Works of Thomas Hardy discussion
This topic is about
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Tess of the d'Urbervilles
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Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Introduction and Phase the First: Chapters 1 - 11
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The newspaper syndicate Tillotson and Son had planned to publish Tess of the d’Urbervilles under the title “Too Late Beloved”, but this fell through, because it was felt that some scenes would offend readers. Two more magazines also turned it down. “The Graphic” finally published a censored version as a serial, retaining the parts they cut out, which were reinstated when the novel was published as a 3 volume book in 1892. We are obviously reading this complete version.
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Our read is different from that of real life groups, as we discuss as we go. The experience is more like the original readers had.
There are 59 chapters. We’ll begin by taking one chapter a day, but if the pace seems too slow we can speed up. The story is not complex or many-stranded, so we may prefer this option. Although Thomas Hardy’s original readers had to take 5 months over it, we will probably take 2, with an extra month for discussion and catch-up for those who need it. If you prefer a faster pace, please bear in mind exactly where we are in the novel, which you can see at a glance at the first post in the latest thread. This has links to each day's chapters added as we go. Please do NOT include spoilers; your post will be deleted if you do. There is a chance to discuss the novel as a whole during the third month.
Thomas Hardy divided his novel into 7 “Phases”. Although splitting a group read into more than 4 or 5 threads can cause problems, it seems silly not to use these divisions. Please note though that they are uneven, so the first Phase is the longest at 11 chapters, and the shortest is only 4 chapters. The Phases are named, but since the names are spoilerish as to what has gone before, they won’t be in the title of the thread, but in the first comment in the thread itself.
All Thomas Hardy’s Prefaces are safe to read, but most online resources contain spoilers. Please avoid wiki, schmoop, sparknotes etc., for this reason (unless you know the story).
Like most Victorian stories, Tess of the d’Urbervilles was not illustrated when it was printed in novel form, because it would have been too expensive. These cheap editions only had a colour frontispiece. However the original serial in “The Graphic” was illustrated every second or third chapter. I will include all 24 of these illustrations along with a brief daily chapter summary (taken basically from Litcharts - but heavily adapted and with spoilers removed!) as we go, so everyone can easily locate where we are.
I hope everyone enjoys this read :)
Ready to begin this on Thursday? Who's in?
I'm 3 chapters in (my 3rd reading, I think) and ready to go.
Oh go on, then. I’m looking forward to this since my last full reading must have been 40 years ago.
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I loved this the first time I read it so I’m looking forward to reading it along with the group :)
I plan to read along but may not comment much as we will be traveling. I’ve not read it before, so new to me.
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Not to worry if you can only pop in now and then Donna. I think you'll be able to locate your place easily in the discussions. It's good to have you along!
What a rich reading experience this will be for us all :)
I abandoned my first effort at reading Tess, I hope it will be a better experience reading with a group and at a slow pace.
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Picking up an ancient edition from my library this week. I will have to get a Kindle version, as well. Tess has been on my TBR for fifty years.
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Mine is the large print edition I put on the shelves. Just the text and preface to the 5th and later editions. I have it on kindle too.
I don't think I can do a chapter a day (so much to read!) but I do want to join in the discussions even if I'm a bit late. Tess seems to be one of those books that will probably better when read with a group.
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I don't know how many times I have read it over the years. I have seen the 1979 version film a couple of times. I am still looking forward to reading it again.
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Karen wrote: "Picking up an ancient edition from my library this week. I will have to get a Kindle version, as well. Tess has been on my TBR for fifty years."Ah - it is available at Project Gutenberg, too.
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Here is a "map":
"Locations in Wessex, from The Wessex of Thomas Hardy by Bertram Windle, 1902, based on correspondence with Hardy"
and this is a good feature:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_...
Thomas Hardy used bits of Dorset, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon, Hampshire, Berkshire and even bits of Oxfordshire! All Thomas Hardy's names are invented, too. He calls that particular market town "Port Bredy" and his "Casterbridge" - as in The Mayor of Casterbridge - is in actuality Dorchester, the county town of Dorset. There's a great statue of Thomas Hardy there.
You can also visit two of his houses roundabout. (I and others have written about them in our thread "Thomas Hardy's Homes and Places he lived"). He grew up in a basic cottage where you had to get upstairs by climbing a ladder!
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The actress whom Thomas Hardy chose to perform Tess lived to a great age, and we do have recordings of her talking about it, and about Thomas Hardy too.
