Themes

Fate and Chance

The characters in Hardy's novel of seduction, abandonment, and murder appear to be under the control of a force
greater than they. Marlott is Tess's home and, as the name of the town implies, her lot in life appears be marred
or damaged. As the novel opens, Tess's father, John Durbeyfield, learns that he is the last remaining member of
the once illustrious d'Urberville family. The parson who tells him admits he had previously "resolved not to
disturb [Durbeyfield] with such a useless piece of information," but he is unable to control his "impulses." This
event, which...

Three main settings (and one-sentence description of each)

Marlott - This is Tess’ home town where she grew up and returned to after the incident at the d’Urbervilles.
Alec d’Urberville’s house - Tess went to stay at this house after their family fell in need and sought help from
the supposed relatives.
Talbothays - Trying to find a new life, Tess came here and met Angel whom she fell in love with and married
despite competition from three other girls.
Two symbols and references
The pillar with the hand print - This pillar symbolizes Tess’ guilt of adultery and murder. Alec says that it was
erected by the druid’s for some punishment, while others say it was a cross. Tess was arrested after sleeping by
it.
Tess’ baby - This baby symbolized Tess’ bad circumstances which was out of Tess’ control. It symbolizes
innocence in a sense since this baby was innocent having done nothing wrong, but it was punished by society for
coming from such an evil act. Having been raped, Tess was also innocent of the crime, but she was still punished
and pushed aside by society.
Two or three sentences on style
Hardy’s writing style is simple but wordy. His sentence structures are not long or very complicated, but the
complexity in his work comes from the way he uses several sentences. For example, he uses a lot of imagery and
describes the scenery in great detail. While each individual sentence may not be difficult to understand, it is the
way the various sentences fit together to form a whole picture which separates him from other authors.
Narrator
Tess of the d'Urbervilles tells the story of a girl who is seduced and has a child who dies. When she meets
another man whom she wants to marry, she is unable to tell him about her past until after their wedding. Her
husband abandons her, and Tess is driven by despair into the arms of her former seducer. When her husband
returns, Tess kills the man she is living with. Hardy uses a third-person ("he/she") narrator with an omniscient
(all-knowing) point of view to tell Tess's story. Thus the narrator not only describes the characters but can reveal
their...

One or two sentences on dominant philosophy

This book deals with the oppression of an innocent girl. Most of the consequences she faced were not
consequences of her own actions which makes this story somewhat of a tragedy in that sense giving the book a
mood that you can try to make for yourself a good life, but you do not determine your own outcome.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891) is generally regarded as Hardy's finest novel. A brilliant tale of seduction, love,
betrayal, and murder, Tess of the d'Ubervilles yields to narrative convention by punishing Tess's sin, but boldly
exposes this standard denouement of unforgiving morality as cruelly unjust. Throughout, Hardy's most lyrical
and atmospheric language frames his shattering narrative.
The novel centers around a young woman who struggles to find her place in society. When it is discovered that
the low-class Durbeyfield family is in reality the d'Urbervilles, the last of a famous bloodline that dates back
hundreds of years, the mother sends her eldest daughter, Tess, to beg money from relations with the obvious
desire that Tess wed the rich Mr. d'Urberville. Thus begins a tale of woe in which a wealthy man cruelly
mistreats a poor girl. Tess is taken advantage of by Mr. d'Urberville and leaves his house, returning home to have
their child, who subsequently dies. Throughout the rest of this fascinating novel, Tess is tormented by guilt at the
thought of her impurity and vows to never marry. She is tested when she meets Angel, the clever son of a priest,
and falls in love with him. After days of pleading, Tess gives in to Angel and consents to marry him. Angel
deserts Tess when he finds the innocent country girl he fell in love with is not so pure.

Early critics attacked Hardy for the novel's subtitle, "A Pure Woman," arguing that Tess could not possibly be
considered pure. They also denounced his frank—for the time—depiction of sex, criticism of organized religion,
and dark pessimism. Today, the novel is praised as a courageous call for righting many of the ills Hardy found in
Victorian society and as a link between the late-Victorian literature of the end of the nineteenth century and that
of the modern era.
The subtitle to the novel, "A Pure Woman" emphasizes her purity, but critics debate whether a woman who is
seduced by one man, marries another one who abandons her, and then kills the first, could be considered "pure."

• Validity of Tess as a Pessimistic work

Essay explores that while some criticisms of Hardy's novel are justified, the view of Tess as a
pessimistic work is not really valid.
• Accident and Coincidence in Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Essay examining the ways that Tess's fate mirrors the destruction of the agricultural class in England.
The plot of Tess of the d'Urbervilles turns on a succession of accidents and coincidences. Again and again Tess's
tragic fate depends on some disastrous mischance. One or two of these may seem possible—after all is full of
mischance—but heaped on top of each other they produce a final effect of gross improbability. Does this matter?
Are we to see them as blemishes on an otherwise fine novel; or are they such a pervasive part of it that they must
either condemn it or form part of its success

• Repetition as Imminent Design

In the following excerpt Miller discusses interpretations of the novel, focusing on its repetitive
structure.
The episodes of Tess of the d'Urbervilles take place in a line, each following the last. Ultimately they form a row
traced out in time, just as Tess's course is traced across the roads of southern England. Each episode in Tess's
life, as it occurs, adds itself to previous ones, and, as they accumulate, behold, they make a pattern. They make a
design traced through time and on the landscape of England, like the prehistoric horses carved out on the chalk
downs. Suddenly, to the retrospective eye of the narrator, of the reader, and ultimately even of the protagonist
herself, the pattern..