Works of Thomas Hardy discussion
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Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Tess of the d'Urbervilles
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Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Phase the Sixth: Chapter 45 - 52
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Hi Erich C,This is a great point, especially given the novel's descriptions of Tess's religious beliefs. On one hand, Tess states in (view spoiler)
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I fear you may be right here Erich. We probably all have experience of those who are helpful and generous to those in need, even extending this to those whom they could consider are there through their own bad decisions. However, when it comes closer to home, they begin to judge, and condemn, even if the need is just as great. It seems to be human nature.
Probably Tess would be helped by them initially, but (as Pamela suggested,) it wouldn't be long before the niggling doubts began.
Mercy Chant is very different, and her behaviour is completely fuelled by her doctrine - and Angel's brothers are more inclined to her attitudes and way of thinking, although they are not so quick to suspect fraud.
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That's a great parallel, thank you April! I guess it is a trope yes, and wonder how many other stories employ this device, without us noticing!
"On one hand, Alec challenges Tess's uncritical acceptance of Angel's religious beliefs in the scene"
Excellent observation April- Alec does this more than once, and it makes me uneasy.
Linking it with the first idea, could this be Alec d'Ubverville representing Thomas Hardy's beliefs and religious doubts, which had reached their highest when he wrote this novel? We are encouraged to think of Alec d'Ubverville as a villain, but some of his behaviour is caring and thoughtful. I think he's quite a complex character - not one-dimensional, so I fear it might.
Alec d'Ubverville is certainly necessary, as the only one who can point out Tess's unswerving worship of Angel (as Erich just reminded us) - who seems to have deserted her. But will Tess listen to him? At the moment it doesn't seem very likely.
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Tess walks under the stars and finally reaches the heavy soil of Blackmoor Vale, and the forests still alive with old pagan superstitions. She reaches home the next day to find her mother sleeping, with a neighbour watching over her. The children have grown, and her father is also ill in the same indefinite way, but excited by his new scheme of asking historians to pay for his well-being.
Tess begins to work in the garden and on their allotment, as no one has tended to them lately, and she prefers the outdoors work to staying in her mother’s sickroom. One evening she and Liza-Lu are working as other villagers start burning their grass piles, sending up eerie plumes of smoke and making the atmosphere hazy and dreamlike. Tess works into the night, comforted by her own labour.
She is so absorbed that she doesn’t notice the man working next to her for a long time, but as they both approach the fire, she sees it is Alec d’Urberville. He looks grotesque in the dim light and peasant’s clothes, and he laughs at Tess’s shock and compares her to Eve, and himself to Satan. He quotes Milton to her.
“On going up to the fire to throw a pitch of dead weeds upon it, she found that he did the same on the other side. The fire flared up, and she beheld the face of D’Urberville. The unexpectedness of his presence, the grotesqueness of his appearance in a gathered smock-frock such as was now worn only by the most old-fashioned of the labourers, had a ghastly comicality that chilled her as to its bearing. D’Urberville emitted a low, long laugh.” - Hubert Von Herkomer - “The Graphic” 5th December 1891
Alec says he has come entirely for Tess, and offers to help her family out of love for her. He mentions her young siblings, and wonders what would happen if her mother dies. Tess is upset but still refuses his help. Alec leaves angrily.
Tess starts off for home, and is met by one of her sisters who says that their mother is a good deal better, but their father is dead. Tess rushes home to find that her father had suddenly fallen dead of his heart condition. The news means that the Durbeyfields will be evicted, because the lease from the tenant farmer was for three lives, and John Durbeyfield was the last lease-holder. The narrator muses that their fate is now the same as those of many peasants whom the ancient d’Urbervilles once displaced long ago.
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Bulbarrow Hill
Here's a little film clip (less than 2 minutes) to show you what it's like there https://youtu.be/zgnd3vcnXzE
Nuttlebury and Hambledon Hill are also real locations in North Dorset. Hambledon Hill, is a prehistoric (Iron Age) hill fort with far reaching views and spectacular wild flowers. It is in the Blackmore Vale ("Blackmoor Vale") five miles north-west of Blandford Forum (or "Shottesford Forum").
This is all beautiful lush countryside, and a complete contrast to Thomas Hardy's invented dreary and barren Flintcomb Ash.
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We feel John Durbeyfield has reached new heights in his laziness and farcical pride. Eating the seed potatoes, really put his family in danger of starvation. But again we get the cruel twist of fate, which strikes him dead when he (and we) least expect it, still full of his ridiculous grand plans.
