When we first meet Thomas Hardy’s heroine Tess, she is dressed in white, with a red ribbon in her

hair, engaged in ‘clubwalking’, an ancient fertility ritual or ‘Cerealia’, in which maidens of all kinds,
young and old, carry phallic peeled willow-wands to the green where they dance. Primordial
seasonal rituals tie Tess to the land and to classical myths both of chastity (Artemis) and of
abduction to Hades (Persephone). Tess’s ambiguous qualities, at once seductive and modest, echo
those of the Vale of Blackmoor, which is ‘fertile and sheltered’ (ch. 2). As her future husband Angel
Clare passes by, he notes that Tess combines childhood and womanliness, ‘large innocent eyes’
and a mobile, ‘pouted-up deep red mouth’ that resembles a peony. The ambiguities of Tess’s
situation at the outset – virginal yet about to be marketed by her mother, in order to save the family
from indigence – are captured by the effect of her gauzy dress and hairdo, which lend a ‘luxuriance
of aspect, a fulness of growth, which made her appear more of a woman than she really was’ (ch. 5).

Lewis B. Horne writes in his article The Darkening Sun of Tess Durbeyfield,
“From the movement of time, come the ironies of existence. Both accidents of
events and deficiencies of character, the two main causes of calamity in the
Wessex world, are subject to time.” (300). The meeting of light and time is
portrayed in the first meeting between our protagonists, Tess and Angel. Tess
is among the many girls in the May-Day walking. Angel is there with his
brothers, and does not notice Tess, the soon-to-be love of his life. As Angel
realizes that he has to go, Hardy writes “As he fell out of the dance his eyes
lighted on Tess Durbeyfield, whose own large orbs wore, to tell the truth, the
faintest aspect of reproach that he had not chosen her,” (10). From this, it can
be said that from the first moment they met, Angel had been Tess’s hope. His
eyes lighted her, and light can be seen as hope. Hardy also writes, “So strong
is Tess moved by Angel that she refuses to dance with any of the local
peasantry after he leaves… It was not till the rays of the sun had absorbed the
young strangers retreating figure on the hill that shook off her temporary
sadness and answered her would-be partner in the affirmative,” (10). The sun
is absorbed by Angel’s retreating figure. It seems as though her hopes of
Angel had been fleeting from the beginning. Once again, the irony of time has
reared its head, and prevented the two from actually meeting. This bad timing
plays such a huge role in their relationship. Horne writes, “Events occur too
late, characters fail to give support, or if aid is given, fail to provide it until the
time of need has passed,” (300). This encompasses their first meeting. Angel
had already done what he wanted. Therefore, he didn’t feel the need to stay
any longer, and Tess not having the courage to approach Angel doomed their
first meeting. The lights in each other’s eyes provided hope for both,
foreshadowing another meeting between our protagonists to come.

