Treatment of Nature by Hardy in Tess of D'Urbervilles.

    Nature as subject has been interpreted by many poets, dramatist and novelist. As Wordsworth is the interpreter on nature in field of fiction and one who reads his longer novels feels as if he has spent a day in country side. This treatment made him a prophet and he calls nature “mother” or a “friend”. P.B Shelly got the lesson of optimism from nature. He says:

“If Winter comes can Spring be far behind”

Hardy was deeply interested in nature, as one reads his novels, feels as if one is spending time in Wessex country side. Hardy’s concept of nature is more realistic than Romantic. Nature is the important element in Hardy’s novels specially in “Tess”, nature serves as a living character. In Hardy’s novels nature is not friendlier; rather it’s cruel and relentless. It’s because of his temperament that he does not turn to other aspects of nature. According to Hardy:

“Happiness is but an occasional episode in general drama of pain”

In the hands of Hardy, nature becomes almost as much a character as any other human being. Like human beings, it has life, feels, speaks and it breaks and castes in own influence on the things around it. Duffin says:

“If word-pictures could be hung on walls, a great gallery could be filled with Hardy’s nature pieces”

In “Tess of D’Urbervilles”, it’s nature which leaves Tess alone with no destination. Nature has nothing good to offer to Tess but only destruction and suffering. She has to support her family for which she goes from one place to another to find work. But she is caught by the cruel clutches of nature in the shape of Alec and she becomes a victim in the lustful and wanton nature of Alec. 

Nature is not always cruel as it seems, sometimes it is holy. In “Tess of D’Urbervilles” at Talbothays dairy farm, Angel Clare falls in love with Tess and proposes her for marriage in a very romantic day.

To sum up, nature has been presented in a very lively manner by Hardy almost in all his novels. It at times is holy and romantic and times cruel and relentless. Hardy confines himself only to the dark aspects of nature it is because of his temperament that he does not turn to other aspects.