D. H. Lawrence와 Thomas Hardy의 비극의 유사성과 상이성 연구

A Study of the Similarities and Differences of the Tragedy of D. H. Lawrence and Thomas Hardy

The aim of this study is to clarify the characteristics of the tragic vision of D. H. lawrence and Thomas Hardy through their literary world, especially some of their novels. Both Lawrence and Hardy admired tragedies. Lawrence admired Hardy s art, but not his philosophy. Lawrence appreciated tragedies but believed that an artist s work should be a kick at misery . But the beliefs of Lawrence the man have very little to do with Lawrence the artist. His philosophy of life as presented in his letters and dogmatic essays has very little in common with the vision of life and the plight of man as presented in his works of art. His artistic experiences were similar to Hardy s. His perceptions of life was not very different from Hardy s. So, in spite of all the obvious differences, there is a fundamental similarity in his vision of life as presented by the two writers. To a casual reader Lawrence s works may seem to affirm optimism and to present a happy vision of life , but Lawrence s very dogmatic optimism shows that he protests too much. Lawrence the artist could not but see that we live in a blighted world and that there is no other world for us to escape to, but Lawrence the prophet refused to accept the authenticity of his vision and proclaimed ways of escape. But on careful analysis the ways prove to be impracticable―and Lawrence the artist was aware of this and was always in conflict with Lawrence the philosopher. Hardy s admiration was also accompanied by what is called his pessimistic philosophy of life. He frankly believed and proclaimed that we live on a blighted star and that it is natural for things to go wrong, for hopes to be frustrated, for brave rebels to be defeated and for his protagonists to spend their life in an unfruitful quest of fulfillment. Hardy mostly presents drama on a smaller scale―as enacted in the lives of ordinary people, in small place and comprising the stuff of our sympathies than the tales of the great heroes of the past ages. Lawrence s novels owe a great debt to Hardy in their ideas, characterization, and certain subtleties of technique. Both Lawrence and Hardy dislike city life and find beauty and happiness for man in the quiet countryside. Both Lawrence and Hardy reject modern mechanized life. Hardy shows the unhappi- ness of men and women under the artificial system. One step more, Lawrence shows the happiness of people freed from the bondages of the system. Here he differs from Hardy. Unlike Lawrence s, Hardy s main concern was not the presentation of the tragic vision of life, but the search for solutions to the problems of life. But his novels give us the actual process of the search ― and that in itself is full of tragic qualities. Considering the modern age, we find ourselves echoing Lawrence: Ours is essentially a tragic age .(LCL. 5)