Reading of Claic Works in English
Major: English
Cla: 091251
Name: Han Jiayi(韩佳轶)
Supervisor: Zhan Suxian（展素贤）
Date: December 27th, 2010
Te of D’Urberville
In the paage, from the very beginning, the local person informed Mr.Durbeyfield of his grand lineage, thus, setting in motion the events that changed the fate of Te Durbeyfield forever.Mr.Durbeyfield treated this as fate and sent Te to check on a family named D’Urberville living in a manor house le than a day’s carriage ride away to see if they were the last piece of their ancient and knightly family of D’Urbervilles.On the other hand, let them to do favor to Te’s family.Unfortunately, Te was seduced by a so-called kinsman——Alec, and from then her life was totally ruined from the lo of her innocence.Maybe lord pities her and brought her someone she loved with her whole heart and life——Angel Clare.Angel popped the question to her but she refused him without saying why.She said she loved him deeply and perhaps no one in the world could love him more than she did.But she couldn’t marry him for some unspoken reason.Somehow Angel did his best to win Te and she finally agreed.They soon fixed the wedding day, the day they both confeed to each other.Angel confeed the crime he committed to a woman long time ago and Te forgave him at once, but Te was not forgiven as she thought she would be.They soon separated and Te returned home, suffered plenty of torment until finally married Alec for the sake of her family, while Angel went to another country.Years later, Angel found that he couldn’t live without Te, he came back to find her.But it was too late.However Te loved Angel so much that she murdered the so-called gentleman Alec.They ran away and spent five last happy day together before Te was arrested.
After reading the great masterpiece, there are three points I’d like to talk about.
First, Te’s tragedy is social and environmental tragedy.
The story set in the Victorian Period, people’s mind was closed and rather ignorant due to the feudal empire’s domineering.I can almost imagine the pale clothes they wore, the flummery they talked, and decadently the seemed, especially for those poor people worked with Te.Yes, Te did lose her innocence.But people looked down upon her so much.Actually before Te was seduced, she knew nothing of men.She was just a girl when she first met the terrible man.People were just too ignorant to accept a girl who made a mistake unwillingly.What was worse, Te closed her mind too.When she was forced by the goip and the church blamed her, she thought she deserved nothing good.And even when she met
Angel, she wasn’t daring to marry him just shamed of her past.Love someone, you should love her past as well as her present.Te is an ideal beautiful woman in my view, but her weakne of being afraid of fighting against disappoints me in some aspects.She thought she deserved nothing good after losing innocence.Why didn’t she fight against? Just because the environment and goip, she was punished though it wasn’t her fault indeed.I believe that Te’s tragedy is social and environmental tragedy.I appeal that people, especially women, should be open-minded and brave to fight against all the hardship.
Second, women should have the same rights as men in love.
We can easily notice that at the night of Te and Angel’s wedding, they confeed to each other, Te forgave Angel at once and thought she would be forgiven, too, which did not happen.Life means nothing good after losing Angel.But she forgave Angel again when he came back and even murdered for eloping with Angel.I couldn’t help to ask why a man could abandon a woman he loved with all his life and soul just because her unwillingly mistake long time ago.Someone said that is because Angel loved Te so much that he couldn’t accept that.Isn’t this ridiculous? Why are men always forgiven while women always suffering? Why are men always lying while women always sincere? I reckon that both two sides should sacrifice and change if they love each other.So I appeal the equal rights for women in love.
Third, “To be LOVED, or to be LOVING?”
I blame Mr.Alec, too.For his monstrous behavior.But I reckon that at least he loved Te.Doesn’t wanting to own someone mean you love her? Alec must know Te didn’t love him and had married anther man.But he still married Te and helped her poor family get out of any trouble.Te was totally loved marrying him.Somehow Te loved Angel, she decided to murder Alec.A man loved her and a man she loved, Te chose the later.Nowadays, many people prefer to be loved rather than loving someone.Maybe they think that loving someone is fatiguing, so they choose to be loved.While I think we should still love, in that way, the world is warmer.
