Schopenhauer's pessimism in Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge, Jude the Obscure and Tess of the D'urbervilles

This study aims to explore Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge, Jude the Obscure and Tess of the D'Urbervilles from the perspective of Schopenhauer's pessimism. The thesis thus adopts an interdisciplinary approach as it explores the connections between philosophy and literature. The thesis presents the main principles of Schopenhauer's philosophy and discusses its effect on Victorian English society and literature in an era which was already marked by pessimism. In this context, an examination of the impact of Schopenhauer's philosophy on Hardy's work is carried out through a close reading of the three novels mentioned above.