Scribd
Upload
22 views20 pages

Tess of The D'urbervilles

Uploaded by

Black Lady
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
22 views20 pages

Tess of The D'urbervilles

Uploaded by

Black Lady
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 20

Thomas Hardy

1840-1928
Thomas Hardy was an
English novelist and poet. A
Victorian realist in the
tradition of George Eliot, he
was influenced both in his
novels and in his poetry by
Romanticism, including the
poetry of William
Wordsworth. He was highly
critical of much in Victorian
society, especially on the
declining status of rural
people in Britain, such as
those from his native South
West England.
While Hardy wrote poetry throughout
his life and regarded himself
primarily as a poet, his first collection
was not published until 1898.
Initially, he gained fame as the
author of novels such as Far from the
Madding Crowd (1874), The Mayor of
Casterbridge (1886), Tess of the
d'Urbervilles (1891), and Jude the
Obscure (1895). During his lifetime,
Hardy's poetry was acclaimed by
younger poets (particularly the
Georgians) who viewed him as a
mentor. After his death his poems
were lauded by Ezra Pound, W. H.
Auden and Philip Larkin
The poor peddler John Durbeyfield is stunned to learn that he is the
descendent of an ancient noble family, the d’Urbervilles. Meanwhile, Tess, his
eldest daughter, joins the other village girls in the May Day dance, where Tess
briefly exchanges glances with a young man. Mr. Durbeyfield and his wife
decide to send Tess to the d’Urberville mansion, where they hope Mrs.
d’Urberville will make Tess’s fortune. In reality, Mrs. d’Urberville is no
relation to Tess at all: her husband, the merchant Simon Stokes, simply
changed his name to d’Urberville after he retired. But Tess does not know this
fact, and when the lascivious Alec d’Urberville, Mrs. d’Urberville’s son,
procures Tess a job tending fowls on the d’Urberville estate, Tess has no
choice but to accept, since she blames herself for an accident involving the
family’s horse, its only means of income.
Tess spends several months at this job, resisting Alec’s attempts to seduce her.
Finally, Alec takes advantage of her in the woods one night after a fair. Tess
knows she does not love Alec. She returns home to her family to give birth to
Alec’s child, whom she christens Sorrow. Sorrow dies soon after he is born,
and Tess spends a miserable year at home before deciding to seek work
elsewhere. She finally accepts a job as a milkmaid at the Talbothays Dairy.
At Talbothays, Tess enjoys a period of contentment and happiness. She
befriends three of her fellow milkmaids—Izz, Retty, and Marian—and meets
a man named Angel Clare, who turns out to be the man from the May Day
dance at the beginning of the novel. Tess and Angel slowly fall in love. They
grow closer throughout Tess’s time at Talbothays, and she eventually accepts
his proposal of marriage. Still, she is troubled by pangs of conscience and
feels she should tell Angel about her past. She writes him a confessional note
and slips it under his door, but it slides under the carpet and Angel never sees
it.
After their wedding, Angel and Tess both confess indiscretions: Angel tells
Tess about an affair he had with an older woman in London, and Tess tells
Angel about her history with Alec. Tess forgives Angel, but Angel cannot
forgive Tess. He gives her some money and boards a ship bound for Brazil,
where he thinks he might establish a farm. He tells Tess he will try to accept
her past but warns her not to try to join him until he comes for her.
Tess struggles. She has a difficult time finding work and is forced to take a
job at an unpleasant and unprosperous farm. She tries to visit Angel’s family
but overhears his brothers discussing Angel’s poor marriage, so she leaves.
She hears a wandering preacher speak and is stunned to discover that he is
Alec d’Urberville, who has been converted to Christianity by Angel’s father,
the Reverend Clare. Alec and Tess are each shaken by their encounter, and
Alec appallingly begs Tess never to tempt him again. Soon after, however, he
again begs Tess to marry him, having turned his back on his -religious ways.
Tess learns from her sister Liza-Lu that her mother is near death, and Tess is
forced to return home to take care of her. Her mother recovers, but her father
unexpectedly dies soon after. When the family is evicted from their home, Alec
offers help. But Tess refuses to accept, knowing he only wants to obligate her
to him again.
At last, Angel decides to forgive his wife. He leaves Brazil, desperate to find
her. Instead, he finds her mother, who tells him Tess has gone to a village
called Sandbourne. There, he finds Tess in an expensive boardinghouse called
The Herons, where he tells her he has forgiven her and begs her to take him
back. Tess tells him he has come too late. She was unable to resist and went
back to Alec d’Urberville. Angel leaves in a daze, and, heartbroken to the
point of madness, Tess goes upstairs and stabs her lover to death. When the
landlady finds Alec’s body, she raises an alarm, but Tess has already fled to
find Angel.
Angel agrees to help Tess, though he cannot quite believe that she has actually
murdered Alec. They hide out in an empty mansion for a few days, then travel
farther. When they come to Stonehenge, Tess goes to sleep, but when morning
breaks shortly thereafter, a search party discovers them. Tess is arrested and
sent to jail. Angel and Liza-Lu watch as a black flag is raised over the prison,
signaling Tess’s execution.
Themes
Nature and Modernity
Social Criticism
Paganism and Christianity
Injustice and Fate
Memory and the Past
Women and Femininity
Man and the Natural World
Symbolism
Prince
Brazil
Lose Hair
Water
Red and White
Characters
Tess Durbeyfield

The novel’s protagonist. Tess is a beautiful, loyal


young woman living with her impoverished family in Characters
the village of Marlott. Tess has a keen sense of
responsibility and is committed to doing the best she
can for her family, although her inexperience and
lack of wise parenting leave her extremely vulnerable.
Her life is complicated when her father discovers a
link to the noble line of the d’Urbervilles, and, as a
result, Tess is sent to work at the d’Urberville
mansion. Unfortunately, her ideals cannot prevent
her from sliding further and further into misfortune
after she becomes pregnant by Alec d’Urberville. The
terrible irony is that Tess and her family are not
really related to this branch of the d’Urbervilles at
all: Alec’s father, a merchant named Simon Stokes,
simply assumed the name after he retired.
Angel Clare Characters
An intelligent young man who has decided to become
a farmer to preserve his intellectual freedom from the
pressures of city life. Angel’s father and his two
brothers are respected clergymen, but Angel’s
religious doubts have kept him from joining the
ministry. He meets Tess when she is a milkmaid at
the Talbothays Dairy and quickly falls in love with
her.
Alec d’Urberville

The handsome, amoral son of a wealthy merchant


Characters
named Simon Stokes. Alec is not really a
d’Urberville—his father simply took on the name of
the ancient noble family after he built his mansion
and retired. Alec is a manipulative, sinister young
man who does everything he can to seduce the
inexperienced Tess when she comes to work for his
family. When he finally has his way with her, out in
the woods, he subsequently tries to help her but is
unable to make her love him.
For More Content:
Subscribe my YouTube Channel
www.youtube.com/c/jahanzebjahan

Like my Page on Facebook


www.facebook.com/jjahan
Email: [email protected]

You might also like