The Philosophy of Thomas Hardy

#The Philosophy of Thomas Hardy

☆Hardy: An Artist and Not a Philosopher
Hardy was an artist and not a philosopher. He repeatedly affirmed that the
‘Views’ expressed in his novels were not his convictions or beliefs; they were
simply “impressions” of the moment. His writings were all, ‘mood dictated’,
merely, ‘explorations of reality’, and so it would be wrong to expect any
systematised philosophy of life. But when certain impressions persist and are
constantly repeated in the creative works, diaries and letters, of a writer, the
readers may be pardoned, if they take them to be his convictions. Moreover,
Hardy is so often passing from particular facts to life in general that we may
safely take some of his views to be his philosophy of life.

☆Suffering: A Universal
In Hardy’s considered view, all life is suffering. Man suffers from the moment
of his birth upto his death. Happiness is only occasional, it is never the general
rule. As he says in “Vie Mayor of Casterbridge’, “Happiness is but an occasional
episode in a general drama of pain”. There is none who gets more than he
deserves but there are many who get much less than what they deserve. Not
only man suffers, but all nature suffers. Suffering is writ large on the face of
nature. A ruthless, brutal struggle for existence is waged everywhere in
nature. All nature is red in tooth and claw and life lives upon life. Thus all life,
including human life, is subject to this law of suffering and none can escape
the operation of this law.
Imperfections of the First Cause: Human Suffering
But what is the cause of this universal suffering of man and nature alike. In
Hardy’s view the real cause is the, “imperfection of the laws that may be in
force on high.” Thus human suffering is the result of the imperfections of the
First Cause, the power that caused or created this sorry scheme of things. He
rejects the orthodox Christian belief that this power is benevolent, all
merciful, omnipotent and omniscient. He cannot reconcile the fact of
universal, undeserved suffering with the omnipotence and benevolence of God
or the First Cause. He indignantly asks, “What makes suffering and evil,
necessary to its omnipotence ?” He regards this power as blind, indifferent, if
not actually hostile, and unconscious and immoral. He uses ‘it’ and not ‘He’ for
this power. This power has no sense of right or wrong, love or hate. In this
blind, unconscious, impersonal working, it does not, and cannot, take into
account human wishes and aspirations. Hence its working often causes men
.much pain and suffering.
Nature as Instrument of the First Cause
This power manifests itself in a number of ways. Sometimes, it expresses itself
through some force of Nature. Usually Nature in Hardy remains indifferent to,
and unconscious of, the suffering of Hardy’s character. For example, Tess’
suffering goes unheeded in Nature. She is violated in the lap of Nature, but all
Nature remains unconcerned and indifferent. But sometimes, Nature seems to
work against the characters of Hardy, or we, in our sympathy for them, feel
nature to be hostile. The Return of the Native is a tragedy of character and
environment; Egdon Heath plays a prominent part in the novel and is largely
responsible for the tragedy. In the Mayor of Casterbridge, the very stars seem
to be hostile to Henchard. The fair organised by him, with such generosity and
care, is ruined by untimely unexpected rain. The vagaries of weather ruin him
financially and make him a bankrupt. Bad weather had been foretold and on
that basis he made reckless purchases. But the weather cleared and he had to
sell at far lower prices. Then quite unaccountably the weather changed again.
There was rain and hail and Henchard was a financial wreck. Nature, thus,
seems to be the instrument of some hostile power working against Henchard.
It is in this sense that Nature is fate in Hardy’s novels.
The Irony of Circumstance or Life
Sometimes, the ruling power on high expresses itself through the irony of
circumstance. By irony of circumstance, Hardy simply means that in this ill-
conceived scheme of things the contrary always happens. We except one thing
and get its exact opposite. This results in much undeserved suffering. Right
things never happen at the right time : they happen either not at all, or too
late, when their happening brings nothing but misery and suffering in their
train. The heroines of Hardy, like Tess and Eustacia, as well as his male
characters, like Clym, Henchard, Angel, Alec are all the victims of the irony of
circumstance. The wrong man comes first, and when the right man comes it is
too late. Thus Tess remained a vague, fleeting impression to Angel Clare, till
she had been violated by Alec, and it was too late for them to live happily
together.
Elizabeth-Jane consents to take up Henchard’s name, and then he suddenly
discovers that she was not his daughter : “77ie mockery (irony) was, that he
should have no sooner taught a girl to claim the shelter of his paternity than
he discovered her to have no kinship with him. This ironical sequence of
things angered him like an impish trick from a fellow-creature. Like Prester
John’s his table had been spread, and infernal harpies had snatched up the
food.”
He had planned and schemed for months to have Jane as his daughter and now
the fruition of the whole scheme was such, “dust and ashes” in his mouth.
Elizabeth-Jane, too, is the victim of this very irony of fate, for, “Continually it
had happened that what she had desired had not been granted her, and that
what had been granted her she had not desired.”
In fact, Hardy’s characters in general, and not in one or two novels alone, are
the victims of this irony. Their intentions and aspirations are constantly
frustrated, as if some hostile power were working against them.
The Role of Chance and Fate
There is a great difference between chance and irony of circumstance. Chance
is entirely unexpected or accidental and has no relation either to character or
to the course of action, while the essence of irony of fate or circumstance is its
opposition to the whishes or merits of a particular character. Chance may
sometimes work in favour of a particular character, but in Hardy’s works it
always operates against them, for it is caused by the same indifferent, even
hostile, First Cause. Thus Chance is another agent chosen by the Supreme to
express itself. Chance or accident plays an important part in life and so in the
novels of Hardy. The unexpected and the undesired always happens. Thus
Tess suffers because the letter she had written to Angel on the eve of their
marriage never reaches him. By chance it slips beneath the carpet and is not
found. Many such accidents or chance events also happen in 77ie Mayor of
Casterbridge. The coming of Farfrae in Casterbridge just at the time when
Henchard was being taken to task for the sale of bad wheat, the sudden arrival
of Newson in Casterbridge for the second time, the entirely unexpected
appearance of the old furmity-seller in Casterbridge to drive the last nail in
Henchard’s coffin, etc., are a few of the chance events that create the
impression that Hardy believed in the operation of fatal forces hovering all
around us and driving us to our doom. Chance or accident is thus an essential
element in Hardy’s philosophy of life.
Love: A Potent Cause of Suffering

