在哈代的小说封笔作《无名的裘德》中,“时光老人”作为英国威塞克斯农村农民破产过程中裂变出来的新人形象,在他身上集中呈示出现代精神的某些特征。“时光老人”某种意义上可以视作现代精神与灵魂的先驱,哈代对于他的塑造在世界文学史上具有开创性的意义。然而,在表现“时光老人”这一新人形象的过程中,也暴露出哈代的某些局限性。哈代所遇到的诸般困惑和难题,使得他在《无名的裘德》后的小说创作陷入重重困境之中而难以继续向前迈进。 In Hardy’s fictional novel Jude, the Old Man of Time, as a newcomer fissioning from the bankruptcy of rural Wessex farmers in the United States, concentrated on him certain features of the modern spirit. “Time old man ” can be regarded as a pioneer of modern spirit and soul in a certain sense. Hardy’s creation for him has a seminal meaning in the history of world literature. However, some of Hardy’s limitations are also exposed in the performance of the image of a new age-old man. Hardy encountered all sorts of puzzles and problems that made him in “no name Jude” post-fiction writing into trouble and difficult to continue to move forward.