People who know the story of Thomas Hardy know that when he wrote his great novels, which include Far From the Madding Crowd, The Return of the Native, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure, among the greatest novels of England and the world, that there was such outrage that Thomas Hardy decided not to write anymore novels and to start writing poetry.
Thomas Hardy liked writing and probably considered it something to do, but nevertheless there are many great novels that we might have had had the "good citizens" known how to read the controversial novels of Thomas Hardy.
His "unconventional subjects" "disturbed the public" to quote from the blurbs of some of his novels. His greatest novels "disturbed the public," and his greatest characters Tess and Jude "disturbed the public."
For Thomas Hardy we mean the Victorian public.
Richard Wright's Bigger Thomas "disturbed the public" of his era.
James Joyce "disturbed the public" of his era.
Of course every writer that "disturbs the public" is not necessarily a great writer, nor is every artist, or thinker.
However, at some point the public, the very disturbed public is going to have to learn how to read these controversial works and controversial texts.
Certainly it's acceptable for the "disturbed public" to decide it doesn't like certain works, and certainly it's acceptable for a Thomas Hardy to "announce his never going to write novels again" and to just write poetry.
This is a complicated subject, and generations after generations of "disturbed public" not only stop great writers like Thomas Hardy but destroy great people everyday because of the "disturbed public."
Many writers go online because they "disturb the public." Some of them even "disturb the public" online. Some of them "disturb the public" anonymously, and some of them "disturb the public" in a pen name, and some of them "disturb the public" in their own names.
Writers and thinkers and leaders and teachers have always "disturbed the public." And usually the public decides upon the less disturbing of the writers, thinkers, leaders, and teachers.
And so at some point we find the less disturbing becoming our writers, thinkers, leaders, and teachers.
Sometimes it takes us centuries and generations and many generations before we discover who are our greater writers, thinkers, leaders, and teachers.
Sometimes they are the less disturbing and sometimes they are the most disturbing.
This is the story of many people's histories and many people's civilizations.
Anybody can "disturb the public." Sometimes just a stranger coming into town as Gregory Peck coming into town, a stranger in a strange town, can "disturb the public."
This is the movie The Bravados with Gregory Peck and Joan Collins.
Who is this strange man in our town?
And then the public comes up with all kinds of reasons for why it's disturbed.
New generations of artists, teachers, thinkers, philosophers, writers, great folks and just ordinary folks are going to continue to disturb the public and the public is going to continue to disturb these people also.
But what is the lesson of Thomas Hardy?
Continue to read Thomas Hardy.
But who is your Thomas Hardy?
