable triumphs-the smiles being of a phase suggesting that hearts are lost and won.” Oak pays the extra two pence for her, she just carelessly glances over him and tell the waggoner to drive on. As Elizabeth Nelson comments：“She shows her pride and vanity by viewing herself in the mirror and doesn’t even consider the need to thank Gabriel for paying her extra toll.”(Nelson, 1996: 16)

In addition, she appears in the corn-market at Casterbridge in her new role as farm-manager and gets most attention from men except Boldwood. So she decides to send a valentine to him with words ‘Marry me!’ for the purpose of attracting him. She does not love him, and she just “resents the indifference of the farmer”. (Nelson, 1996: 31)When Troy compliments Bathsheba’s beauty, she feels pleased. As Hardy notes, “It was a fatal omission of Boldwood’s that he had never once told her she was beautiful.”(Hardy, 2006: 236)Therefore, her vanity and desire for admiration attributes to her acceptance of Troy’s compliments. “Bathsheba loved Troy in the way that only self-reliant women love when they abandon their self-reliance.”, just like Hardy notes, Bathsheba begins to lose her consciousness and judgment on what Troy says. Consequently, she finds it hard to refuse Troy and his watch.

When Gabriel tells her that he wants to marry her and she refuses arrogantly. Hardy notes, ‘“No-no –I cannot. Don’t press me any more-don’t. I don’t love you-so’twould be ridiculous!” she said, with a laugh.’(Hardy 2006:42)“Bathsheba’s rejection of Gabriel as a suitor marks her as a proud, selfish young lady. She has never really investigated his qualities; he is dismissed as a possible husband only because she feels that he is not her social equal.”(Nelson, 1996: 28)

Gabriel Oak was shaped as a devout Christian in the fiction. But as this story unfolds, Hardy tells the readers about Oak that “he went to church, but yawned privately by the time the congregation reached the Nicene creed, and thought of what there would be for dinner when he meant to be listening to the sermon”. (Hardy, 2006: 1)Later on he often “knelt down to pray”(Hardy, 2006: 419) and became one of the bass singers in the church. However, his love for Bathsheba is unremitting and unparalleled. In Chapter One, Oak expresses his feeling for Bathsheba:“ I shall do one thing in this life –one thing certain-that is love you, and long for you ,and keep wanting you till I die.”(Hardy, 2006: 40)After his pastoral tragedy, he feels thankful for he is not married and he doesn’t want Bathsheba be in the poverty now coming upon him. When Oak knows that Bathsheba loves Troy blindly, he wants to give her a warning in that Troy is not honest. “You know, mistress, that I love you, and I shall love you always. I only mention this to you to bring to your mind that at any rate I would wish to do you no harm.”(Hardy, 2006: 274)Although he loves her deeply and he realizes that she won’t marry him; he still wants her to be happy.

What’s more, Oak is a sympathetic and kindhearted man. For example, on his way to Warren’s Malthouse, he meets Fanny Robin who is a totally stranger to him. He gently offers Fanny a shilling as Hardy notes “Since you are not very well off, perhaps you would accept this trifle from me. It is only a shilling, but it is all I have to spare.”(Hardy, 2006: 68)He even feels “himself in the penumbra of a very deep sadness when touching that light and fragile creature.”(Hardy, 2006: 68)Catastrophe strikes Gabriel on his farm, as about two hundred ewes, with their unborn lambs are dead or dying at the foot of the pit. He had bought and stocked the farm with a credit-like arrangement; his entire investment has been lost. “He doesn’t think of his financial loss until he has mourned their sad end, and feel relief that Bathsheba has been spared this reversal. His total lack of selfishness is a fine foil to Bathsheba’s preoccupation with herself, as revealed in Chapter 4.” (Nelson, 1996: 21)Besides, he plays a fundamental role not only in putting out a fire, but also in saving crops from one violent storm. In conclusion, Gabriel is considerate, tough, kind and constant.

