Thomas Hardy and Censorship of His Works Essay -- Biography Biographie

Thomas brazen-faced and Censorship of His WorksDuring the Victorian Era, writing served as an outlet to shape a changing society. Because the family and domestic life were integral parts of that society, oft date was spent at home reading. These Victorian readers had been plasteredly bear on by the political, economic, social, and unearthly changes that had been taking place. They rebelled against the growth that was taking place, blaming their problems on religious doubt, Darwin and the rise of science, class conflict, poverty, and industrialization. In addition, Victorian Puritanism spoke out against sex, the license of women, and strong individualism in women, believing that they would lead to the end of strong moral standards in the family and in society as a whole. As a result of all of these controversies, people developed a redoubted fear of change and criticized any idea or work that be their sense of stability (Chapman 35-50.). Thomas venturesome and other creativ e artists of his time thus faced a highly fine audience and often were forced to censor some of their more liberal ideas. Thomas Hardy as a writer had been greatly influenced in his youth by some of the more liberal thinkers of the time such as can buoy Stuart Mill and Darwin. He even claimed at one time that he believed he was one of the first to read On the Origin of Species. In his novels, Hardy incorporated many of these themes in order to portray a real world. Darwins challenge led Hardy to lose faith in Christianity, and this lack of faith gives his novels their tragic, bleak element. However, because novels in the nineteenth century were serially published in installments in magazines, Hardy, particularly at the end of his career, establish it d... ...ss, received negative reviews. He even wrote an added preface to the novel in July of 1892 (when the first one-volume edition was published) in order to comment on the critical reception of the work. After encountering simi lar difficulties with the publication of Jude the Obscure and after works with four different publishers over a ten-year period, Hardy ceased writing novels and think his efforts on writing poetry where he could more fully point his ideas without restrictions. Bibliography and Works CitedChapman, Raymond. The Victorian Debate English Literature and Society, 1832-1901. New York base Books, Inc., Publishers, 1968. Millgate, Michael. Thomas Hardy A Biography. New York Random House, 1982. Orel, Harold, ed. Thomas Hardys in-person Writings Prefaces, Literary Opinions, Reminiscences. Kansas University of Kansas Press, 1966.