How does Hardy establish key themes in chapters 1-6 of Tess of the D'ubervilles?

One of the key themes of the novel is that of cause and effect or perhaps fate, the idea that characters cannot escape the events that are set to happen to them and that one event follows another in an inescapable sequence.  The inevitability of all the events following the meeting between Tess and Durby-Field is a good example of this theme.

And this theme is inextricably tied to the idea that these same events are caused by or linked to aspects of the main character's personality.  Tess' incredible sense of morality, responsibility and her willingness to work hard to rectify difficult situations leads her into many of the terrible events that occur.  It also serves to highlight the benificence of her character because of the poor character of those around her including her parents and her siblings.  Tess of course tries to protect their reputation and in so doing she is often brought into more terrible situations.

Lastly he brings up the theme of her good nature being connected to the beauty and wonderful qualities of the place of her birth and young life, Wessex.  Hardy does this by describing in detail the wonderful things present in Wessex and how they've helped to shape Tess.

What is the theme of the novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles?

One of the themes of the novel is the power and truth of nature and pagan religions over Christianity. At the beginning of the book, Tess is dancing in a May Day festival, and Hardy writes:

"The banded ones were all dressed in white gowns--a gay survival from Old Style days, when cheerfulness and May-time were synonyms--days before the habit of taking long views had reduced emotions to a monotonous average."

There is something fresh and earthly about Tess, as she comes from a culture with long associations with the earth and the joyousness of paganism. Hardy implies that the end of paganism brought about a reduction in joy and the human spirit.

Hardy also implies that organized religion is corrupt for cursing Tess, who has been raped by Alec. When her out-of-wedlock child is about to die, Tess baptizes him herself. Hardy writes:

"Tess then stood erect with the infant on her arm beside the basin; the next sister held the prayer-book open before her, as the clerk at church held it before the parson; and thus the girl set about baptizing her child."

While this isn't a real baptism, as it's not conducted in a church by a minister, Hardy suggests that Tess, standing noble and erect, is holier and more connected with divinity than is the religion that has cursed her.

At the end of the novel, Tess stretches out and falls asleep at Stonehenge while waiting with Angel for the authorities to find her. She says to Angel, "And you used to say at Talbothays that I was a heathen. So now I am at home.” It's almost as if she is being sacrificed on a heathen altar for the crimes she has committed. Her crimes are considered unchristian, yet there is something pure and noble about her, as her crimes are understandable. She has been raped, and though she is a victim, she has been vilified for it. Hardy suggests that paganism is purer than Christianity.

Another theme in the novel is that of knowledge versus ignorance. Tess and Angel struggle with their parent's unwillingness to accept change and progress and, therefore , this causes a lot of friction between them.

Tess, who has had formal schooling, is not only in possession of a greater intellect than her mother, but also has a much better sense of right and wrong.

Angel is different, because, with the exception of himself,  he is in a family of scholars. Angel has common sense, and is able to see that for all his family's "real" education, they are not always wise in their choices.

Both Angel and Tess see their parent's as choosing to be ignorant, or at the very least, unwilling to move with the times, and their relationships suffer for it.

There are a few different themes, but if you had to pick just one, I would say: Fate and Chance.

So much of the novel revolves around the idea of fate, chance, etc. and what that might mean to life in general. Most of the events are set in motion by fate, and then change due to chance.  

There are many themes in Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Here are a few worth considering:

• Fate: The entire story is propelled by a random act of mischief when Parson Tringham tells Tess' father that he is descended from the noble d'Urberville family. This sets in motion a chain of events that eventually causes Tess to meet Alex.
• Nobility: Much of the conflict of the novel has to do with the arbitrary nature of class distinctions in British society. "Nobility" is shown to be simply another commodity available for sale (Alex's family bought the title). On the other hand, Tess' innate nobility and her identity as a "pure woman", has little to do with wealth, and in the end causes her destruction.
• Patriarchy: Tess is constantly victimized by men, beginning with her father, then continuing with Alex and Angel. The novel paints a bleak picture of how social norms limit Tess' personal agency.
• Love: The novel also paints an ambiguous picture of what "love" might actually mean. The romantic love that Angel has for Tess is shown to be a kind of lie; neither Tess nor Angel really understand who the other truly is, and the suggestion is that such knowledge is impossible.
• Justice: Tess' end forces the reader to consider if Alex's murder was justified, and if Tess' fate is one she truly deserved.
• Appearance vs Reality: The novel constantly shows that reality for Tess is at odds with the social role she is meant to play. Her confession of her rape to Angel, and his reaction, is an example of how her appearance is at odds with her reality.

