ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author focuses on Thomas Hardy's speculations about what a Creator might be like if one existed. Despite describing himself as an agnostic, Hardy seems to have believed in a First Cause. Hardy's arraignments of the Deity, his protests on behalf of humans, sounded in ears a note of metaphysical revolt. Hardy sees humans from both cosmic and phenomenological perspectives. The cosmic and the phenomenological perspectives combine to produce one of the most powerful qualities of Hardy's fiction, his near-universal empathy and compassion. When we see individuals from inside and outside at once, they emerge as innocent, passionate, sensitive creatures who are doomed to pain and frustration. The painfulness of Hardy's work arises from the combination of his sympathetic treatment of individuals with his dark view of the human condition. Hardy's grimness profoundly disturbed many of his contemporaries.