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Putting Alec in peasant clothes seems like a mockery of Tess’s class. There are other flashbacks: the smoky atmosphere reminiscent of the Trantridge dance so long ago, and Tess being reminded of that regretfully, as she passed the place earlier in this chapter. It makes us think how different her life is now; another poignant contrast.
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The second sudden tragedy is Tess’s father’s death, which is compounded by their impending eviction. And right at the end, Thomas Hardy again brings up the idea that perhaps Tess is being punished for the sins of her cruel ancestors, although he knows how unfair this seems.
Your reactions?
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The unexpectedness of his presence, the grotesqueness of his appearance in a gathered smock-frock such as was now worn only by the most old-fashioned of the labourers, had a ghastly comicality that chilled her as to its bearing. D’Urberville emitted a low, long laugh.” - Hubert Von Herkomer - “The Graphic” 5th December 1891..."
What a wonderful illustration, Jean. Thank you for including it in your summary. It's quite sinister looking, isn't it? It's shows how scared Tess is when Alec appears so unexpectedly. I only wish instead of shovels, the artist had drawn pitchforks. I really loved Hardy's description of them in this chapter: "he dug so close to her that the fire-beams were reflected as distinctly from the steel prongs of his fork". It reminds me of the Devil's Pitchfork.
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I had forgotten that Satan (as the serpent) is at first stunned by Eve's beauty and innocence, so much so that he dwells in a space of being "good"
Her graceful innocence, her every air
Of gesture or least action overawed
His malice . . .
That space the evil one abstracted stood
From his own evil, and for the time remained
Stupidly good, of enmity disarmed
But that goodness does not last long, as Satan is deep down filled with hate, not love. Moreover, he is tortured now by the beauty he sees that will never be his:
But the hot Hell that always in him burns,
Though in mid Heaven, soon ended his delight,
And tortures him now more, the more he sees
Of pleasure not for him ordained
Isn't this very similar to how Alec feels about Tess? Surely there are plenty of beautiful maidens he could have, but he wants the one he could never get. Perhaps he is motivated more by hate than by love. Tess may not think of Alec as "Satan", and I agree with everyone that Alec is a complex character, but Hardy is giving us many reasons to see him as a serpent, especially in this chapter.
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Yes! Bridget - I'm sure you're on the right track here! Thank you so much for searching this out, and sharing it with us :)
Another interesting thing is, why does Alec recite this to Tess? He must know that she would not understand it, so is it that he is confessing to himself, but in a safe way?
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Old Lady-Day arrives, and everyone is changing farm locations. The Durbeyfields, though slightly above the peasant class, are now thought not entitled to their cottage on the death of John Durbeyfield, and because they don’t directly work their land. The village also disapproves of the household’s shiftlessness, drunkenness, and Tess’s scandalous past, so no one will help them after being evicted.
The night before they depart, Tess is home alone, feeling guilty for her part in the family’s situation. Some villagers had recently shamed her mother for “harbouring” her, and she wishes she had never come back. She is so absorbed that she doesn’t notice Alec d’Urberville ride up until he raps at the window.
Tess says she thought he was a carriage passing by, and Alec tells her the story of the d’Urberville coach. Some past d’Urberville supposedly kidnapped a beautiful woman in his coach, and as she was trying to escape he accidentally killed her, or else she killed him. Since then it is a bad omen if a d’Urberville hears a phantom coach.
Tess tells him that her family is being thrown out because she is not a “proper woman” and Alec is enraged at the villagers. Tess says they are going to Kingsbere [Bere Regis] where the d’Urberville tombs lay, and Alec suggests that they could stay at his estate instead. He says he will clean the house and expect their coming, as he owes her for the past and also for curing him of his ”craze”. Her mother can keep the chickens and the children can go to school. Tess says she has money if she asks for it from her father-in-law, but Alec knows she will never ask. As he rides off, he passes the man who paints Bible quotations, and swears at him.
Tess suddenly feels the injustice of her situation, and realises how harsh Angel has been to her. She has never intended to do wrong, and yet she has been condemned so many times for sins that were not her own. She writes a sudden, passionate letter to Angel, lamenting how badly he has treated her. She says she can never forgive him for his cruel and unjust actions, and that she will try to forget him. Tess hurriedly gives it to the postman to be delivered.
The six younger children gather round, and Tess reminds them that this is their last night at home. They sing a depressing hymn they learned at Sunday School, about the harsh world, and their hope for a better heaven. Tess wishes she could believe the words of the hymn, but to her life has been nothing but an ordeal, and no afterlife could undo her suffering.
