| Summary: | The French critic Charles du Bos devoted many essays to the writings of Victorian and contemporary English authors including Thomas Hardy. For Du Bos, Hardy is an architect seeking a principle which would account for the order of things. The failure of this quest produces his faith in his experience of the world, including its gloomiest aspects. Du Bos sees Hardy as devoid of hope, starting from the « unhope » expressed in his poetry in order to sympathize with the human condition. The disenchanted world that he depicts through Jude and Tess can be related to the empowerment of modern societies as analyzed by M. Gauchet. Such autonomy gives rise to Hardy’s dispassionate appraisal whereas, Du Bos’s essay evidences mixed feelings towards Hardy's philosophical stance.
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