Interpreting hardy: a darwinian perspective
| dc.contributor.author | Rajandram, Kalal Vaani | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2015-08-25T07:44:11Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2015-08-25T07:44:11Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2002-10 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The works of Thomas Hardy have generally been viewed from a negative perspective by readers and critics alike, because of his pessimistic inclinations in his prose and poetry. The objective of this thesis is to show that, the general impression of Hardy's works as pessimistic, offers a rather one-sided view. Therefore, in order to redress this issue of Hardy's pessimism, this thesis will utilise the Darwinian framework to show that, a positive interpretation can be derived regarding Hardy's works. The rationale for using Darwinism to interpret Hardy's works, is based on the fact that Hardy was influenced by Darwin's conceptualisation of life, which in fact, brought about Evolutionary Meliorism. Darwin conceptualised life and death, as an integral process towards evolution. And since Evolutionary Meliorism emanates from Darwinism, a positive interpretation of Hardy's works can be derived if Darwin's Theory of Evolution is utilised. This in¥estigation will be based on three salient concepts of Darwinism: The Struggle for Existence, The Principle of Natural Selection and The Geological Succession of Organic Beings. Each of these concepts focuses on different aspects Vll of the theory, but all three subsist on geological time. In order to show how the Darwinian framework works in .p ractical ways, a study of Hardy's poems will be undertaken. The analysis will highlight the pertinent aspects of Hardy's poetry, in relation to critics' pessimistic interpretations and show that such views do not allow the positive aspects of Hardy's poems to manifest. By utilizing Darwinism vis-a-vis Evolutionary Meliorism, the positive elements embedded within Hardy's poems can be viewed. In that way, an alternative interpretation, which is also a positive one, can be made tenable when reading Hardy's poems. This thesis thus concludes by providing implications for pedagogy and the methodological aspects of teaching Hardy to students of literature. The aim of providing the pedagogical aspect of teaching Hardy, is to not only foster a broader perspective amongst teachers and students, but also to suggest the relevance of the scientific theory in the study of literature. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1124 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.subject | Darwinian perspective | en_US |
| dc.title | Interpreting hardy: a darwinian perspective | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
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