AVA BAJRAMI
The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle,” in light of this statement compare McEwans’, “Attonment” and Hardy’s “Tess Of The D’Urbervilles,” focusing on class.
In both Ian McEwan’s Atonement and Thomas Hardy’s Tess Of the D’Urbervilles, the problematic nature of class is explored. E.P Thompson understands class as a historical relationship that is developed over time and is associated with core concepts such as: class consciousness, class experience, class struggle, class hegemony and fetishism. These categories serve as a framework to examine the main characters in Atonement and Tess Of the D’Urbervilles to illuminate our understanding of the class contradictions present in the novel. Within their respective novels, both Hardy and McEwan aim to highlight the eternal hostility amid the bourgeoisie and proletariat which is demonstrated as prohibiting characters to prosper in their lives. McEwan wrote Atonement with inspiration from 1990’s Britain, a time where there were conditions of anxiety and insecurity in the post-colonial UK and neo-colonial US. Atonement comments on the socio-political situation of the 1990s by refracting it through the lens of the 1930s and 40s. Shifts in social and economic structures brought about by the upheaval of the Second World War leads to changes in the Tallis family, who are very much part of the bourgeoisie. The struggle that the Tallis family face in the novel is centred on conflict regarding hierarchy, as Cecilia removes herself from the bourgeoisie circumstances of the Tallis house by becoming a nurse and associating with a lower-class man. Cecilia's rejection of conforming to her aristocratic class and deciding to mobile downwards is the root cause of her struggle in the novel. Correspondingly, in Hardy’s novel, Tess, finds herself being exposed to different magnitudes of life outside her own impoverished one which endorses her downfall. Hardy, wrote his respective novel, previously named: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented, during the Victorian era in the 1800’s. Initially the novel appeared in a censored version which was issued by The Graphic in 1891 and in book form in 1892. Victorians saw society as black and white, they had their social classes clearly defined. The working class was divided into two layers, the lowest being ‘working men’ or labourers, then the ‘intelligent artisan,’ and above him the ‘educated working man.’ Hardy offers his criticism on Victorian society exhibiting that in reality, things were not so tidily demarcated. Hardy’s “timeless characters battle an equally timeless omnipotent and indifferent fate that is representative of modernism”. Hardy acknowledges the tribulations characters face and works to combat them, while still following Victorian conventions. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Hardy emphasises the importance of class on characters’ lives, much like McEwan's Atonement. Overall, Ian McEwan’s Atonement and Thomas Hardy’s, Tess Of the D’Urbervilles, serves to unpick the different stages of life corrupted by social hierarchy through the main themes of: class consciousness, class experience and struggle and class hegemony and fetishism. Whilst Hardy takes us through the journey of a tragic tale brought down by class structure, with the backdrop of a sectarian society to explore such stages, McEwan, explores the impact of class through the entanglement of characters outside their own social ranking.
