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Tess of the D’Urbervilles

Thomas Hardy

Start date: February 1, 2014

Finish date: February 28, 2014

Discussion: February 2014 - Tess

Why we're reading this: Tess of the d’Urbervilles and other novels, Hardy demonstrates his deep sense of moral sympathy for Engla…more
[close] Tess of the d’Urbervilles and other novels, Hardy demonstrates his deep sense of moral sympathy for England’s lower classes, particularly for rural women. He became famous for his compassionate, often controversial portrayal of young women victimized by the self-righteous rigidity of English social morality. Perhaps his most famous depiction of such a young woman is in Tess of the d’Urbervilles. This novel and the one that followed it, Jude the Obscure (1895), engendered widespread public scandal with their comparatively frank look at the sexual hypocrisy of English society. (Taken from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/tess/co...)

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February 2014 - Tess

Angel vs. Alec
By Lindsey · 6 posts · 111 views

last updated Feb 26, 2016 02:27AM

Movie/TV Adaptations
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last updated Oct 21, 2015 10:49AM

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What Members Thought

Feb 03, 2013 Beth (bibliobeth) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I think I’ve read the magnificent Tess Of The D’Urbervilles three or four times now? I never lose sight of how fantastic it is and I always find something new to appreciate. This time round, I re-read Tess as part of the #greatthomashardyreadalong and it was an unforgettable experience, especially being able to discuss plot points in real time with like-minded readers. ⁣
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For anyone new to Hardy, this is one of my favourites and a perfect example of his style. It covers Tess Durbeyfield who is fo ...more

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Jul 03, 2011 Colleen rated it it was amazing

This was the first Thomas Hardy novel I read, and it is still one of my favorites. The hypocritical late 19th century society views, and the strains they put on the human spirit. Hardy had a keen eye for what went on around him, and he was aware of how the old ways were being replaced - Edwardian enlightment was on it's way but Tess is the symbol of land of Wessex itself, violated, forsaken, and like the wounded birds she finds, longing to be put out of her suffering, despite how she endures unt This was the first Thomas Hardy novel I read, and it is still one of my favorites. The hypocritical late 19th century society views, and the strains they put on the human spirit. Hardy had a keen eye for what went on around him, and he was aware of how the old ways were being replaced - Edwardian enlightment was on it's way but Tess is the symbol of land of Wessex itself, violated, forsaken, and like the wounded birds she finds, longing to be put out of her suffering, despite how she endures until her situation becomes even more unbearable. Christian versus pagan, rural versus urban, her true love's struggle from his family's religious views and the restrictions of society's rules, end up costing Hardy's herione more than himself. Young Tess Durbeyfield, daughter of a poor farmer, finds herself at the mercy of a ne'er do well scoudrel, Alec d'Urberville, thought to be a wealthy relative. The girls' parents, in their naivete and ignorance, put their eldest child on a disastrous path in an attempt to improve their situation and trade on the ancient and noble family name. Tess's situation makes her an outcast, after giving birth to the cad's baby son who dies not long after birth, but she never asks for pity, and finds work at a dairy farm, only to fall in love with a provinicial minister's son, Angel Clare, who cannot forgive her past. Tragedy ensues at nearly every turn.

***some spoilers herein***

I think both men were unforgivable, both were terrible to Tess in different ways. Granted, Angel was nowhere near the controlling cad that Alec was, and yes Tess loved Angel. Alec thought his wealth could buy Tess's affection and possession was love. For Angel, since Tess didn't fit his idealized version of her, and that she wasn't a virgin (never mind the fact that she was raped), he couldn't bear that and took to the hills like a coward. His hypocrisy is maddening, especially since he considered himself to be such a free thinker and more open-minded than his pious family. He did see the error of his ways, returned her and they had a few days together before she was executed, but too little, too late. Tess is the most extreme victim in the novel, with Alec next, being the cause of her hardship and downfall, and for being the villain. And yes, I did say that Alec is a victim, a murder victim, but not an innocent victim. He had no qualms about manipulating situations, taking Tess against her will and using her father's death, her family's destituion, her husband's desertion and her hardships to possess her. In a time when women had virtually no rights and the fact that he had taken her virginity and fathered a child with her gave him a totally wrong sense of ownership and his determination to get her any way that he could is what lead to his fate. Both characters are doomed, while Angel must live with the fact that his actions toward the woman that he loved led to this tragedy. Not that Alec had no part in it, if he hadn't violated Tess and impregnanted her, no doubt there would have been a different outcome to her life and to his. But of course, there would have been no story, and no commentary on the standards of the time in the novel if those events had not taken place.

