Hardy’s Wessex: An Imaginary-Literary-Topography

Abstract

Geo - (topo) graphically Hardy’s Wessex is located on the West Country of England and lying south of the Thames and the Bristol Channel. The invention of “Wessex” is described by hardy in his preface to Far from the Madding Crowd in which, he first re- introduced the old word to give territorial definition. Travelling into Hardy, I wish to argue that place ought to receive special attention. Most of the writers have written their works with deep concerned with their native special attention. Place needs to be understood as something local, regional and real, despite the complexities and difficulties involved in the use of such terms. Generally, places themselves could have the sort of centrality in literary studies that has more frequently been given to notions such as author, character, text, historical context and narration etc. This paper wants to Geo - (topo) graphically appreciates the correspondence between Wessex and Hardy’s relationship in an imaginary and cartographical mode.