The Concept of “Social Darwinism” in the novel Tess of D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

The competition for existence has been part of living beings since the beginning. Be it humans, animals, or any living species. The phenomenon of Darwinism was first introduced by Charles Darwin, which he discussed in a biological context. He highlighted the idea that a more dominant species will survive for the next era, the lower will be suppressed and diminished. The idea is that transmutation will only occur in those types of living beings that are more powerful and others will not be part of the upcoming generations. The individuals that would be able to endure their surroundings will survive. In the 19th century, the concept of Darwinism was not only referred to biological references but social, political, and economic approaches. Herbert Spencer summed up this whole concept in one phrase “survival of fittest”, the one which will excel will survive at the end of the day. This theory also comes under the idea of Universal Darwinism which involves biological as well as social and political ideas.

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In 1870s, Social Darwinism, firstly emerged in Western Europe and North America, in which they applied the biological theory of Darwin to social, political, and economic affairs. It can be implemented as the idea of competition between the individual for limited sources. The best example can be of the colonizers, how the British Empire took over and expand leaving an impression on the entire globe. Even today, social Darwinism can be applied to the present society. Considering the example of African slaves who are still under the control of France although they were given independence. This concept of social Darwinism was also found in the ideologies of the Nazis, where they promoted the survival of the fittest outline. The holocausts were to finish the Jews' roots and preventing them from further continuing their generations.
Tess of D’Urbervilles, a novel by Thomas Hardy is an example of how the lower class people are suppressed and treated inequitably. The higher class tends to do anything but they are never blamed or punished for their deeds. In this novel, there is a girl named Tess who is the daughter of a poor peddler, John Durbeyfield. He came to know that he is a descendant of D’Urbervilles which is a noble family. They decided to send her to the mansion of D’Urbervilles that might bring her good fortune, but the total opposite happens. She started to work for them there. There was a person named Alec who wanted to take advantage of Tess and used to seduce her. Finally, he got the opportunity one night in the woods. Then she went back to her parent's home where she gave birth to Alec's child, giving him the name of Sorrow, who died after some time. Later, she found another job where she enjoyed and made friends. There, she fell in love with Angel and he seemed to love her back. They exchanged the truth about their past which proved to be quite damaging for Tess. Angel was not ready to forgive her for her past. He went away to Brazil and told her to stay away from him for now. 
Later, she again encounters Alec, a changed and a better Alec, but Tess still doubts him. She refuses his offer for marriage. Angel came back to accept her but she said that it is too later and she wanted to go back to Alec. Angel went away heartbroken, making Tess angry. In her temper, she killed Alec and went to Angel. Angel agrees to help her get away with murder and they decide to run away. But Tess is arrested and assigned with the death penalty. 
The theories of Darwinism and Pessimism are prominent in Hardy’s writings. He interpreted Darwinism as a concept that the system is working by an oppressive force where there is no justice but the pattern “survival of fittest” is how the world works. His work was criticized a lot for being negative but all he was doing was portraying reality that was ignored. The element of injustice has been shown in this novel and Hardy wanted to show how the world treats a weak person. It is considered a tragic novel where Tess has been treated harshly and her life was ruined.
Even in today’s society, Tess is spotted on every doorstep. Being a part of aristocratic society, the lower class people are treated unfairly. Different cases have been brought to light where people face brutality and their rights are snatched. If we talk specifically about women, we have seen cases where women who wanted a job and have the responsibility of taking care of their families have been taken advantage of. Other than that, female servants are also treated unethically and are threaten to be fired if they do not obey. If some of them are brave enough to stand up for themselves, their opinion will not be considered and on top of that, they will be accused of crimes. These things happen when the upper class takes advantage of their power and no one can stop them. The lower are oppressed, commanded to keep their mouth shut.
The fact is “Strong is good and weak is bad.” So, a weakness is treated as a pang of guilt itself. We can also do a comparison of developed and underdeveloped countries that how the economically weak countries are treated harshly and gained as much from them as possible providing low profit to them. Poorer get poorer and rich even richer. These situations then lead to crimes as everyone is struggling for life so to survive if they are not provided with their rights right, they would find ways to steal them, disrupting the society. 
To conclude the whole thought, it can be said that no matter in which time or era you live, such concepts are seen everywhere and no one is willing to make any change. Reputation is directly related to one's status in society. Such are the conditions that also lead to corruption and other crimes. The root cause of it is needed to be tackled and corrected.
To conclude the whole thought, it can be said that no matter in which time or era you live, such concepts are seen everywhere and no one is willing to make any change. Reputation is directly related to one's status in society. Such are the conditions that also lead to corruption and other crimes. The root cause of it is needed to be tackled and corrected.

The theme is extracted by Hafsah Afridi, one of the team members at the School of Literature.