Objects or Subjects? Pictoriality and Domesticity in Tess of the d’Urbervilles
In his entry for 1 July 1892, Hardy notes: “The art of observation […] consists in this: the seeing of great things in little things, the whole in the part – even the infinitesimal part.” His novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles stages the heroine’s struggle to comply with the Victorian ideal of feminine...
Gardado en:
| Publicado en: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/fathom, |
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| Formato: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Idioma: | Anglais |
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FATHOM
2019
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| Acceso en liña: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:fathom_1485 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:fathom_1485 https://doi.org/10.4000/fathom.1485 urn:doi:10.4000/fathom.1485 en https://journals.openedition.org/fathom/1485 2019-09-23T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/gaji All rights reserved Objects or Subjects? Pictoriality and Domesticity in Tess of the d’Urbervilles FATHOM Association française sur les études sur Thomas Hardy info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2270-6798 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/fathom Le Saux, Ludovic objet pictural peinture domesticité object pictorial painting domesticity In his entry for 1 July 1892, Hardy notes: “The art of observation […] consists in this: the seeing of great things in little things, the whole in the part – even the infinitesimal part.” His novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles stages the heroine’s struggle to comply with the Victorian ideal of feminine morality, as she strives for redemption after her initial “downfall”. One of the key features of that ideal was domesticity, embodied in the figure of the Angel in the House – a figure which Tess is desperately trying to impersonate throughout the novel. In that sense, the presence of household objects in Tess could be read as the presence of “little things”, insignificant details, hinting at “greater things” – that is, the struggle for domesticity. Yet the proliferation of objects leads the reader to see them also as a part of the aesthetic aspirations of the novel, which is fraught with pictorial reminiscences, such as genre paintings or still-lifes, in which objects play a key role, to the extent of sometimes becoming the sole subject of the picture. This study aims at exploring the way Hardy questions the frontier between subject and object by blurring the characteristics of animate and inanimate, the two being united in the motionless world of painting. Hardy’s novel leads one to wonder whether the way he lends a voice to what is ordinary, sometimes barely noticeable and perhaps almost insignificant, necessarily implies a reification of the human figures. In a word, can the object be a subject? Hardy affirme dans son journal à la date du 1er juillet 1892 : « L’art de l’observation […] consiste en ceci : savoir distinguer de grandes choses dans les petites choses, le tout dans la partie, même dans la partie infinitésimale. » L’héroïne éponyme de son roman Tess d’Urberville s’efforce de correspondre à l’idéal victorien de moralité féminine, dont l’un des traits les plus importants était la domesticité, incarnée par la figure de l’Ange du foyer, que Tess essaie désespérément de devenir tout au long du roman. En ce sens, la présence d’objets du quotidien dans Tess pourrait être perçue comme celle de « petites choses », de détails insignifiants, révélant de « grandes choses », telle la poursuite de cet idéal de domesticité. La prolifération d’objets conduit toutefois à les considérer également comme partie prenante des aspirations esthétiques du roman, qui est ponctué de réminiscences picturales (peinture de genre, nature morte), dans lesquelles les objets jouent un rôle essentiel, au point d’en devenir parfois l’unique sujet. Cette étude se propose donc d’explorer la façon dont Hardy, grâce à ces tableaux littéraires, interroge la frontière entre sujet et objet, entre animé et inanimé, qu’il réunit dans le monde immobile de la peinture. Le roman de Hardy invite à se demander si la voix qu’il offre à ce qui est ordinaire, peut-être même insignifiant, induit nécessairement une réification des sujets humains. En un mot, l’objet peut-il être un sujet ? |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
objet pictural peinture domesticité object pictorial painting domesticity |
| spellingShingle |
objet pictural peinture domesticité object pictorial painting domesticity Le Saux, Ludovic Objects or Subjects? Pictoriality and Domesticity in Tess of the d’Urbervilles |
| description |
In his entry for 1 July 1892, Hardy notes: “The art of observation […] consists in this: the seeing of great things in little things, the whole in the part – even the infinitesimal part.” His novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles stages the heroine’s struggle to comply with the Victorian ideal of feminine morality, as she strives for redemption after her initial “downfall”. One of the key features of that ideal was domesticity, embodied in the figure of the Angel in the House – a figure which Tess is desperately trying to impersonate throughout the novel. In that sense, the presence of household objects in Tess could be read as the presence of “little things”, insignificant details, hinting at “greater things” – that is, the struggle for domesticity. Yet the proliferation of objects leads the reader to see them also as a part of the aesthetic aspirations of the novel, which is fraught with pictorial reminiscences, such as genre paintings or still-lifes, in which objects play a key role, to the extent of sometimes becoming the sole subject of the picture. This study aims at exploring the way Hardy questions the frontier between subject and object by blurring the characteristics of animate and inanimate, the two being united in the motionless world of painting. Hardy’s novel leads one to wonder whether the way he lends a voice to what is ordinary, sometimes barely noticeable and perhaps almost insignificant, necessarily implies a reification of the human figures. In a word, can the object be a subject? |
| author |
Le Saux, Ludovic |
| author_facet |
Le Saux, Ludovic |
| author_sort |
Le Saux, Ludovic |
| title |
Objects or Subjects? Pictoriality and Domesticity in Tess of the d’Urbervilles |
| title_short |
Objects or Subjects? Pictoriality and Domesticity in Tess of the d’Urbervilles |
| title_full |
Objects or Subjects? Pictoriality and Domesticity in Tess of the d’Urbervilles |
| title_fullStr |
Objects or Subjects? Pictoriality and Domesticity in Tess of the d’Urbervilles |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Objects or Subjects? Pictoriality and Domesticity in Tess of the d’Urbervilles |
| title_sort |
objects or subjects? pictoriality and domesticity in tess of the d’urbervilles |
| publisher |
FATHOM |
| publishDate |
2019 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/fathom |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/fathom.1485 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/fathom/1485 |
| _version_ |
1877241484535660545 |