Quote by Thomas Hardy: “Happiness is but a transient episode in the drama of existence.”

Hardy views happiness as a fleeting moment in the grand, often somber, play of life. This perspective highlights his characteristic fatalism and the belief that joy is temporary, while struggle and melancholy are more enduring.

Hardy's Wessex novels frequently explore the limited agency of individuals against powerful forces of nature, society, and destiny, leading to a generally pessimistic outlook on human joy.

English novelist and poet whose work portrayed the harsh realities of rural Victorian life with unflinching honesty. His major novels include Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Far from the Madding Crowd, and his poetry is noted for its bleak tenderness.