Darwin, Polanski and Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles: facts and metaphors

Abstract

This paper deals with Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Roman Polanski’s screen adaptation Tess; the pivotal role of Darwinian Inheritance theories is discussed in the novel and the film, with reference to major episodes such as the strawberry scene or the dairy episode. The argument then shifts to a discussion of the semantic function of the motif of Stonehenge in the novel as well as in the film, with a suggestion that neo-Darwinism has introduced yet a new conception of the reality of woman.

Keywords

• adaptation
• chance
• culture
• destiny
• determinism
• metaphor