'To what extent are the female characters represented in 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles ' stereotypical to women living in rural England in the mid 19th century?'

In the famous Thomas Hardy novel 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' I will explore the representation of female charactors and to what extent they are perceived as stereotypes. Thomas Hardy lived during the Victorian period his experience in Victorian England shaped the novel. Tess, which was first serialised in magazines was highly successful due to the fact that it criticised practices at the time and focused on important and topical issues of the period especially the …

…xist, as he could have made Tess a stronger female character that could have stood up for herself in the first place although this would not have been socially acceptable. The majority of the women portrayed in the novel would not have read it. It was written for a higher-class market, so he didn't have to be that accurate, as these people would not have had to encounter the peasantry in their way of life.