MARC erregistroa: Origin and Transmission in Thomas Hardy’s Novels: Making Historical “the Unhistorical Kernel of the Real”

Origin and Transmission in Thomas Hardy’s Novels: Making Historical “the Unhistorical Kernel of the Real”

In Hardy’s novels, tragedy stems from a rupture in generational continuity, preventing the transmission of patrimony. Tess exemplifies this breach: separated from her aristocratic ancestors by a “blank page in family chronology” (Jan B. Gordon), she is sent to “claim kin” with Alec d’Urberville. Sim...

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Argitaratua izan da:	URI:https://journals.openedition.org/fathom,
Egile nagusia:	Ramel, Annie
Formatua:	Article ou chapitre numérique
Hizkuntza:	Anglais
Argitaratua:	FATHOM 2026
Gaiak:	tragédie psychanalyse Lacan (Jacques) origine histoire Réel Symbolique patrimoine héritage transmission tragedy psychoanalysis origin history Real Symbolic heritage legacy patrimony
Sarrera elektronikoa:	Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM

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record_format	openedition
spelling	openedition-oai:revues.org:fathom_3012 https://doi.org/10.4000/16apd urn:doi:10.4000/16apd en https://journals.openedition.org/fathom/3012 2026-05-29T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/16apd https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Origin and Transmission in Thomas Hardy’s Novels: Making Historical “the Unhistorical Kernel of the Real” FATHOM Association française sur les études sur Thomas Hardy info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2270-6798 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/fathom Ramel, Annie tragédie psychanalyse Lacan (Jacques) origine histoire Réel Symbolique patrimoine héritage transmission tragedy psychoanalysis Lacan (Jacques) origin history Real Symbolic heritage legacy transmission patrimony In Hardy’s novels, tragedy stems from a rupture in generational continuity, preventing the transmission of patrimony. Tess exemplifies this breach: separated from her aristocratic ancestors by a “blank page in family chronology” (Jan B. Gordon), she is sent to “claim kin” with Alec d’Urberville. Similarly, in The Mayor of Casterbridge, Henchard’s tragedy begins with his inability to restore “the tenderest human tie” with Elizabeth-Jane, whom he wrongly believes to be his daughter. In both cases, paternity fails; the “Name of the Father” is inoperative, making symbolic transmission impossible — patrimony being understood beyond material property. Hardy’s tragic novels dramatize this impossibility of symbolic transmission — paradoxically producing his own literary heritage. For Hardy’s fascination with the origin, in particular with the Dorset dialect, the originary language he had to renounce when he became an established writer in Standard English, is the very source from which his poetics spring. Thus the origin, the unsymbolizable, “unhistorical kernel of the Real” (Slavoj Žižek) is made historical. Dans les romans de Hardy, la tragédie découle d'une rupture dans la continuité générationnelle, empêchant la transmission du patrimoine. Tess illustre cette rupture : séparée de ses ancêtres aristocratiques par une « page blanche dans la chronologie familiale » (Jan B. Gordon), elle est envoyée chez Alec d’Urberville pour « revendiquer sa parenté »(« claim kin »). De même, dans Le Maire de Casterbridge, la tragédie de Henchard commence par son incapacité à rétablir « le lien humain le plus tendre » avec Elizabeth-Jane, qu'il croit à tort être sa fille. Dans les deux cas, la paternité échoue ; le « Nom du Père » est inopérant, rendant impossible la transmission symbolique — le patrimoine s’entendant au-delà de la propriété matérielle. Les romans tragiques de Hardy dramatisent cette impossibilité de transmission symbolique, produisant paradoxalement son propre héritage littéraire. La fascination de Hardy pour l'origine, en particulier pour le dialecte du Dorset, la langue originelle à laquelle il doit renoncer lorsqu'il devient un écrivain reconnu en anglais standard, est la source même d'où jaillit sa poétique. Ainsi, l'origine, le « noyau non symbolisable et non historique du réel » (Slavoj Žižek) devient historique.
collection	OpenEdition Journal
language	Anglais
format	Article ou chapitre numérique
building	0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/
topic	tragédie psychanalyse Lacan (Jacques) origine histoire Réel Symbolique patrimoine héritage transmission tragedy psychoanalysis Lacan (Jacques) origin history Real Symbolic heritage legacy transmission patrimony
spellingShingle	tragédie psychanalyse Lacan (Jacques) origine histoire Réel Symbolique patrimoine héritage transmission tragedy psychoanalysis Lacan (Jacques) origin history Real Symbolic heritage legacy transmission patrimony Ramel, Annie Origin and Transmission in Thomas Hardy’s Novels: Making Historical “the Unhistorical Kernel of the Real”
description	In Hardy’s novels, tragedy stems from a rupture in generational continuity, preventing the transmission of patrimony. Tess exemplifies this breach: separated from her aristocratic ancestors by a “blank page in family chronology” (Jan B. Gordon), she is sent to “claim kin” with Alec d’Urberville. Similarly, in The Mayor of Casterbridge, Henchard’s tragedy begins with his inability to restore “the tenderest human tie” with Elizabeth-Jane, whom he wrongly believes to be his daughter. In both cases, paternity fails; the “Name of the Father” is inoperative, making symbolic transmission impossible — patrimony being understood beyond material property. Hardy’s tragic novels dramatize this impossibility of symbolic transmission — paradoxically producing his own literary heritage. For Hardy’s fascination with the origin, in particular with the Dorset dialect, the originary language he had to renounce when he became an established writer in Standard English, is the very source from which his poetics spring. Thus the origin, the unsymbolizable, “unhistorical kernel of the Real” (Slavoj Žižek) is made historical.
author	Ramel, Annie
author_facet	Ramel, Annie
author_sort	Ramel, Annie
title	Origin and Transmission in Thomas Hardy’s Novels: Making Historical “the Unhistorical Kernel of the Real”
title_short	Origin and Transmission in Thomas Hardy’s Novels: Making Historical “the Unhistorical Kernel of the Real”
title_full	Origin and Transmission in Thomas Hardy’s Novels: Making Historical “the Unhistorical Kernel of the Real”
title_fullStr	Origin and Transmission in Thomas Hardy’s Novels: Making Historical “the Unhistorical Kernel of the Real”
title_full_unstemmed	Origin and Transmission in Thomas Hardy’s Novels: Making Historical “the Unhistorical Kernel of the Real”
title_sort	origin and transmission in thomas hardy’s novels: making historical “the unhistorical kernel of the real”
publisher	FATHOM
publishDate	2026
container_title	URI:https://journals.openedition.org/fathom
url	https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/16apd https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/fathom/3012
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Origin and Transmission in Thomas Hardy’s Novels: Making Historical “the Unhistorical Kernel of the Real”

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