Tess’s Trauma in Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles: A Psychoanalytic Approach

This research presents the sufferings of Tess in Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. Tess suffers from psychological trauma for various reasons. Psychological trauma exhibits the wounded mind or psyche which may lose control over its consciousness because of the repetition of past traumatic events. Tess is always haunted by traumatic experiences that are created by the family as well as the then society for which she was not prepared mentally or physically. She is deeply affected by her mental trauma. Tess’s trauma emerges from the death of the horse, Alec’s seduction, being pregnant and giving birth, death of the child, Angel’s inconsiderate attitude, death of her father, etc. and it continues till her death. She suffers from a complete mental breakdown. So, Tess's identity, behavior, and psychology are shaped by her mental trauma as well as social and environmental trauma which is explored in this study based on Cathy Caruth’s trauma theory. The research findings suggest that Tess’s trauma induces her psychology and mental sufferings.

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