There can be no happy ending, as this is a Hardy tale. But it makes its mark, and was immensely popular at the time of its publishing, despite the brutal critical response it received. The aching misunderstanding of longing love, the loss of innocence and a herione victimized by the standards of her era.

A timeless masterpiece of literature. Tess lives beyond the pages of the book, as though Hardy knew a girl who embodied his most famous character. Worth adding to your library. ...more

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Oct 11, 2015 Yun Yi rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. (spoilers)

Just finished reading Tess of the d'Urbervilles, the first Thomas Hardy I've ever read, will not be the last for sure. I wonder what made me to neglect this literature classic for so long. I watched movie "Tess" when I was a teenager, it somehow didn't strike me as hard as "Jane Eyre" or some other films adapted from literature masterpieces. Recently, for some obscure reasons I picked up the original book, found myself immediately drawn into the story.

There's not much I could say about (spoilers)

Just finished reading Tess of the d'Urbervilles, the first Thomas Hardy I've ever read, will not be the last for sure. I wonder what made me to neglect this literature classic for so long. I watched movie "Tess" when I was a teenager, it somehow didn't strike me as hard as "Jane Eyre" or some other films adapted from literature masterpieces. Recently, for some obscure reasons I picked up the original book, found myself immediately drawn into the story.

There's not much I could say about this book that is not been already said by others. Tess - an astonishingly beautiful peasant girl, a "fine creature", yet unbelievably selfless even downtrodden, tries relentlessly to make a better life for her family and herself, ends up being hanged. Not even that, none of the miserable happenings befall her is her fault, but she endures them all nonetheless. The tragedy is simply beyond anyone can bare. Her ultimate sacrifice seems avoidable, as I myself already "designed" a dozen of different endings, however, I have to admit, what she does at the end - murdering Alec d'Urbervilles is completely understandable under the context. Basically, Thomas Hardy just created a flawless tragedy, let his readers continue to moan for her heroine for centuries.

Yes, it's still valid to argue, that Tess doesn't have to kill Alec. But thinking through all her life, it would be too much for her to be rational at that mind-blown moment. She has suffered too much for too long. She puts all those burdens on her slim shoulder since she was still a child, takes charge of things that her parents are responsible for. And she is raped, taken advantage by a man she doesn't love simply because she wants to help her family! And at the end, she gives herself up again to her rapist only for save her family. The painful fact is, despite her complete altruism, Tess herself thinks she is responsible for all of her troubles, and her not being "pure" is (more or less) her own fault! That's why at the end, when Angel comes back to her, she feels she loses all hope because she has been sleeping with Alec again!

In my life I found, that if one is used to give, one would always give; and those who surround him/her would be so used to "take" and they would always do. It seems from certain perspectives, human population can be simple divided into two categories: those who give and whose who take. Tess falls in to the first category, but by an extreme measure. More tragically, at the moment she finally gets her love - Angel Clare, he turns out to be a victim - or "slave", by Hardy's word - of moral tradition, cannot forgive Tess's "stained" past. All these suffering, disappointment and despair, inevitably lead Tess to her final explosion, channels all her anger into the one who she believes responsible for all her misery.

Who is culprit? It can be Alec d'Urbervilles, or her husband Angel Clare. If we go a little deeper, it can be her destitute family, her parents - her alcoholic father and her somewhat selfish mother. Yet if we make one step farther, it's doubtlessly the social ideology, the double stance on sexual relationship. Or, ultimately, that "President of the Immortal", the fate, who "played" this brutal life game against beautiful, pure, hapless yet tenacious Tess d'Urbervilles.

It's a real tragedy: a possibly most beautiful creature ever being created then being destroyed, so unnecessary yet so UNAVOIDABLY.

Hardy was not only a master of flawless plot, but also a poet. The pastoral landscape under his pen is so amazingly alive, so humane and sometime even propitious, that in the contrast to Tess's fate, it confuses us, goes beyond our comprehension.

What a sad yet thrilling reading experience! But, I am glad I finally discovered Hardy. Looking forward for more of his masterpieces!
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Aug 12, 2012 Mochaspresso rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

What a sad and tragic story! It says so much about the plight of women in Victorian England and how one act can ruin a life forever. Although, to be honest, I don't place all of the blame for Tess' plight on Alec taking advantage of her. She and her foolish pride were her own worst enemies. Thomas Hardy seems to have a penchant for unnecessarily long winded descriptions of details that I don't find important to the story, but otherwise, I loved it....even with it's sad ending.
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