In Hardy’s eyes, William Boldwood is “a gentlemanly man, with full and distinctly outlined Roman features, the prominances of which glowed in the sun with bronze-like richness of tone”.(Hardy, 2006: 124)Moreover, “he was erect in attitude, and quiet in demeanour.”(Hardy, 2006: 124)Mr. Boldwood, a neighboring farmer, seemed immune to Bathsheba’s charm while the Mistress is admired by the rest of farmers on one market day. To depict the female character──Bathsheba, Hardy sets one seemingly ignorable plot ──Bathsheba sent a valentine to Boldwood with words ‘Marry me!’ for the purpose of attracting him. Hardy intends to make connections between Bathsheba and Boldwood with this incident. This is the very reason that makes Boldwood falls in love with Bathsheba. At best, the valentine is a crude joke. It is ironic that Boldwood is the only man who would take such a valentine so seriously and become so affected by it. Hardy even aggravates the tension with detailed description of Boldwood’s crazy running after Bathsheba. For instance, in Chapter 18, when Boldwood learns that Troy kisses Bathsheba, he swears “I’ll punish him-by my soul, that will I.” (Hardy, 2006: 294)It is important to remember that Boldwood seems calm and quite controlled, but might act violently if provoked. Therefore, Boldwood is reserved, crazy and desperate.

In a word, Bathsheba, Boldwood and Gabriel share no similarities in their characteristics. And due to their different characteristics, they made different decisions which consequently brought about distinct fates.

In this book, Bathsheba, Boldwood and Oak are all farmers. At the very beginning, just as Bathsheba says: ‘You are better off than I. I have hardly a penny in the world-I am staying with my aunt for my bare substance-I am better educated than you.’(Hardy, 2006: 41)This sentence conveys that Bathsheba is not wealthy but well-educated. However, she keeps on her uncle’s farm after his uncle’s death. That is to say, she becomes a farmer. In addition, according to the maltster, Bathsheba’s father-Levi Everdene “were of a higher circle of life” and “was a gentleman-tailor really, worth scores of pounds.” And he “became a celebrated bankrupt two or three times.”(Hardy, 2006: 81)Thus, it’s easy to draw a conclusion that Bathsheba is a well-educated mistress with a lot of fortune.

As for Boldwood, Hardy notes, “Boldwood was tenant of what was called Little Weatherbury Farm, and his person was the nearest approach to aristocracy that this remoter quarter of the parish could boast of.” (Hardy, 2006: 166).So Boldwood is an earnest, well to do and respected man in this rural area.

Different from Bathsheba and Boldwood, Oak was a sensible man of good character， who had been brought up by his father as a shepherd, and then managed to save enough money to rent his own farm on Norcombe Hill，in Dorset. With the story going on, Gabriel suffered bankruptcy，after which he becomes a shepherd and bailiff in Bathsheba’s farm. At the end of the story, he takes over Boldwood’s farm, which means he becomes a farmer again.

In terms of fates, Bathsheba marries to Oak, yet Boldwood is sentenced to death in that he killed Troy on Christmas Eve. Furthermore, Oak is taking on two farms-one is for Bathsheba, another for himself.

2.2 Darwinism’s Effect on Personal Fate

According to Darwinism, there exists the principle of “struggle for existence” and “the survival of the fittest”. This concept applies to not only nature but also society. In Far from the Madding Crowd, Hardy notes: “Two months passed away. We are brought on to a day in February, on which was held the yearly statute or hiring fair in the county-town of Casterbridge.”(Hardy, 2006: 50)This incident reveals that at this period, labourers have to attend the hiring fair for the purpose of being employed. Fierce competition can be vividly described by the following detail –“At one end of the street stood from two to three hundred blithe and hearty labourers waiting upon Chance”（Hardy, 2006: 50）Actually there is few to be employed that day. Thus it’s easy to conclude that farmers during that certain period also face keen competition.

