Vol. 1, Issue 8, Part D (2015)

Abstract
Thomas Hardy is the influential English novelist and realist writer in the nineteenth century. His masterpieceTess of D'Urbervilleshas won him the world prestige. Tess’s tragic fate is the core and clue of the novel. Byanalyzing the contemporary social, historical and cultural backgrounds and the heroine's character flaws, thispaper points out that Tess's tragedy is caused by women's status of economic appendages and the subordinateposition in society. Tess’s tragedy in life is inevitable. The arrangement of the plot structure also reflects thefatalism views of Hardy, and renders the necessity of the heroine's tragic destiny.