Hope this helps!

What is the theme of morality in Tess of the d'Urbervilles?

In more modern criticisms of Hardy's novel, there are those who perceive Tess Duberyfield as a true Humanist,

...a human being free of supernaturalism...a part of nature [who] holds that values-be they religious, ethical, social, or political-have their source in human experience and culture.

Since Humanism derives the goals of life from need and takes responsibility for its own destiny, in this respect then, Hardy's full title, Tess of the D'Ubervilles: A Pure Woman is explicable. Tess is a young woman whose innate sensations are naturally good, but she comes into conflict with the "parochial conventions and superstition" of her mother and Christian dogma and fate. As a humanist, then, all that truly exists for Tess or is real is nature.

The ambiguous circumstances of the copulation of Alec D'Uberville with Tess can, perhaps, be best explained as more a natural result of a young male with a naive woman. That Tess does nothing unnatural is suggested by Hardy's references to the "primeval yews," "roosting birds," and "hopping rabbits." It is of note, also, that the other farm workers with Tess accept her and her baby without judgment. It is only when Tess clashes with society and with the "unnatural artifice of moral dogma," as one critic writes, that she experiences censure.

That Tess follows a natural law is evinced in her developing relationship with Angel, who finds her naturalness and simplicity attractive 

All the while they were converging, under an irresistible law, as surely as two streams in one vale. (Ch.20)

Truly, Tess is the moral center of the Hardy's tale. She acts in a natural, Humanistic way to what occurs in her life and struggles against what Hardy termed the Immanent Will, an indeterminate destiny. Against this fate, Tess reacts with impulses or natural instincts that she cannot resist. Thus, Tess realizes that what happened to her was not her fault.

Never in her life – she could swear it from the bottom of her soul –had she ever intended to do wrong; yet these hard judgments had come. Whatever her sins, they were not sins of intention, but of inadvertence, and why should she have been punished so persistently?  (Ch. 51) 

As narrator, Hardy himself insists several times that what occurs in Tess's life has offended not nature, but only society. In fact he observes that Tess's shame is "a sense of condemnation under an arbitrary law of society which had no foundation in Nature." As a Humanist Tess is, indeed, "a pure woman," a woman always in accord with what is natural, and, therefore, moral.

The subtitle of Tess is "A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented." From the title onward, Hardy is attacking Victorian sexual morality. 

Tess, a naive 15-year-old, is not well protected by her parents, who put her in harm's way when they send her to work for a supposed cousin, Alec. Alec, an older man, rapes and impregnates Tess, who is now shamed as a "fallen" woman. Hardy shows, however, that what happened to her is not her fault. He portrays her as a good young woman.

Later, at the dairy, Tess experiences living in a place where conventional morality doesn't press so strongly. She starts to believe that Angel Clare could love her despite her past. After they marry, he tells her that his past hasn't been "pure," but when she confesses what happened to her with Alec, he reacts in horror and recoils from her. He responds according to the hypocrisy of the Victorian moral code, which allows a man, but not a woman, to have sexual experiences before marriage.

While today Alec would be in prison as a pedophile rapist and Tess not blamed, Victorian audiences objected strongly to Hardy's subtitle labelling Tess a "pure" woman. To them, she was a fallen, impure woman. The public missed Hardy's point entirely. Hardy was trying to point out that Victorian sexual morality was twisted, hypocritical, and wrong in blaming women for the things men did to them. But his readers were not ready to accept that. Today, we more clearly see that it was the moral code, not Tess, that was at fault.

What is the main idea of Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles?

Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman is an exploration of the profound effects of naivete and gullibility on women in the 18th century who are shown to be at the mercy of men in all regards, even at the mercy of good men, like Angel, who is proven to be ironically named, not sincerely named: he is nothing like an angel. While Hardy wrote in the 19th century Victorian era, Tess is set in an earlier time as indicated from time to time in the text. Note below how Hardy uses passives and past perfect tense to describe a time before his own when cottages were torn down and cottagers sent from villages:

as the long [term] holdings [ended], [cottages] were ... mostly pulled down, ... [those who] were looked upon with disfavour, and the banishment of some ... who had formed the backbone of the village life in the past, [were forced] to seek refuge... (Chapter LI)

Tess is uniquely positioned to represent both upper class women and the "interesting and better-informed [village] class" of her father and mother. While in daily events Tess is of the craftsman's class, her impulses, unschooled intellect, and integrity are of the upper noble class, the ancient d'Urberville's class. To further Tess's positioning as universal woman, while Tess's father is a direct descendant of the d'Urbervilles, her mother began as a local peasant girl.