Then, how does Darwinism affect Bathsheba, Boldwood and Oak? At the beginning of the story, Bathsheba leads a parasitic life. But she inherits a farm from her uncle and she decides to manage it herself. Hardy tells readers that Bathsheba is the only female in the house named Corn –Exchange. As a matter of fact, she is not good at farming or managing. For instance, when a flock of sheep fell down, Bathsheba doesn’t know what to do at all. She finally has to turn to Oak. Not to mention saving crops from the violent storm. The county might not be remote, but it is also competitive. It is impossible for Bathsheba to run the farm alone. However, it is valuable to know oneself. She clearly realizes that she is not so capable of managing the farm, and that she faces a lot of challenges, so she chooses to turn to others. That is why her farm can still bring her a good amount of fortune, while Boldwood’s farm has to be transferred to Oak. Facing dramatic challenges, Bathsheba knows nothing but adjust herself to the social environment. Only in this way can she grow to survive in the competitive world.

For Boldwood, the Valentine Card is a turning point. Before this incident, he lived a calm and peaceful life. He was wealthy and respected and he keeps his farm under control. Although Bathsheba explains to him that the card is a crude joke, he buries his head in the sand. “Boldwood, unlike Gabriel, has not learnt to accept his fate philosophically; he continues to yearn for Bathsheba, despite all his previous disappointments.”(Nelson, 1996: 97)After Troy’s disappearance, Boldwood was in chase of Bathsheba again. There is no denying that Boldwood is a desperate wooer. This man was far from prosperous; he lived alone and was so preoccupied with his affections towards Bathsheba that he neglected his crops. Repeatedly his workers reminded him of his duties, but he ignored the warning until the farm was ruined. Hardy makes a vivid description on this-“Much of hid wheat and all his barley of that season had been spoilt by the rain. It sprouted, grew into intricate mats, and was ultimately thrown to the pigs in armfuls.”(Hardy, 2006: 471)Obviously, Boldwood is well aware of what he has done, including refusal from Bathsheba, financial loss and so on. But he turns a deaf ear to changes or challenges around him. Let alone his adjustments to the social competition. Consequently, his madness is not so surprising.

How about Gabriel? From Hardy’s point of view, Gabriel is the only character who can deal with problems or difficulties directly. Take the same refusal from Bathsheba for example. Boldwood refrains himself from the fact while Oak accepts it. By comparing the disparate ways between the two men, Hardy intends to tell readers that solutions you choose may decide your future. Whether it is proper or not depends upon its adherence to universal laws. Apparently, Hardy prefers Oak’s way instead of Boldwood’s. Hardy tries to convey, by this way, that men should adjust themselves to universal laws and you can be accustomed to new patterns of life. This is probably why Oak can survive in the society when he confronts several misfortunes.

Based on the above discussion, it is easily to conclude that the one who can adapt to the changeable surroundings leads a better life than those who cannot. If one always keeps competitive, just like Gabriel, he would achieve his goals in future, while the unfit would be knocked out such as Fanny.

3. Influence of Darwinism on the Peasant Class

3.1 Social Situations of Farmers

In Far from the Madding Crowd, Hardy mainly mentions three farmers—Oak, Bathsheba, Boldwood. Here, Oak and Bathsheba will be discussed in terms of their social situations. In fact, Oak’s farm is not large— “About a hundred acres.” (Hardy, 2006: 23)In addition, “It was only latterly that people had begun to call Gabriel ‘Farmer’ Oak. During the twelvemonth proceeding this time he had been enabled by sustained efforts of industry and chronic good spirits to lease the small sheep farm of which Norcombe Hill was a portion, and stock it with two hundred sheep.”(Hardy, 2006: 12)From the above description, Oak is shaped as a hard-working farmer with a small farm. Oak recognizes his position clearly. But comparing with other labourers, Oak has better luck for he just works for himself. Therefore, as a farmer, Gabriel Oak is still respected by people around him.

