Both critics and general readers often associate Thomas Hardy's perspective with "naturalism" or "determinism." These are variations of the belief that an indifferent or hostile fate controls human life, rendering us unable to change our destinies. This theme is central to novels like Tess of the d'Urbervilles, poignantly expressed in its grim conclusion: "the President of the Immortals, in the Aeschylean phrase, had ended his sport with Tess." In addition, the powerful lyric poem "Hap" features a speaker who ponders his preference for suffering inflicted by a vengeful god rather than an indifferent one, as he could "bear it,... Steeled by a sense of ire unmerited." The key revelation in this poem, however, is that random chance, rather than intention, causes human suffering, making it more agonizing due to its inherent meaninglessness.