Love is another force which causes suffering in the world of Thomas Hardy.
The women-folk, specially, are its chosen victims. As we are told in Tess, the
cruel cause of things has hardened them with the powerful sex-instinct which
they have never desired nor welcomed, and as a result of which they have to
writh feverishly and pass sleepless nights. Love causes untold suffering to
Elizabeth-Jane, to Tess, to Eustacia, to Bathsheba and to all other female
characters of Hardy.
Human Freedom of Action: Its Limitations

Character may be destiny in

Shakespeare, but it is certainly not so in
Hardy’s world-view. In Hardy’s
philosophy, character is responsible for
suffering only to a limited extent.
Inherited traits and inborn instincts
determine the actions of a person to a
very great extent. Even if he wishes, he
cannot act against them. Moreover,
Hardy agrees with Schopenheur in
believing that, “a person can do what lie
wills, but he cannot will what he wills.”
Thus man is not a free agent and is not
responsible for his actions to any great
extent. He has only a very limited
freedom of action.
Ways for the Amelioration of Human Lot
(1) Tact:

But within these limits he can do much.

If he is rash, hot-headed and obstinate,
like Henchard, or Eustacia, he can bring
about his own downfall. On the contrary,
if he is wise and tactful, like Elizabeth
Jane, or Thomasin, he can make much of
his limited opportunities. Anyhow, it is
his duty to adjust himself to his
environment. He must not exult when
fortune smiles upon him for at best it is
only a short interlude, and may be
followed by sudden and devastating
misfortunes. And at such times, he must
remember, like Elizabeth-Jane, that there
are many others who have not got what
they deserved or desired.
(2) The Rustic Philosophy of Resignation:

Man must be resigned to his lot. It is

useless to complain, for no complains
can reform this ill-conceived scheme of
things. It is equally futile to pit
overselves against the inexorable, pitiless
laws that govern our destiny, for if we do
so we are sure to be pounded to atoms.
We must learn the lesson of resignation,
and we can do so only from primitive
communities living in the lap of nature.
The Wessex rustics when confronted
with overwhelming misfortunes are
never frustrated. They merely exclaim, ‘it
was to be’, and go about the daily
business of their life with renewed
courage. Hardy is all admiration for such
heroic souls, and prefers a simple life in
their midst to an artificial life in a big
city.
(3) Social Reform and Loving-Kindness:
But this does not mean that in Hardy’s view man should make no attempts to
ameliorate his lot. Hardy distinguishes between the natural and the social
environment. While man can do nothing to change the natural environment,
and must submit passively to it, he can do much to change his social
environment through wise social reforms. Marriage laws, for example, should
be liberalised in favour of the weaker sex. Unfortunate women, like Tess, who
are more sinned against than sinning, should be accepted by society. No
stigma should attach to them, for they are essentially pure. A spirit of “loving-
kindness” should pervade all human relations and then all would be well. Life
is suffering, but man should not increase its misery by this cruelty to his
fellow-men, to women, and to the lower creatures.

☆Conclusion :

Hardy’s Humanism

Such is Hardy’s philosophy of life. It is certainly a gloomy one, for he regards

life as suffering and man as a puppet in the hands of Destiny. But it cannot be
called pessimistic, for pessimism implies negation of life, a wish not to have
been born at all. It is only in his last novel, Jude the Obscure, that some cynism
enters and Hardy becomes pessimistic. Otherwise, Hardy is a humanist, a poet
who wants man to turn from nature to his own kind, for,
“There at least discourse trills around,
There at least smiles abound,
There sametime are found,
Life-Loyalties.”