Bathsheba inherits the farm from her uncle. Workers who works for his uncle sing high praise of him—“Ay, ’tis a very good family. I’d as soon be under ’em as under one here and there. Her uncle was a fair sort of man.” (Hardy, 2006: 79) After Bathsheba’s inheritance, she becomes the new owner of the farm. She makes some changes—“She’ve bought all but everything new. There’s heavy chairs for the stout, weak and wiry ones foe the slender; great watches, getting on to the size of clocks, to stand upon the chimbley –piece” (Hardy, 2006: 145). Of course, Bathsheba also buys many other things. Thus, it’s not difficult to arrive at one conclusion that Bathsheba is much richer than Oak.

In Chapter 12, Hardy depicts a market day for farmers in the corn-market at Casterbridge—“The low though extensive hall supported by all means and pillars, and latterly dignified by the name of Corn Exchange, was thronged with hot men who talked among each other in twos and threes, the speaker of the minute looking sideways into his auditor’s face and concentrating his argument by a contraction of one eyelid during delivery. The greater number carried in their hands ground-ash saplings, using them partly as walking-sticks and partly for poking up pigs, sheep, neighbours with their backs turned.”(Hardy, 2006: 121)Here it’s worthwhile to note that this market is for farmers who want to exchange their goods. What’s more, every Saturday farmers would attend Casterbridge Market.Men at that time did attach importance to business, which proves that farmers were comparatively rich from the side.

3.2 Darwinism’s Effect on the Peasant Class

Hardy sets this story in a rural district named Wessex in the south of England. In his novel, the peasant class and their life are something Hardy concerned. From Hardy’s point of view, with the development of large-scale industrial production, the peasant class is confronted with unprecedented challenges. On one hand, a rapid growth in productivity brings overwhelming abundance of material wealth; on the other hand, agricultural products from foreign countries enter into English market, which beats the price of domestic products down. Consequently, farmers’ revenue collapse.

Take Oak for example. In Chapter 5, after his suffering from the pastoral tragedy, “Oak found that the value of stock, plant, and implements which were really his own would be about sufficient to pay his debts, leaving himself a free man with the clothes he stood up in, and nothing more.”(Hardy, 2006: 49)Gabriel lost his farm and he had to be a labour to support himself.

And as the story goes on, Oak went to the talent market，competing with “ two to three hundred labourers”(Hardy, 20006: 50) for the job. From the analysis above, readers can learn that Oak is having a hard time. He has to strive for survival. Facing numerous competitors, Oak finds—“All the farmers seemed to be wanting shepherds”.(Hardy, 2006: 51)Sheep tending was Gabriel’s speciality. Then he “went up to a smith’s shop” (Hardy, 2006: 51) to buy a shepherd’s crook. Finally, on his way to another fair at Shottsford, he helps putting out a fire for Bathsheba, for which he becomes her shepherd.

During this time, Gabriel’s courage and quiet strength grows even stronger. Even he was in dilemma, Gabriel remained to be positive. These qualities are exactly what Hardy plans to tell to the readers from Gabriel through the novel. All of his qualities can be summarized in his serene acceptance of his limitations, as well as of his talents. He respected himself as a man and as an individual, and this dignity caused the rustics to admire and respect him. They did not begrudge his advancement, but felt that his prosperity was just a reward.

At the end of the story, Oak takes over Boldwood’s farm. Among all the farmers, Oak is outstanding for he always learns to make adjustments to the surrounded changes. In Far from the Madding Crowd, Hardy doesn’t tell much about the future of the whole peasants. But according to the experience the three farmers shared with, the destiny awaits them is pessimistic. With the development of the society, particularly the development of industrialization, the proportion of agriculture is doomed to be weakened. Not to mention the handicaps to the peasant class.

