Tess of the D'Urbervilles

Tess Durbeyfield is a victim of external and inexplicable forces. Throughout Hardy’s novel, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, seemingly insignificant coincidences change Tess’ life for the worse. The belief that the order of things is already decided and that people’s lives are determined by a "greater power" is called fate. Many people, called fatalists, believe that they have no power in determining their futures. Despite fate, many others believe that coincidence is the …showed first 75 words of 1125 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1125 total…is a victim of circumstance in that her individuality makes little difference to her fate, she is a victim of society in the sense that she is a scapegoat of narrow - mindedness and she is a victim of male ideology on the grounds that her powers of will and reason are undermined by her sensuality. Tess herself sums up her own blighted life best; ‘Once avictim, always a victim - that’s the law!’