Hardy positions Tess this way, representing women of all levels of classes, to show the impact of externalities originated in men's behaviors (her father's drunkenness, Alec Stokes-d'Urberville's immoral manipulation, Angel's inconsistent philosophical application of moral principles) on naive, gullible, impressionable women's lives. As events unfold, Tess's experiences are applicable to all moral and pure women.

In summary, Tess is taken advantage of by Alec and, when she returns home to have her baby (a child whom Alec seems not to know about) without having accepted Alec's offers of marriage because she didn't love him and wanted to maintain her integrity, her mother and father forgive her, the villagers accept her, but she cannot forgive and accept herself. When her infant dies, she forces an exile upon herself to try to escape her own feelings of shame and impurity.

When at Talbothay's dairy farm, a place and work Tess loved, she gained a sense of dignity that did a lot to overcome the loss of her dream of teaching, which was removed from her by her father's drunkenness and Alec's tyranny. When Angel, no kind angel he, importuned her against her will, though she repeatedly said no, to be his wife, Tess learns the harmful effects that befall a woman from a good man's wrong behaviors as surely as from a bad man's wrong behaviors.

When Tess ignores her mother's plea that she keep her past to herself, Angel rejects her on their unconsummated wedding night even though, as Tess says, their secret sins were "just the same." When Angel leaves her to go temporarily to Brazil, she deepens her self-imposed exile and punishment by declining contact with Vicar and Mrs. Clare and taking a job as a farm hand in a cold, barren chalk-land farm. Even there Alec finds her and manipulates her, taking advantage of her father's death to hound her into despair and reunite with her. When Angel, ill and beaten down, returns, she retaliates against Alec's cruel taunts with murder. Then she and Angel flee until the executioner raises his black flag announcing her hanging, giving the ultimate picture of man's domination over naive but pure woman.

A few minutes after the hour had struck something moved slowly up the staff, and extended itself upon the breeze. It was a black flag. "Justice" ... had ended his sport with Tess.

Explain how "human predicament" is the theme of Tess of the D'Urbervilles.

Although not as depressing as the heartwarming and joyful Jude the Obscure (excuse the British sarcasm there), this novel certainly should win its own award for being a depressing read. It is hard not to plough through the novel and not be struck by the repeated way in which fate is incredibly harsh with Tess and her family. Even though Tess killed Prince unintentionally, she is harshly punished for it, just as her rape is also something else that leads to her punishment. The novel doesn't even seem to offer much hope of there being any form of justice in the afterlife either. The way in which setting plays such an important role in the novel, especially when Tess falls asleep on the altar of Stonehenge, the sight of pre-Christian, pagan practices, suggests that what is most important in this novel isn't Christian justice but pagan justice. This novel suggests, again and again, that the forces that have power over us are completely capricious and at best indifferent to us, and at worst openly opposed against us. This is most clearly shown in the final concluding statement of the novel:

“Justice” was done, and the President of the Immortals (in Aeschylean phrase) had ended his sport with Tess. And the d’Urberville knights and dames slept on in their tombs unknowing. The two speechless gazers bent themselves down to the earth, as if in prayer, and remained there a long time, absolutely motionless: the flag continued to wave silently. As soon as they had strength they arose, joined hands again, and went on.

Note the way that the quotation marks surrounding the word "justice" indicate the irony of this word, as really, justice in this novel has actually been the various gods having their "sport" with Tess. Thus the human predicament is presented as being grim and unyielding. We are here to be playthings of the gods, to amuse them until we die.

How does Hardy establish themes in the opening of Tess of the d'Urbervilles related to the rest of the book?

Hardy introduces two thematic threads in Chapter 1, part of Phase the First: The Maiden. One of these threads is quite largely spun while the other is very subtly spun.

The first thread of a theme carried throughout the book is the connection of the Durbeyfield family in the insignificant village of Marlott to the ancient Norman Conquest family of d'Urberville. This family was once great Norman warriors with wealth, land power but they lost it all, along with other great families, as Hardy briefly explains in a couple of places throughput the novel. Now the only branch of the family remaining is the insignificant Derbeyfield family.

[Parson Tringham said]: "Don't you really know, Durbeyfield, that you are the lineal representative of the ancient and knightly family of the d'Urbervilles, who derive their descent from Sir Pagan d'Urberville, that renowned knight who came from Normandy with William the Conqueror, as appears by Battle Abbey Roll?"

This background is significant to the plot, as the premise of the plot lies in trying to raise the family's circumstances by sending Tess to ask for assistance form the family that has adopted the d'Urberville name. This background is also significant to Tess's character development because it puts her qualities and inner traits into perspective and qualifies her distinctive nature and mannerisms.