We're starting this tomorrow YAY!
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There are LINKS TO EACH CHAPTER SUMMARY IN THE FIRST POST.
This keeps it organised, and will help anyone who may find as we read on that they are reading at a different rate, to locate where they are. Thanks everyone!
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Chapter 1:
On his way home from haggling one day, a pedlar called John Durbeyfield meets Parson Tringham, who surprises Durbeyfield by addressing him as “Sir John”. The parson then reveals his recent discovery that the Durbeyfields are descended from the ancient, knightly d’Urberville family, which has since fallen from prominence and gone extinct. John Durbeyfield is absurdly flattered and amazed by this information. After the parson leaves, Durbeyfield boasts to a boy from town about his lineage and sends for a carriage to take him the rest of the way home.
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Shaston in real life is Shaftesbury. Here is a photograph of the famous Gold Hill with its steep cobbled street:
wiki image
The view looking down from the top of the street has been described as “one of the most romantic sights in England” and is often featured on calendars of “Beautiful Britain”! It's a very steep incline.
John Durbeyfield was walking between “Shaston” and his home, in the honey stone village of Marlott, which in real life is the pretty village of Marnhull.
Thomas Hardy lived and wrote in nearby Sturminster Newton for a time. William Barnes, author of 800 poems including Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect was the poet to whom Thomas Hardy felt a natural successor. He also lived in a small hamlet near Sturminster Newton.
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Already the parson seems to regret having said anything (although he had called him “Sir John” 3 times, John Durbeyfield said!) The parson admitted “Our impluses are too strong for our judgement, sometimes” and we also read that he had “doubts about his discretion in retelling this curious bit of lore”.
John Durbeyfield’s absurd excitement shows that he is a vain and rather silly man. He spends a whole shilling “one of the chronically few that he possessed” in an showy attempt at largesse. He has a feeling of entitlement, yet he has been told that the name has no real wealth or power behind it.
The emphasis on ancient names seems important, as is the comment about how the mighty have fallen in modern times. It makes us wonder where this might lead ...
Your thoughts?
My favourite novel - can’t wait! Going to take the chance to pick up my 1892 edition, the second ever book edition 😊
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I was struck by one phrase: 'Twas a little one-eyed, blinking sort o' place," uttered by the youth John Derbyfield encounters. One-eyed? What's that mean? So down the rabbit hole I went (OK, Google). Turns out it was used in relation to inbreeding, with the popular belief that inbred people often had their eyes closer together.
Bionic Jean wrote: "When the parson offhandedly reveals about the d’Urberville name to John Durbeyfield, it seems bound to cause trouble, doesn’t it? We are told Durbeyfield is a “haggler” - someone who argues or barg..."Hi Jean
Yes. The opening chapter is one that looks back much more than it looks forward. I too was drawn to the phrase ‘our impulses are drawn too strong for our judgement, sometimes.” Impulses are immediate actions/reactions. A judgement comes as a result of time, from a consideration based on something. Perhaps Hardy is already lifting a curtain to what will happen in the future is because of an event or events that happened in the past.
Thanks Keith for the information on a meaning of ‘one-eyed.’
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Yes! That had passed me by too Keith!
I'm afraid that there is a folk myth in (the rest of) England that West Country people are inbred. Maybe the rumour and prejudice isn't quite so rife now though.
Bionic Jean wrote: "PLAN: Please read this comment! Our read is different from that of real life groups, as we discuss as we go. The experience is more like the original readers had.
There are 59 chapters. We’ll be..."
I'm starting slightly late, I think, so I'll catch up and join in then. I read it many years ago, and Jean has persuaded me to give it another go.
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That's great Jodie! You're not late ... we are starting today with chapter 1 (there are lots of local details about real-life locations just after today's summary) but these early chapter are quite short, if you still need a few days' grace :)
Links to the discussion will be added daily in the first comment, everyone.
I’ve dutifully read chapter 1 as agreed. Since it’s 40+ years since I last read the book in its entirety, it was a surprise to discover how simple Hardy’s introduction is in language and structure, whilst succrssfully planting the seed of intrigue among readers.
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Plus as you say, it's so readable (compared with some Victorian authors - much as I love them!)