Her mother returns, thinking that a gentleman has been by because of the tracks. She asks if it was Tess’s husband, but Tess says he will never return. For the first time Tess begins to feel that Alec is more truly her husband than Angel is.
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Alec finishes off telling the tale which Angel had begun to tell Tess on their wedding night. LINK HERE, and the post before to be reminded of the real Turberville family it is based on.
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Tess would have already had a hard life based only on her family’s faults. The community’s judgment of her troubles adds to the general feeling that Marlott would be better off without the Durbeyfields. People are so fickle …
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Tess begins to see things more clearly, in her sadness. Her final thoughts here reflect Thomas Hardy’s own perspective on the unfairness of fate, society, and Angel Clare (at last!) But what lies in store for her?
Your thoughts? The derivation of the poetry quotation too, perhaps?
Bionic Jean wrote: "Bridget wrote: "Surely there are plenty of beautiful maidens he could have, but he wants the one he could never get ..."Yes! Bridget - I'm sure you're on the right track here! Thank you so much f..."
An interesting chapter 50, Jean and Bridget. Somehow, I forgot to read it yesterday and have just finished it. What a twist this chapter gives us as Tess is again faced by Alec, who refuses to understand Tess's view of their relationship — and yes, he seems to be hitting her rather underhanded by bringing up the now fatherless children. I feel sure that Tess will be feeling obligated to take on the responsibility of chief breadwinner — somehow I don't see her mother stepping up to that position.
But in chapter 51, we see that despite all that Tess does, Alec is being steadfast in taking care of her family, even if Tess doesn't participate. I can totally see that at this low point in her life, Tess begins to see what Alec offers, and while she fights against it, she strikes out against Angel who has seemingly done nothing to aid or forgive her.
I too was truly surprised at the attitude of the villagers but then, they may be tired of the Durbeyfields/D'Urbervilles 'uppityness' as exhibited by Tess' late father. He really didn't show a lick of commonsense about how little anyone, other than himself and his wife, gave to what is now ancient history. Indeed, the villagers probably used Tess' status as the last nail in the coffin of this family. They didn't seem to be contributing to the village, nor were they really taking care of themselves.
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Good point! I imagine he was unbearable as well as lazy!
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The Durbeyfields have to hire a wagon to move themselves out. Tess is at least glad that it is not raining. They load up their few possession on the ancient cart and ride on top of their belongings, their clock striking at every bump in the road. A few neighbours say goodbye, but they all expect the family to come to no good.
They meet other moving wagons on the road, and Tess sees Marian and Izz among them. They have fled Flintcomb-Ash as it had been too rough a life for them, and they warn her that the gentlemen who follow her is looking for her. Tess says he found her, and they ask about her husband.
The family reaches Kingsbere very late, and are met by a man saying the rooms that they rented are not available any more.
"You be the woman they call Mrs. Durbeyfield, I reckon?' he said to Tess's mother, who had remounted ..." - D. A. Wehrschmidt - "The Graphic" - 12th December 1891
Tess’s mother is upset at such an ignominious entrance to Tess’s ancestral land, but pushes on into the town. There are no rooms anywhere and the wagon they rented has to leave because the horses are exhausted, so Mrs. Durbeyfield recklessly asks the driver to unload their things next to the church.
Tess looks sadly at the familiar pile of belongings. They set up the old four-poster bed outside, next to the part of the church called the d’Urberville Aisle, beneath which the huge vaults of the d’Urberville family lie. The stained glass windows are marked with emblems like those on the family’s seal and spoon. Tess's mother and Liza-Lu go looking for food and encounter Alec d’Urberville on horseback, who asks after Tess. “Personally Joan had no liking for Alec”, but she reluctantly pointed to where Tess is.
Tess meanwhile enters the church and walks among her family’s tombs. Everything about them is ancient and broken, a reminder of their extinction. Suddenly one of the effigies moves, and she almost faints before she realises it is Alec d’Urberville.
Alec apologises for interrupting her reunion, and stamps ironically on the vaults. He says he, the fake d’Urberville, can do more to help her than all these dead knights and famous ancestors. He leaves, and Tess wishes she were on the other side of the vault door, dead.
Meanwhile Izz and Marian ride on, talking of Tess, Angel, and Alec. They are worried that Tess will succumb to Alec if Angel does not return, and they want to help her. A month later they hear of Angel’s approaching return, and so write a letter to him asking that he save his wife from the enemy that is near to her, as even a diamond can be worn down eventually. They send it to the vicarage and afterwards they feel both generous, but very agitated.
