Tess of the D'Urbervilles

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Author:

Thomas Hardy

Published:

1891

Setting:

Major Characters:

Minor Characters:

Joan: Tess' mother, superstitious, more concerned about family status than Tess
John/Jack: Tess' father, drunk, poor, proud, lazy
Izz, Marian, Retty: dairy maids who work with Tess and also love Angel, they accept the fact that he loves Tess only

Themes:

Society is judgmental.
Society incorrectly imposes its own laws as if they were Nature's and innocence is harmed through it.
Fate is inexorable.
Society has a double standard for men and women.
No religion is better than a religion without sensitivity.
The world is complicated and unpredictable.
The poor can try to rise, but they are thrust down by society.

Symbols:

Tess: innocence, nature, purity, agriculture being taken over by industry
Alec vs. Angel
Baby Sorrow: rape (reason Tess is ambivalent towards Sorrow)
Red: death, passion, evil
White: purity, innocence, youth
Green: lush, fertile
D'Urberville mansion: out of place with old forest

Allusions:

Bible: Ahobah and Aholibah: child should not be punished for parents' sins,
Angel calls Tess Artemis and Demeter: goddesses of fertility and agriculture,
Angel to Tess: three Leahs to get one Rachel

Ironies:

Angel says she should have told him about the rape before the marriage, but she tried.
Alec is a Stoke, not a D'Urberville.
Tess judged Angel's parents by his brothers.
Her boots are taken by his brothers.
Tess' beauty only bring her sorrow (or Sorrow...get it??).

Point of View:

Third person limited omniscient, narrative, editorial-author expresses his ideas

Ending:

After Angel rejects Tess, Alec comes back and forces Tess to become his mistress. Angel returns from Brazil to find that "it's too late". Tess kills Alec for lying about Angel not returning. Tess and Angel run, but they are captured at Stonehedge. Tess is executed and Angel marries her sister, Liza-Lu, like she wanted.

Other Important Notes:

Subtitle: A Pure Woman. The book is unified by Tess's travels and growths in life. 7 Phases-something dramatic and fateful happens at the end of each phase that pushes the story. Sorrow is often referred to as an "it". D'Urberville coach legend-only D'Urbervilles can hear it and someone was killed.

Brief Summary:

The parson tells John that he is a D'Urberville. Tess goes to Tantridge and is raped by Alec. She gives birth to Sorrow who dies. She goes to Talbothay's and falls in love with Angel. They are married and then he finds out about the rape, so he leaves her and goes to Brazil. Tess goes to Flintcombe-Ash and eventually becomes Alec's mistress. Angel comes back for Tess. Tess kills Alec and ends up being executed for it.

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