Despite having loved Hardy’s other novels, this is my first reading of Tess. Right from the outset, all of the features that I recall from Hardy’s work stand out: his deep attachment to the landscape of the south of England; a thorough investment in his characters, their motivations and the (often unwise) choices they make; and a plot that is often driven by quirks of fate and/or triggered by seemingly trivial actions or events — in this case, the Parson’s decision to inform Jack Durbeyfield about his illustrious but long gone forbears.In just a few words, Hardy makes it clear that Jack is a rather silly man, easily swayed by delusions of grandeur; the title of “Sir John”, casually bestowed upon him by the Parson, fits him like a dunce’s cap and is unlikely to improve his life — or that of the family that may depend upon him. Trouble is sure to arise.
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And it's so good to have you with us too, for this read. What a treat you have in store, as a seasoned Hardy-lover :)
It is intriguing that Mr. Derbeyfield is first introduced to us as a "pair of legs" with a "bias in his gait". The narrator says that he is not thinking of "anything in particular" suggesting a vacancy of mind possibly.I was also struck by the contrast between the "old" and the "new".
Peter wrote above that "The opening chapter is one that looks back much more than it looks forward." So much of Hardy in general compares older times in contrast to the present day (Hardy's present day).
Mr Durbeyfield reminds me a little bit of a person (in the USA) who had ancestors on the Mayflower.
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I'm looking forward to meeting his family (the title tells us there's at least one more) and wonder if they will be like him.
Just finished chapter 1. A lovely set up and already nods to themes we’ll come to later on; particularly noted the beginnings of pastoral vs. urban with “DurbeyFIELD” vs. “D’UrberVILLE”.
Just finished chapter one. The Parson seems to realize at the end of their exchange that he's unleashed some mischief here.And I agree "Sir John" is very unsophisticated.
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Make sure you don't miss the introductory posts (everyone) and the names and pictures of the beautiful real life locations!
Thanks for drawing attention to the possibly-conflicting pastoral/urban references in the ‘-ville’ and ‘-field suffixes, Charlotte. I’d never picked up on that connection/disconnect before. You’ve proved that learning is for life!
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Not much to add except that Jack is easily persuaded to come from "higher" stock and immediately acts like an aristocrat. I didn´t catch the -field and -ville suffixes explaining the difference, thanks Charlotte.
Bionic Jean wrote: "PLAN: Please read this comment! Our read is different from that of real life groups, as we discuss as we go. The experience is more like the original readers had.
There are 59 chapters. We’ll be..."
Thank you! I read this quite a while -- long, long, long ago when I suspect I read in order to be "grown up" but was too young to really understand (smile) -- so will feel comfortable as I read the selected chapters for each round of discussions. I doubt I'll have any spoilers. (ja ja)
I'm looking forward to the discussions!
Donna wrote: "I plan to read along but may not comment much as we will be traveling. I’ve not read it before, so new to me."Safe travels!
Have fun with all the adventures and misadventures!
I am really enjoying and being edified by all the comments. A couple of quick observations (and please forgive me if I am repeating anyone else)1). Sir Pagan: an intriguing name. But he made it to the Battle Abbey roll. The parson's speech in the third longer paragraph of chapter one is redolent with knowledge and even passion. He seems to know a lot about local genealogy, but he reminds "Sir John" that there "are several families among the cottagers of the county of almost equal lustre". That final line gives his claim even more credence as if he's saying that you are among many great families but none have the "lustre" of the Durbeyfields.
Sir John almost instantly acts like a lord, asking a boy to send for a "horse, carriage, and noggin o'rum". He mentions his hope for dinner: lamb's fry, blackpot, and "if they can't get that, well, chitterlings will do." If you've been to England you may have been offered "blood pudding" for breakfast, which is the same as blackpot.
I am only speculating, but the first chapter seems to present us with a rather foolish narcissist of a man who is thrilled with grandeur of titles, of history, of food, or horses and carriages. I would not lend him money.
And the name Pagan gives me a little thrill. It is in use and means "country dweller". It was a popular name in the middle ages. It looks as if a city/country dichotomy is potentially being set up.
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"Chitterlings" are small intestines of some domesticated animals, and I suspect "blackpot" is what we now call "black pudding" - made of blood, as you say - and fried in rounds.
So his suggestions gradually got cheaper and cheaper - but he still was acting lord-of-the-manor in ordering them.
Is the lamb's fry mentioned the liver or the testicles?
Works of Thomas Hardy
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Phase the First: The Maiden: Chapters 1 - 11
Original draft. The manuscript was extensively reworked by Thomas Hardy
Here are LINKS TO EACH CHAPTER SUMMARY, for ease of location:
Map
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11