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Bere Regis is Thomas Hardy's "Kingsbere". Kingsbere was the town which Tess's ancestors came from. As mentioned before, Thomas Hardy based the d'Urbervilles on the Turbervilles who have several damaged tombs and coats of arms in stained glass in Bere Regis church. Now Tess and her family are destitute they have come to Kingsbere and used the church for shelter until they hopefully find a new home.
Bere Regis Church
One of the Turbeville tombs in the south aisle of Bere Regis church. The damaged nature of the tomb and the "sand martin" holes can be clearly seen.
"The Turbeville Window Bere Regis Church
The stained glass window in the south aisle of the church contains coats of arms of many of the Turbeville dynasty as well as a few of other wealthy local families such as Drax.
Here's the wiki page for Bere Regis, with a map https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bere_Regis
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1. Tess’s ancestors once owned this town, but now they can’t even find a room.
2. The useless seal and spoon are finally reunited with the useless d’Urberville tombs. The family legacy has left Tess nothing but bad omens and a painful destiny, and possibly punishment for their ancient sins.
3. There’s more heavy symbolism, as Alec lies satirically atop a tomb, pretending to be a d’Urberville - just as his father did in buying the name.
This part with Alec reminded me of the short horror story Man-Size in Marble written by E. Nesbit in 1886 - just 5 years earlier! I wonder if Thomas Hardy had read it.
It makes us so aware of the contrast between the grandiose but worthless tombs, and the false d’Urberville who has real wealth. English society has changed, and the old families are dead and buried.
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On the other hand, it was interesting that the work-people all move on Lady-Day too - and set off at midnight. So perhaps it wasn’t so unlikely that Tess’s family would pass by Izz and Marian.
It was generous - again - of the dairymaids, writing a pleading letter to Angel Clare on Tess’s behalf. It must surely have reawakened their own passions!
In terms of the writing, I found it was interesting that Thomas Hardy diverts us away from Tess at this point, when we really want to know what she is thinking and what might happen. He is a master of the cliffhanger! But no good has come to the Durbeyfields so far, especially considering their lofty past, so I’m not sure there is any reason to hope that things will get better in a new town. What do you think?
***PLEASE NOTE that this is the end of Phase 6, and the next chapter will begin a new, final thread. Chapter 53 will be posted on TUESDAY.
There have been so many points in the book where we have thought that things couldn't get much worse for Tess....but inevitably they do. She is now effectively the guardian for all her siblings (as her mother is more or less useless) and they have no shelter, no food and no money.Her choices are either the devil or the deep blue sea....and we already know who represents the devil!
As Jean highlights, how ironic that the family take shelter at the ancient family tomb. The ancient D'Urbevilles and the current ones - both the very remote and the fake versions are all reunited. How those ancient ancestors would be turning in those graves to know how far their once mighty name had fallen.
Thank you for the photos and research on the church and name Jean. Interesting that Hardy borrowed the name in such an obvious way!
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Yes, I never realised that either until I started to research for our read! Now I want to revisit all the places in this novel :)
Sorry to have been absent for a few chapters; had some health issues to take care of but I’ve been following everyone’s comments.Some general thoughts about what has been taking place as we complete Phase the Sixth --
It seems to me that even though he attributes much of Tess’s misfortune to a cruel Fate, Hardy must have also been a deeply disillusioned man regarding the pernicious nature and hypocritical behavior of the society in which he found himself living:
- He points to the neighbors who criticize Joan Durbeyfield for “harboring” Tess, an undesirable person who they see as bringing disrepute on the village.
- He observes that far from the machines serving the workers, it is the workers who must act in ways that serve the needs of the machines.
- The laws are such that despite having lived all their lives in their humble cottage (and used over half of Tess’s money to maintain it) when John dies, the Durbeyfields have no right to occupy their home and are summarily turfed out.
- And of course, most irrationally, the entirely blameless Tess is punished at every turn by the deliberate actions of people, quite apart from any random misfortune.
While Fate may be pulling many strings, there’s an even more compelling theme at work: Injustice.
I wonder if Hardy’s own fate was to have suffered disillusionment, having lived long enough to see the darker side of the late 19th century. It seems to me that writers such as George Eliot, Charlotte Bronté and Charles Dickens, all of them born some 20 or so years earlier than Hardy and dying much sooner, were able to retain more optimism, even humor, permitting their protagonists to recover from the misfortunes that befell them and rise above injustice.
These are excellent observations, Jim. I think that whilst the author is piling misfortune upon misfortune on Tess, and now her family, to highlight the inequality of society and the helplessness of the exploited to bring about change, there persists the idea of ‘the blighted star’, ie fate, in the minds of the peasantry, including Tess.
