苔丝英语读后感
When I read the novel Tess of the D’Urbervilles ten years ago for the first time, I was merely shocked by Tess’s miserable and tragic fate. What a lovely and kind girl! She did nothing wrong but she had to bear all these adversities that she didn’t deserve. At that time I was just a naive little girl in junior high school.
Now reviewing this famous novel again, I realize that there is still much to be found and thought about in it. Great as Hardy is, he definitely wanted to tell readers more than a tragic story purely.
Tess was the eldest daughter of her family and she had no choice but to bear the responsibility of rallying her family and repaying the debts. She was beautiful, innocent and pure without big ambition or desire for things that didn’t belong to her. Nobody ever doubted that she deserved happiness and peace.
But things seldom go on as we expected. Tess was deprived of virginity and she was no longer ‘pure’ as she used to be. What’s worse, she got pregnant as a result. Tess gave birth to the baby and decided to raise the baby all by herself. At that time, she showed her admirable qualities—being tough and decisive. We all hope that she can start a brand new life and cut off all contact with the past after her baby’s death. However, for the second and third time, God cheated and mocked her.
Sometimes I wonder why a nice woman couldn’t end up with a nice man. Is it just like the saying that beautiful women suffer unhappy fates? Tess always missed her Mr. right and her Mr.wrong always disturbed her life and wouldn’t let her go. All the three person misunderstand what’s love. Alec thought love to be deprival and occupation; Angel thought love to be purity and ideal; Tess thought love to be toleration and waiting. They stuck in their illusion of love of which they never managed to get out. Alec and Tess was dead. As for Angel, he might as well be dead.
Who is to blame for this tragedy? Alec, Tess or Angel? Or ridiculous fate? I believe it was Tess herself. Certainly, that bad age and those hypocritical men were executioners that push Tess into the abyss of destruction. But Tess should have led a better life if she don’t treat herself as a satellite of men. How stupid is she to spend her life waiting for a man who betrayed her and escaped away when she was dying for help! When there is no help offered by men, women should fight on their own instead of waiting for men’s mercy and forgiveness since there is nothing needed to be forgiven.
Women’s tragedy will never come to an end until they treat themselves as totally independent, which means they can lead a normal life with or without men.