Additionally, Tess's characterization is critical to the exemplification of the theme embedded in the subtitle of the novel: A Pure Woman as "faithfully presented by Thomas Hardy." In other words, Tess's character development exemplifies the theme of corrupted and corrupting circumstances that do not corrupt the qualities of a pure woman. This of course was Hardy's social comment against male behavior and the double social standard toward male versus female corruption.

The second thread of a theme, which is so subtly spun, resides in the mention of the locations of some of the ancient d'Uberville mansions.

[Parson Tringham said]: "None; though you once had 'em in abundance, as I said, for you family consisted of numerous branches. In this county there was a seat of yours at Kingsbere, and another at Sherton, and another in Millpond, and another at Lullstead, and another at Wellbridge."

Some of these ruined manorial estates come up again later in the story--such as Kingsbere, the site of the d'Urberville family burial vault--and connect all Tess's activities back to the d'Urberville line, for better or worse.  The theme that these tie to is the inevitable destruction of those who are noble (Tess is innocent, naive and gullible, but noble) by the unrestrained behavior by those who are ignoble (i.e., not noble). Another instance set at an old d'Urburville manor is where Tess and Angel Clare spend their ill-fated wedding night, which is at the ancient d'Urberville mansion at Wellbridge in Froom Valley:

reaching Wellbridge, ... stood the house wherein they had engaged lodgings [in] the Froom Valley; once portion of a fine manorial residence, and the property and seat of a d'Urberville,... 

How does Hardy establish key themes in Tess of the d'Urbervilles?

A novel that is now recognized as a connection between the Victorian era and the modern, Thomas Hardy's poignant narrative of Tess of the D'Ubervilles contains Hardy's characteristic themes.

Immanent Will

Prevalent throughout Hardy's fiction and poetry is the central vision of a universe governed by the purposeless movements of a blind, unconscious force that Hardy named the Immanent Will. Each event in people's lives is alienated from itself and swept up into the design.  Certainly, in Tess's life her encounter with her cousin Alec falls under these purposeless movements as had it not been for the old horse's death and her mother's urging that she seek help from the wealthy d'Ubervilles that the father has recently learned they are related, her fate would not be such as it is.  In another incident of chance, Alec comes back into her life just before the penitent Angel returns for her.

Throughout her life, Tess is a conduit for powerful and dangerous natural forces.  She loses her child, her family loses its home, she is victimized a second time by Alec d'Uberville.  And, when she finally has an opportunity for happiness, he blocks it. Recognizing her fateful position, Tess tells Alec,

"Whip me, crush me...I shall not cry out. Once victim, always victim—that's the law."

Desperate and still under the control of powerful forces, Tess then becomes violent in her attempt to stop fate, a condition that is characteristic of woman under Immanent Will.

Social Darwinism

When Angel Clare sees Tess at the dairy farm, he remarks that she has the "ache of modernism" which seems to refer to Hardy's dislike, as Marcelle Clements writes in the introduction of the Signet Classic, for "the repercussions of the industrial revolution, the extinction of rural life, the implacable roles of caste, gender, and morality in Victorian England" as well as the laws of Social Darwinism, which do not correlate with the religion of their childhoods as it has put an end to the pat answers of their religion.  Instead, Angel puts his faith in "intellectual liberty" and greatly influences Tess with his ideas.

The Industrial Revolution has greatly altered the pattern of life for those like the Durbeyfields.  Such inventions as the thrashing machine has taken away jobs hitherto performed by the peasants. With the train now reaching into the countryside, such places as the huge dairy farm of the Cricks come into existence because the milk can be shipped to London.  Under Social Darwinism, a concept embraced by Herbert Spenser, the rich were better adapted to the socio-economic climate of the era, and it was natural and proper for the strong to thrive at the expense of the weak. Because Tess has no individuality at the Flintcomb Ash farm, when the season ends, she must return to her family which also is being uprooted and, thus, struggles to survive. On the other hand, Angel thrives by having a properous and more socially elite family.

Knowledge and Ignorance

Isolated from parents who seem unable to grasp new ideas, Tess and Angel leave home. Yet, there is more to knowledge than schooling, as Angel is able to recognize in Tess a goodness and chooses her over the young lady his parents want him to marry.  Tess, too, possesses an intuitiveness.  Critics perceive Tess as a new type of "proto-Christian heroine."  She has a purity of spirit that allows her to rise from the ruin of her worldly assaults.  This characteristic explains Hardy's subtitle.