La composante darwinienne et la philosophie de Bergson dans la poésie de Thomas Hardy

Abstract

This article addresses the affinities between Henri Bergson's philosophy and Thomas Hardy's poetry. Both draw upon Charles Darwin's theories of natural science : Hardy was greatly influenced by them, whereas Bergson transmuted Darwinism as his élan vital stands in deliberate contrast with Darwin's materialism. Although the French philosopher fascinated the poet (in a letter to Saleeby, he wrote : « You will see how much I want to be a Bergsonian »), he recognized that Bergson's « dualism » was totally incongruous with the incorrigibly plural post-Darwin world that Hardy's Weltanschauung embraced. Both Darwin and Bergson helped Hardy articulate his complex response to the loss of religion, and influenced some of his most compassionate, spiritual poems, despite the fact that their theories worked in different ways.

Keywords

• chance
• conscience
• evolution
• vital impetus
• matter
• memory