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Role of Chance and accident in Hardys Tess of DUrbervilles: Chance, accidents and coincidence are, like Nature, tools in the hand of Fate/Destiny/President of Immortals/Immanent Will. They are very effectively used by Hardy to intensify his tragic vision of life. They play a very conspicuous and prominent role in the chain of events. Character, no doubt, is responsible for the tragic downfall. At the same time, chance, accident and coincidence operate as the deciding factors. Hardy believed that an evil power ruled the universe, defeating every endeavor of man to better his fortune or to find happiness. He could not believe in a benevolent Providence. To Hardy, Fate / Destiny is not only indifferent but even hostile to human happiness. This hostility is manifested in the irony of circumstances in form of unhappy coincidences, chances and accidents. It can be said that when human beings are not themselves responsible for the frustration of their hopes or when their character / temperament or mutual conflict does not ruin their happiness, Fate intervenes in the shape of chance or accident or coincidence to contribute to, or complete their ruin and devastate their innocent lives into rubble. Illustrations from the text: o Death of Prince, the horse in an accident when it was driven by Tess. o Her letter to Angel slips under carpet.

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o It so happens Tess cannot meet Angels parents and overhears his brothers and Mercy Chants. o Unexpected meeting with Alec. o Death of father instead of ill mother. The excessive use of chance/accidents/coincidence is considered as a flaw from the artistic point of view. It makes plot crossing the limits of probability and possibility. It makes it implausible. Such incidents do play a role in every human beings life but real life has happy coincidence as well. However, in Tess, the logic of cause and effect plays a greater role in the tragedy and, chance & accident, more often, emerges from the natural law of cause and effect.

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