4. Influence of Darwinism on the Demise of Rural Southern Area

4.1 Brief Introduction of Rural Area

In this book, Hardy notes five places——Norcombe, Casterbridge, Weatherbury, Warren’s Malthouse and Greenhill Fair. Firstly, Norcombe is the name of a hill. “Through a spur of this hill ran the highway between Emminster and Chalk-Newton.” (Hardy, 2006: 4) “On the further side of Norcombe Hill was a chalk pit, from which chalk had been drawn for generations and spread over adjacent farms. Two hedges converged upon it in the form of a V, but without quite meeting.”(Hardy, 2006: 45)From the above description, Hardy shows that there are some changes influenced by progress of Industraization. One distinguished sign is the appearance of highways and post office. Secondly, Casterbridge is a county-town where there holds the yearly statute or hiring fair. In addition, it also has a corn-market for farmers. “The low though extensive hall supported by all means and pillars, and latterly dignified by the name of Corn Exchange, was thronged with hot men who talked among each other in twos and threes, the speaker of the minute looking sideways into his auditor’s face and concentrating his argument by a contraction of one eyelid during delivery.”(Hardy, 2006: 121)And every Saturdays, Casterbridge will have one trade fair. On the basis of the observation, readers can find it easy to conclude that economy in Wessex overrelies on agriculture and stock farming.

Weatherbury is not a simply bachdrop for the sympathetic engagement of nature with human activities, but a place of work and unemployment, financial loss and gain, social hierarchy and economic transaction. Economic and social detail is precise and significant: such episodes as the two pence Oak pays so that Bathsheba can pass through the turnpike gate.

“Warren’s Malthouse was enclosed by an old wall inwrapped with ivy, and though not much of the exterior was visible at this hour, the character and purposes of the building were clearly enough shown its outline upon the sky.” (Hardy, 2006: 69)Warren’s Malthouse, to some degree, can be seen as a witness because it has seen social changes and evolution.

As for Greenhill Fair, Hardy does not shed much light on it. Hardy just notes-“Greenhill was the Nijnii Novgorod of South Wessex; and the busiest, merriest, noisiest day of the whole statute number was the day of the sheep-fair.”(Hardy, 2006: 478)

To sum up, Wessex is depicted as a remote county where people are hardy, merry, thriving, wicked a set. However, the peaceful and harmonious country life is broken down by the capitalist way of life, which, to some degree, also means that rural areas in the southern England represented by Wessex grow to perish.

Then what are the reasons of the demise? Specifically, there are two aspects attributing to it. Firstly, it’s capitalism that leads to those dramatic changes. Troy is shaped as a representative of the emerging capitalist class. “And he was brought up so well, and sent to Casterbridge Grammar School for years and years. Learnt all languages while he was there, and it was said he got on so far that he could take down Chinese in shorthand.”(Hardy, 2006: 235) “He was a fairly well educated man for one of middle class-exceptionally well educated for a common soldier.”(Hardy, 2006: 239)Everything was in good order before Troy’s turning up. A series of tragedies happened when he showed up. Fanny, a poor girl who loved Troy, died in Casterbridge Unionhouse with her unborn baby. But for Troy, he just played with Fanny’s affections. Moreover, he never cared about agricultural production. Instead he always asked for money on horse-racing after he married Bathsheba. Secondly, men in this area are unconscious of changes in their life. Due to capitalist ideology’s nurturing, farmers in Wessex did not attach great importance to rural civilization as well as historical traditions. So this is easy to understand the vanishing of the rural district is an inexorable historical trend.

For Hardy, this trend is not so amazing for he thought fondly of unsophisticated folks and their peaceful life. The area, familiar to Hardy from his childhood, can be located on a modern map. The Anglo-Saxon kingdom includes those southern counties. One detail needs to be paid attention here── Hardy’s Wessex is generally confined to the area of Dorsetshire. “Wessex was more than just a physical location for him, however; Hardy prized the economic and social order it had represented, as well as the manners and customs that formed a part of that order. He mourned the passing of these native customs and the changing character of the villages during England’s rapid industrialization.”(Nelson, 1996: 4)Hardy also expressed this kind of thought in his other works such as Wessex Tales, Under the Greenwood Tree, the Return of the Native and Woodlanders. On the contrary, he blamed the demise of Wessex on the rapid growth of the Industrialization.