Her consideration that she may be better off being on the other side of the door to the d’Urberville vault, suggests that she adheres to the superstitious/religious notion of a better life post-death, to escape the cruelties of the cards dealt to her by fate. We can see clearly that it is the (respectively) arrogant, abusive and hypocritical behaviours of her father, Alec, and Clare that have brought her to her current situation rather than pre-ordained fate.
I hope that you’re recovering from your illness.
Although Hardy doesn't suggest it overtly, I was suspicious when I read that the lodging that the family had reserved had been given to someone else. Could that have been Alec's doing? Is he trying to make Tess so desperate that she has to take him up on his offers of assistance? Also, he could be perfectly sincere in his offers, but the fact remains that Tess is technically a married woman, and so Alec doesn't need to worry about being forced to marry her himself and could discard her at any time.The Victorian practice of renting and starting employment contracts on certain days of the year makes sense in an agrarian village, but it caused chaos on any larger scale.
I thought the same, Erich, that Alec had something to do with their lodgings no longer being available.
@ Jean and #1: What rich context and such evocative images now enhance this section for me. I'm intrigued by Hardy's keen observations of the world surrounding him. A bit curious to know what he would think of our world today, I'm also a bit reluctant because we may not have evolved much beyond what he criticized so long ago. Thank you for posting these! On to the rest of the posts I now go. . . . .
Jan
Bionic Jean wrote: "
About the cover picture: the real “Tess” and ”The Hardy Players”
At the beginning of the Phase the Fourth thread, there is a photograph of Gertrude Bugler, Thomas Hardy’s inspir..."
@ Jean, #37, "The Cerne Abbas Giant" Bionic Jean wrote: "
The Cerne Abbas Giant:
I am struck over and again by how Tess intuits larger lessons and how the human condition plays out in her life. Looking upon this just before Alec comes, she pays attention in ways similar to how she looks at the world around her. I like that Hardy has made her introspective and keen.
This image is fascinating, and I appreciate all you revealed about its history and popular lore. At least for me, this and similar scenes moved me from a "tour" to the deeper symbolism and timelessness.
Jan
“and as the evening light in the direction of the Giant’s Hill by Abbot’s-Cernel dissolved away, the white-faced moon of the season arose from the horizon that lay towar..."
Bionic Jean wrote: "Don’t you think this stranger is like a stand-in for Thomas Hardy himself? He tells it straight to Angel about how unfair he has been, and complains about how foolishly stifling the ..."Yes, it makes sense that this stranger represents Hardy. I know many will argue that each and every character will serve as "puzzle pieces" for the entire perspective, but the stranger is able to speak directly. Instead of Hardy having to set aside entire sections starting with "Gentle reader," he can present viewpoints through a chosen character appearing during critical moments or "after-moments" which enlighten us readers.
Did I mention I'm enjoying all of these posts and conversations? My schedule increasingly allows for weekend-reading only, so returning here makes the experience all the richer because of in-depth lessons and thoughtful conversations.
Wow, Love the observations about this chapter! I thought it was especially meaningful that Tess and her family stop at the church for shelter after finding that the house they had contracted for had been let (and I join everyone else in thinking that it is Alec's doing). Mainly because no matter how prestigious the family name was, life is always so fragile and there is nothing that is permanent.I imagine that Tess will eventually succumb to Alec's entreaties, if for no other reason to save her family but I'm not liking it. It feels very forced as her options, such as they were to begin with, seem to shrink.
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Like, Jean, I found the chapter very gothic. It was so creepy that Alex was atop one of the tombs, once again spying on Tess. I was most scared of him when he whispered to her that she WILL be civil. Such a small act, but so threatening.
And how about Joan Durbeyfield making Tess feel guilty by saying she’s “playing” at being married and that’s why they are in this situation. Joan has made so many of her own mistakes that are not the fault of her daughter. How about taking responsibility for that Ms Joan!
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Jan - I'm glad you're enjoying the read, even if your time is limited.
Jim - It's so good to have you back; your comments are always insightful. And I hope you continue in good health :)
Works of Thomas Hardy
Books mentioned in this topic
Man-Size in Marble (other topics)Paradise Lost (other topics)
The Woodlanders (other topics)
The Return of the Native (other topics)
Tess of the D’Urbervilles (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Thomas Hardy (other topics)Thomas Hardy (other topics)
Thomas Hardy (other topics)
Thomas Hardy (other topics)
E. Nesbit (other topics)
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Angel is the Christ who has given her rebirth: Has Hardy painted himself into a corner with Tess? Does being a "pure woman" mean that she must literally worship a man/savior?