2020 ‘Although tragic protagonists are flawed,
they are redeemed by the love and care they
show to others.ʼ
‘Although tragic protagonists are flawed, they are redeemed by the love and care they show to
others.ʼ To what extent do you agree with this view in relation to two texts you have studied?
Remember to include in your answer relevant comment on the ways the writers have shaped
meanings. [25 marks]
Tessʼs family seeing her as more socially mobile than them. Her going to Trantridge
Poultry farm for her family and later accepting Alec because her fatherʼs death leads to
the families house being taken away.
Is Tess flawed?
Tessʼs treatment of birds.
Willyʼs affair and cruel treatment of Linda.
Lindaʼs small men and big men speech – “a man who never worked a day in his life but for
your benefit”. Willy planting seeds in the house.
In Aristotleʼs poetics, it is stated that the tragic hero can “neither be completely good nor
completely bad”. Through this amidst their flaws there must be aspects of redemption within
their characters allowing them to be viewed as good. In this essay I will therefore discuss to
what extent this redemption is portrayed through ‘the love and care the characters show to
othersʼ.
In Tess of DʼUrbervilles Tessʼs love for her family is immediately made clear. From the beginning
of the novel, Tess is presented as being much more mature than her age with “a fulness of
growth which made her appear more of a woman than she actually was”. This is what lures Alec
to Tess, and also is what contrasts her parents childish, immature, and reckless behaviour; “her
motherʼs fetching simply meant one more to fetch”. It is clear that her family views Tess as
being much more socially mobile than they which is what causes them to unintentionally (or
intentionally) exploit Tess and request her to “claim kin” at the Stoke-DʼUrberville manor. It is
unclear whether her family had any knowledge of the common Victorian occurrence of rich
aristocratic men exploiting the servants and maids living in their manor in a similar way in which
Alec exploits Tess, yet contemporary readings can view her family through a critical lens. These
readings believe Joan DʼUrberville to be a class schemer who hopes her daughter to be
impregnated so Alec would marry her. However, whether her families motivations were entirely
moral or not it is because of her family that she travels to Trantridge Poultry Farm for a second
time to work even after stating “but – but I donʼt quite like Mr DʼUrberville. It is this journey
which ultimately leads to that “coarse pattern” being traced into her timeline. Through this her
redemption can be seen through her love for her family – yet it can also be questioned if Tess
truly has anything to be redeemed for anyway?
they are redeemed by the love and care they
show to others.ʼ
‘Although tragic protagonists are flawed, they are redeemed by the love and care they show to
others.ʼ To what extent do you agree with this view in relation to two texts you have studied?
Remember to include in your answer relevant comment on the ways the writers have shaped
meanings. [25 marks]
Tessʼs family seeing her as more socially mobile than them. Her going to Trantridge
Poultry farm for her family and later accepting Alec because her fatherʼs death leads to
the families house being taken away.
Is Tess flawed?
Tessʼs treatment of birds.
Willyʼs affair and cruel treatment of Linda.
Lindaʼs small men and big men speech – “a man who never worked a day in his life but for
your benefit”. Willy planting seeds in the house.
In Aristotleʼs poetics, it is stated that the tragic hero can “neither be completely good nor
completely bad”. Through this amidst their flaws there must be aspects of redemption within
their characters allowing them to be viewed as good. In this essay I will therefore discuss to
what extent this redemption is portrayed through ‘the love and care the characters show to
othersʼ.
In Tess of DʼUrbervilles Tessʼs love for her family is immediately made clear. From the beginning
of the novel, Tess is presented as being much more mature than her age with “a fulness of
growth which made her appear more of a woman than she actually was”. This is what lures Alec
to Tess, and also is what contrasts her parents childish, immature, and reckless behaviour; “her
motherʼs fetching simply meant one more to fetch”. It is clear that her family views Tess as
being much more socially mobile than they which is what causes them to unintentionally (or
intentionally) exploit Tess and request her to “claim kin” at the Stoke-DʼUrberville manor. It is
unclear whether her family had any knowledge of the common Victorian occurrence of rich
aristocratic men exploiting the servants and maids living in their manor in a similar way in which
Alec exploits Tess, yet contemporary readings can view her family through a critical lens. These
readings believe Joan DʼUrberville to be a class schemer who hopes her daughter to be
impregnated so Alec would marry her. However, whether her families motivations were entirely
moral or not it is because of her family that she travels to Trantridge Poultry Farm for a second
time to work even after stating “but – but I donʼt quite like Mr DʼUrberville. It is this journey
which ultimately leads to that “coarse pattern” being traced into her timeline. Through this her
redemption can be seen through her love for her family – yet it can also be questioned if Tess
truly has anything to be redeemed for anyway?
