'To what extent are the female characters represented in 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles ' stereotypical to women living in rural England in the mid 19th century?'

In the famous Thomas Hardy novel 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' I will explore the representation of female charactors and to what extent they are perceived as stereotypes. Thomas Hardy lived during the Victorian period his experience in Victorian England shaped the novel. Tess, which was first serialised in magazines was highly successful due to the fact that it criticised practices at the time and focused on important and topical issues of the period especially the dramatic changes in rural England due to the enclosure act and decline in rural jobs. Many of the peasantry had to leave the familiar safety of the country and move to the harsh reality that was the city to work in dismal and dangerous factories.

If you do not look deeply in to each character you will simply see the female stereotypes that were commonly used in that period of time. In Victorian England women were seen to be the 'angel in the home'.

original cover of Tess of the D'Urbervilles

English: Thomas Hardy Locations, Tess of the d'Urb...

Filming nutria

Women would have the duty of bringing up the children and looking after the home. But as well as these duties the poorer women had to work the land and on farms. The thing that all women had in common whether high or low class was the need to be pure, a virgin before marriage. This issue of purity was very important at the time and highlighted in 'Tess'.

The controversy surrounding that subject was one of the factors why 'Tess' was so successful.

I have selected Tess, Marian, Mrs Durbeyfield and Mrs D'Urberville as the subjects for my essay because they provide a contrast between each other. Tess is a country girl as Marian is but Tess is educated and has something special about her. She is also a higher class of peasantry in contrast to Marian who is a...