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, and 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.
In the 1870s, Social Darwinism, first 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 individuals for limited resources. The best
example can be of the colonizers, and how the British Empire took over and
expanded 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 and how the economically weak countries are treated
harshly and gain as much from them as possible providing low profit to them.
Poorers 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 because of it needs to be tackled and corrected.
The theme is extracted by Hafsah Afridi, one of the team members at the School of Literature.
