Hardy and Greek Tragedy
Posted by Tamee on September 21, 1998 at 18:43:16:
In response to Hardy and God, written by Kellie on September 17, 1998 at 11:03:28
]What I find odd though is that his stories read like morality plays. The characters always suffer for their "sins" and mistakes no matter how good or pure at heart they are - it is like a "God is unfair" theme running through his works. Anyone else get this feeling?
Hardy does often seem to be raging against God and man, or maybe man's interpretation of God, and fate seems to play a great role in his work. I think that more than any other English novelist, Hardy's works seem evocative of the Greek tragedies in which an inexorable fate and the hero's failings lead to his downfall. Most especially I think of Oedipus, where all the hero's attempts to avoid his fate (killing his father and marrying his mother) lead inexorably to it.
- Greek Tragedy , morality plays and the old ways Caroline 21:32:36 9/21/98
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