The Symbolism of Nature
The Symbolism of Nature

Summary/Abstract: Analysing the lives of the protagonists in Thomas Hardy’s Wessex tales and novels, this paper aims at answering the following questions: Is their destiny shaped by a certain determinism lying in the environment? Do their decisions and feelings influence the natural surroundings by means of outward projection? If a mythical and archetypal reading will favour the assumption that the characters’ reactions depend upon the cycles of nature, a psychoanalytical interpretation will focus upon the assumption that natural descriptions are in fact nothing but a representation of the characters’ inner self. Although apparently in contradiction, the two approaches reveal different facets of the same truth: in Hardy’s tales and novels, nature is not just a mere decorative location; it is profoundly and uniquely bound to the characters’ lives and destinies, sometimes becoming a character in the story.

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