“Into The Woods”. A Critical Insight Into The Major Themes of Thomas Hardy’s The Woodlanders.

Abstract

This dissertation is formed by four chapters and it aims at providing a critical insight into some of the main themes that characterise Thomas Hardy’s The Woodlanders (1887). Considering the conflict between Nature and City, the first chapter is divided in three parts and they are about the relationships existing between rural characters and Nature (I.1), the relationships between the characters from the city and the natural world (I.2), and the consequences of the penetration of city elements in a natural environment (I.3). After providing a general overview of women’s situation in Victorian society (II.1), the second chapter gives a critical description of the three main lady characters in The Woodlanders (Marty South in II.2, Felice Charmond in II.3, Grace Melbury in II.4) and their relationship with the male universe. The third chapter is about the difficulties of an unfruitful marriage, the introduction of the divorce law and its consequences on the characters. The last chapter is about the different types of desire that trigger the plot and move the characters.