/lit/ - Literature

Is Thomas Hardy worth reading?

Going through "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" now (1/3 of the way thorugh) and the style isn't anything great. Also, his lefty "progressive" ideas are regularly shoved down your throat in the most obvious ways. Tess is still pure even though she got seduced (not raped) by a cad, because sexual past doesn't matter and slut shaming is bad mmkay. Angel wants to marry her even though she's not noble and even more because of that, because she's an honest prole, salt of the Earth type that is therefore much superior to a "livingroom doll". The main characters are better than others because they "reject traditional conventions", etc.

Is there anything more to Hardy than this "liberal ante litteram" crap or should I drop him?