The Curse Upon the Flesh: Hardy's Treatment of Women

Abstract

<p>This study examines the treatment of women in four of Thomas Hardy's major novels : Far From the Madding Crowd, The Return of the Native, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, and Jude the Obscure. The central concept under examination is the pattern of ambivalent attitudes expressed towards Hardy's heroines and the manner in which the narrator deals with the theme of the fear of the sexual woman. As well , the theme of the fear of the sexual woman is examined in conjunction with Hardy's other thematic concerns.</p>