Abstract: Tess of the D’Urbervilles, written by Thomas Hardy, is regarded as one of the greatest tragedies of Thomas Hardy, the leading critical realistic writer of the Victorian Age. The paper consists of three parts. The first part gives a brief introduction to both the author and the novel.The second part is the highlight of this paper. It focuses on the causes of Tess’s tragedy from four aspects, including the impact of evolution theory, the competition between peasants and capitalists, the unfair normal criterion and religious factors. The last part arrives at the conclusion that Tess falls victim to the sexual and social discrimination against women characterized by the Victorian Age. 

Key words: Tess; tragedy; causes

摘要: 托马斯 哈代写的《德伯家的苔丝》，被誉为最伟大的悲剧小说之一。本文从进化论，新兴资产阶级和传统农民阶级的竞争，社会的道德对男女约束的不同准则，以及基督教的毒害等四个方面来分析苔丝的悲剧。最后得出结论： 苔丝是英国维多利亚时期性别和社会歧视的牺牲品。

关键词：苔丝；悲剧 ；根源