A General Drama of Pain: Character and Fate in Hardy's Major Novels (Inscribed. First Edition.)
New Brunswick (USA) / London (UK): Transaction Publishers, 2012. First Edition. Hardcover. Warm, familial inscription from the author on the front flyleaf which reads, "To Franz, with deep appreciation at your support in trying times. We are so pleased to have you in the family. Love, Bernie".
FROM THE DUST JACKET: "This motivational analysis of the protagonists in Thomas Hardy's three most widely read novels -- Tess of the d'Urbervilles, The Mayor of Casterbridge, and Jude the Obscure -- highlights an often-overlooked aspect of his art. Bernard J. Paris shows Hardy's genius in creating imagined human beings. He demonstrates that while Hardy tends to blame external conditions for his characters' painful fates, their downfalls are due to a very complex combination of cosmic, social, and psychological factors.
Hardy's characters are unusually discussed primarily in thematic terms. The characters are so richly portrays, Paris argues, that they can be better understood in motivational terms, independent of Hardy's interpretations, and he utilizes the psychologist Karen Horney's theories to recover Hardy's intuitions. The characters are full of inner conflicts that make them difficult to fathom, but the approach Paris employes explains their contradictions and illuminates their troubled relationships - shedding light on these expertly crafted imagined human beings.
This psychological approach to Hardy's characters enables us to understand his characters and gain insight into the implied authors of the works. In addition, the approach shows Hardy's authorial personality. We can see that Hardy treats some defensive strategies more sympathetically than others. Given his view of life as 'a general drama of pain,' resignation, like that of Hardy's character Elizabeth-Jane, is the strategy he prefers."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Bernard J. Paris is professor emeritus in the department of English at the University of Florida. His fields of interest include Victorian and comparative fiction, and the psychological study of literature.
ABOUT THIS COPY: Bound in a grayish-yellow linen, covers are plain with black lettering on the spine. Includes conclusion, references and is indexed. xvi, 137 pp. illustrated dust jacket with portrait in color on the cover with peach and white lettering against a dark brown background. Both book and dust jacket are fine. A very nice, inscribed first edition copy. Full refund if not satisfied. Fine / Fine.
Item #079738
Price: $200.00 save 50% $100.00