Both Hardy and McEwan explore the results of class consciousness which invariably leads to the detrimental self-fulfilling prophecy amongst individuals, in which they act accordingly to expected stereotypical norms. In Atonement, Robbie and Cecilia’s relationship is distorted due to Robbie’s intellectual ability to recognise his position in society. Robbie’s quick wit and endearing personality does not derive from his social ranking, the context in which such attributes are cultivated does. Although the Tallis family have tried to incorporate Robbie into their lives by allowing him to grow up beside their children and funding his education, Robbie rests an outcast. Robbie’s social awareness paired with Cecilia's ignorance and bliss to his troubles results in tension Robbie understands that his life is dictated by an upper-class man, as he acknowledges that without the help of Cecilia's father, financially nor educationally will he be able to flourish. Robbie’s dignity is tainted as he tries to reclaim his masculine pride by stating profusely that he will pay back Cecilia's father,“Look, I’ve agreed to pay your father back, that’s the arrangement.” Yet, Cecilia is blanketed with a layer of status protection which adds to her inability to comprehend Robbie bursts of frustration, “That was ungenerous of him. Her father had subsidised Robbie’s education all his life.” The adjective ‘ungenerous’ represents how unconscious Cecilia shares her family’s pompous persona as she brands Robbie as uncharitable. Robbie’s interaction with Cecilia is complicated by the class gap between them. When, in a daze, Robbie takes his shoes of to come into the house, Cecilia interprets this act as Robbie trying to exploit his social class by “playacting the cleaning lady’s son come to the big house on an errand.” Their peculiar relationship is a result of the “barriers” they face due to Robbie’s low social class and Cecilia’s high social class. Robbie’s feelings of diffidence are a result of his understanding that his part in the Tallis family is one based on sponsorship, Karl Marx states that, “The bourgeoisie has torn away from the family its sentimental veil, and has reduced the family relation to a mere money relation.” Marx view displays that Robbie’s feeling of exclusion are justified as the Tallis family seem incapable of cultivating a family based on genuine hospitality as they are corrupted by the poison which is capitalism. McEwan begins his novel with the unusual dynamic of Robbie and Cecilia to challenge the notion that dominance derives from biology, a truly detrimental dichotomy that chains the idea that males are dominant over females. McEwan offers an alternative to this stereotype putting forward the idea that the history of struggles is one based on class. It is not surprising that the Tallis family have such power in the novel as McEwan’s writings were inspired by 1900’s Britain, British life was conservatively stratified into a class system in which the upper and middle-class people believed strongly that lower class individuals were inferior, although they had no problem in employing them as servants. There were over two million servants in Britain at the turn of the century, 80% of the population. Cecilia and her family ultimately hold supremacy and power over Robbie due to his unchosen fate which places him in a lower-ranking position, with his mother as the “house-maid”. Robbie’s consciousness regarding his class is arguably the start of Robbie’s future demise as he too starts to believe that he is not worthy to prosper, this being known as the Golem effect, in which low expectations lead to a decrease in performance.
Equivalently, in Tess Of the D’Urbervilles, Hardy starts the novel with the introduction of a poor peddler, John Durbeyfield, who is made aware of his class but discovers that he is a descendent from knightly hood. John Durbeyfield asks tentatively "Then what might your meaning be in calling me 'Sir John' these different times, when I be plain Jack Durbeyfield, the haggler?” The adjective ‘plain’ suggests that John Durbeyfield has negative connotations of himself as a haggler, dull and uninteresting. Even though John Durbeyfield is a minor character in the story, his consciousness of his class and eagerness to mobile out of poverty, displays how the bourgeoisie impression has poisoned society. When John learns that he is the “lineal representative of the ancient and knightly family of the D’Urbervilles,“ he becomes absorbed in the illusions of grandeur and starts building himself up because of his descendants. Paradoxical to his description of himself prior to the information, John Durbeyfield now states that “there’s not a man in the country o’South-Wessex that’s got grander and nobler skillentons in his family than I.” Hardy does this in order to portray that what you believe to be true dictates your life. Be it intentionally or unintentionally, both authors contribute to the great debate of “to what extent does society influence one’s behaviour?” Ultimately, McEwan’s presentation of class consciousness does not differ largely from Hardy’s as he aims to paint a society infiltrated by hierarchy in order to demonstrate how individuals themselves facilitate such stereotypes through the acceptance of societal norms.