4.2 Darwinism’s Effect on its Demise

According to Spenser, the strongest and fittest should flourish in society, while the weak and unfit should be allowed to die. Hardy, as a firm following, totally agrees this statement. Furthermore, Hardy also notes the principle of “struggle for existence and the survival of the fittest.” And this is exactly what he wants to convey through this fiction.

Wessex, whose economy depended on the agriculture and stock farming, is a typical rural area. But the challenge was that the fast development of industrialization was greater and greater to land demand. In this case, there must be intense competition for land to grow crops and develop the industrialization.

Throughout history, capitalists sooner or later grab farmers’ land, which latterly was called the Enclosure Movement. It is typical of the enclosure movement is characterized by the forced transfer mode. While explaining the passing of Southern rural district, Hardy makes his analysis both from angle of evolutionary biology and social Darwinism. For instance, Boldwood stands for patriarchal clan society while Troy stands for the bourgeoisie. So they compete not only for Bathsheba’s love but also for their class interests. According to the principle of “survival of the fittest”, Boldwood and the class he represents are doomed to be replaced by the capitalist class. But Hardy does not state his point of view directly. Instead, to ease the conflict between these two classes, he chooses to blame Troy’s death on Boldwood’s mental disease. In fact, Hardy knows well that Wessex, the traditional society would exterminate and the bourgeois society would have a victory.

“Rural society, for Hardy, is just that: a society, in which exploitation, solidarity, and the struggle for survival are experienced quite as keenly as they are in urban settings.” (Boumelha, 2000: 131)Therefore, Hardy wants readers to realize—it’s the strongest and fittest that can flourish in a competitive society, while the weak and unfit should be allowed to die. It is consequently no wonder that the Southern rural area would perish.

5. Conclusion

From the analysis above, this thesis has examined the influence of social that Darwinism has on Far from the Madding Crowd from the perspective of “survival of the fittest”. Nowadays, there are some scholars who do research on Hardy and his works, but the perspectives they choose are different from this paper. They study this novel from the perspective of archetypal criticism, or of tragedy and so on.

The novel exemplifies a central theme in Hardy’s work-fate, fate of the given characters, of the peasant class and of the rural area. For Hardy, the world he had known was on the brink of drastic change. For generations the locality, litter penetrated by the capitalism, had enjoyed peaceful seclusion. New patterns of employment emerged and with them new patterns of living, which meant there was keen competition between Agriculture and Industry. If the labourers and the peasant class want to keep competitive, they had to learn to adapt to the surrounded changes. Moreover, they also need to update their survival skills as well as enhance quality of life. As is known to all, if a society ceases to progress, then it is stagnant, hence hopeless society. Not to mention the peasant class. They would share same fate. In a keen society, if one wants to flourish, he or she should be the strongest and fittest as the weak and unfit should be allowed to die. Therefore, it wouldn’t be difficult to understand why the rural area of southern England would perish.

Works Cited

[1] Boumelha, Penny “The Patriarchy of Class: Under the Greenwood Tree, Far from the Madding Crowd, The Woodlanders.” In Kramer, Dale(Ed.).The Cambridge Companion to Thomas Hardy. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2000.130-138

[2] Chen Jia. A History of English Literature. Beijing: The Commercial Press，2002 Hardy, Thomas. Far from the Madding Crowd Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2005.

[3] Irwin, Michael. “Introduction.” Hardy, Thomas(Ed.). Wessex Tales. London: Wordsworth Editions, 1999.X-XII.

[4] Nelson, Elizabeth. Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 1996.

[5] Spenser, Herbert. First Principles. London: Williams and Norgate, 1867.

[6] 丁世忠.《 哈代小说伦理思想研究》. 成都：四川出版集团巴蜀书社, 2008.

[7] 海新民.《lt;远离尘嚣gt;的原型解读》.Unpublished master’s dissertation. 河南师范大学，2009

[8] 聂珍钊. 《哈代的小说创作与达尔文主义》.外国文学评论.2（2002）：91-99.

剩余内容已隐藏，请支付后下载全文，论文总字数：35455字