Addressing Subjectivity in Thematic Classification of Literary Texts : A Fresh Look at the Prose Fiction of Thomas Hardy

It is partly true to say that this research was born out of personal admiration for Thomas Hardy as a novelist. Like many fans of Hardy, I have the belief that Hardy is a main component of the English cultural heritage. For me, Hardy's novels have always touched a sensitive nerve. I have always been impressed by the diversity of his literary production and the way he handled his different subject matters. So many times, I thought about a unifying theme or number of themes that could well accommodate this prolific production. In other words, the diversity of Hardy's literary production inspired me to think whether these works could be classified in a thematically coherent way. In this, I have always the desire to apply some novel methodologies to the classification of the novels and short stories of Hardy. It is hoped, after all, that the classification results help in identifying the thematic interrelationships between the texts and suggesting propositions that may be generalized to other literary texts and genres.