As a result of the class consciousness that characters are subjected to, Hardy and McEwan explore the following phase which is class struggle. In Thomas Hardy’s novel the theme of class struggle is explored in order to portray the impact of economic disadvantage on an individual's life. Tess D’Urberville quickly becomes outcasted as she is more educated than the other village folk. Tess doesn't quite fit the folk culture of her predecessors, but financial constraints keep her from rising to a higher station in life. Tess represents the changing role of the agricultural workers in England in the 18th century, as she has conflicting views with her family regarding the idea of a marriage that’s based on “claiming kin”. Reduced as a marriage vessel by her class, Tess stops her brother from making any comments on the matter of matrimony, “Oh, Aby, don’t talk of that anymore!” There is aristocracy in Tess’s blood, visible in her “graceful beauty” however she detests the idea of going to work for the D’Urbervilles as she monosyllabically says, “I’ll think it over.” The use of monosyllables paired with a short sentence reflect how tentative Tess is about following the fate that society has presented her with. Hardy strategically uses repetition of simple sentences to portray how Tess is not a conventional Victorian woman. In fact, Tess has an education, she passed the “sixth standard of the national schools.” Tess’s choices in life are dominated by economic struggles, thus making Tess’s journey a journey of class struggle. The conflicting views with her family render her an outsider, to a conservative Victorian audience she would be characterised as being rebellious and egotistical for not following the desires of her parents who raised her. Alternatively, a modern feminist audience would view Tess’ reluctance to follow a stereotypical path set for women as a sign of strength which is credible to her education, as Tess refuses to conform to an oppressive society for women. Tess’ education meant that she was able to have a more contemporary view on the roles of women in society. Similarly, McEwan’s portrayal of Cecilia as a women who falls in love with the “cleaning lady’s son” on her return from university displays how in societies consumed by strict social order, education allows for individuals to be unprejudiced. Her behaviour towards Alec’s physical advances suggest that she is more reserved than a village girl as a result of her education which taught her foundational principles of an upper-class girl. Her contrast from the other females in Marlott are expressed through Alec’s remark, “You are mighty sensitive for a farm girl”. The fact that Alec depresses her to a farm girl displays how humanly low Tess is due to her position in society. In Victorian society, it was rare for females to have an education as they were branded as inferior. The jobs that they were placed in did not necessitate an education as they were primarily in the domestic realm. However, one of the reoccurring tragedies of the novel is that Tess is more so limited by her class than gender. At the start of the novel, rural life seems to not be affected by Britain’s urbanisation and problems of modernity. Yet as the novel progresses, Hardy makes us aware of the changes. Tess has to go and work for the D’Urbervilles and here she is given undermining tasks such as: whistling to the chickens. The old woman’s speech used on the farm, makes it difficult for Tess to be of equal status with the D’Urbervilles, “Then you will have to practice it every day- I want you to whistle to my bullfinches; as I cannot see them I like to hear them, and we teach ‘em air that way.” The repetition of imperative verbs, ‘you will, we will’ displays how Tess is below Mrs D’Urbervilles. Tess is not worthy of kin but is viewed as the equivalent to a worker, which is ironic considering that Tess set of her journey to “claim kin’ yet her social positioning has bounded her to a life in labour. The imperatives create a barrier between Tess and the woman, creating a harsh and cold atmosphere and diminishing any family ties. Tess’ diction, while more polished than her mother’s is not quite up to the level of Alec’s. Overall, Hardy presents Tess’ comfortability in the village and struggle in the D’Urberville mansion as a result of her superior education in the village but lack of education among the upper classes, to foreshadow turbulence and unrest in her life, creating sympathy for a girl who is presented fondly by Hardy as saint like.
On the other hand, McEwan presents the theme of class struggle and experience in a different light through Cecilia and Briony. They reject their aristocratic lifestyle and become nurses, Briony compares the nursing experience with “her student life”, recognizing all of the opportunities passed by choosing nursing over Cambridge.“Cecilia feels confined and wants out of the coagulated environment; she realises that her rather new-found insights have opened up a need for independence and another kind of life.” (Carolina Carlbom) Yet, the fact that the Tallis sisters have the ability to reject a prestige university education displays a different type of class struggle they have. The class struggle Cecilia and Briony experience is rooted in their families judgement as they brand their choice as “absurd.” Overall, McEwan and Hardy present class struggle as something personal to an individual, in Hardy’s novel, the lower class characters feel exploited by class, whereas in McEwan's novel the aristocratic participitals feel bounded by such a patriarchal regime.