The relationship between Tess and Angel is the core of Tess of the D'Urbervilles. The beginnings
of their relationship are developed with great tact, such that a single kind act on the part of
Angel – that of “ranging the cows” - and some enterprise on the part of Tess – when she sneaks
into an ideal position to listen to Angel – provide the suitable conditions for their intimacy to
blossom. This brief paper shall attempt to provide a close reading of this blossoming.
There is a dissolution of the barriers that one might expect to exist between nature and
humanity in Chapter 16 of Tess and the D'Urbervilles. The cows “present” themselves in a
manner that suggests an autonomous decision; they appear to be agents rather than objects,
with minds of their own. This, coupled with the cow's predilection towards kicking over the
buckets when milked by the wrong person, ought to be read as Tess' narration, such that one
recognises a certain unwillingness on her part to be that 'wrong person'. When, shortly
afterwards, one is informed that there was a “curious correspondence” between the cows that
Tess wanted to milk there is intended to be a certain relief, not to mention the obvious
curiosity, with regards to the benevolence of Mr. Clare. Although briefly described, the
inference from a number of “ostensibly chance” pieces of fortune to Tess' conclusion that “[the
cow's] order could not be the result of accident” demonstrates both Tess' acuity and, more to
the point, demonstrates a willingness on the part of Angel to function as a quiet benefactor.
That such a function is not distasteful for Tess can be seen in her blushing as she confronts
Angel and that such a relationship will continue, in more or less a similar form, is implied by
Tess' fear that she had imputed that “his presence was a factor in her wish”. This post-hoc
analysis serves to suggest both that Tess continues to think about Angel and, furthermore, that
she wishes to communicate herself properly to him. 
That Tess proceeds to regret her conversation with Angel, going as far to escape into the
Garden, is a curious state of affairs. She describes it as a “disclosure”, which suggests a greater
secrecy regarding her feelings than even Tess recognises. It would appear that Tess sees herself
as having stumbled upon something private, and important, such that Angel's
“considerateness”, although a “discovery”, is nevertheless not to be shared.  This image of an
intimate secrecy is reinforced when Tess, shortly after her conversation with Angel, finds
herself hiding behind a hedge listening to Angel's playing. The “relative”, which “is all”, refers
not only to Angel's playing but also to the broader theme of Angel and Tess' relationship. Hardy
attempts to show that, at least for Angel and Tess, the absolute is not important, especially with
regards to axiological judgements, but rather that a certain relativity is the proper mood. Their
flirting, as a result, introduces a similarity of character – with both accepting the myriad defects
of the other – by way of demonstrating that they have similar focuses. Tess, for example, is
transfixed by Angel's playing in a manner that does not befit the objective standard of the
music. Furthermore, when one considers the effort required of her to properly position herself,
effort that leaves “blood-red stains”, it would seem that she feels a passion towards his music
that is not demanded by its merits and this is mirrored by Angel's passion for Tess, who is, after
all, “but a milkmaid”. 
Nevertheless, there is also a certain tentativeness on the part of Tess. Her “anger” at herself
regarding her “disclosure” should be read not only as a fear of a misrepresentation of self but
also as a fear, a fear of relationships that is most likely the result of Alec's past behaviour.
Indeed, the most substantial disclosure that Tess makes in this passage has nothing to do with
cows. Rather, she admits to Angel that she maintains certain “indoor fears”. These “indoor
fears”, and her admission of them, are, in many ways, similar to the cows regarding which she
felt a certain reservation. The stage is then set for Angel, in the much the same way that he
“ranged the cows”, to manage her fears and ensure that those fears remain both soluble and
tolerable. One must avoid suggesting too great an asymmetry between the two with regards to
these fears, though, since it presently becomes apparent that Angel suffers from a similar fears,
as well as having had a similarly curious life. Both Angel and Tess puzzle as to why and how the
other has developed an unhappiness, and perhaps a realism, about the world. Angel is
surprised that Tess lack's the naivete that he would expect of her, whereas Tess is surprised
that a man of such fine birth could ever dislike being alive. Again, Hardy demonstrates a
closeness in character between the two that belies the vast difference in their lives.  Although
brief, their flirtation, of which only a limited amount is discussed here, is coy – in that, while
there exists a tenderness between the two, neither character makes any real commitment to
the other – and yet personal – in that they both cultivate accurate and intimate understandings
of the other, and their relationship. Hardy's mastery is that, within the limited confines of a

handful of pages and a farm, he manages to lay the seeds of a relationship the germination of
which will be the focus of the rest of the novel.

The relationship between Alec and Tess can be depicted by the setting in
which Alec was giving Tess a ride in his carriage. The setting is described as
follows, “Down, down they sped, the wheels humming like a top, the dogcart
rocking right and left, its axis acquiring a slightly oblique set in relation to the
line of progress… Sometimes a wheel was off the ground,” (39). From the
scene it can be said that having Alec in her life, it has been out of control and
going downhill quickly. The man whom she wanted was nowhere near her,
and the man who wanted her was nowhere near whom she wanted, yet here
she was. It is unclear whether Tess was raped or seduced by Alec, but having
a child out of wedlock spelled bad news for Tess. Not only did her life spiral
downhill, but so did her mental status. She realized that she was damaged
goods, no longer available for men such as Angel. Time once again has
thwarted their desire to be with each other. Another scene in which the sun
seems to set the tone is the scene in which the two lovers confess the sins of
their past. Hardy writes, “the sun goes down; the fire goes out; the two lovers,
after each confesses of his wrongdoing, become ‘but the ashes of their former
fires,’” (185). The sun has gone down, which makes it seems that all hope is
gone from the fire that they had for each other. Also, there is one candle that
illuminates the room, but a candle is manmade, full of flaws, like man himself.
Horne brings up a very interesting point in relation to time, in which he writes,
“He affects her as the stars do; by fixing your mind upon a star, says Tess,
‘you will find that you are hundreds and hundreds of miles from your body,
which you don’t seem to want at all’… Like a star, Angel’s singing renders
Tess “conscious of neither time nor space.’” (303) having no conscience of
time or space is very irrational. That said, it seems that their relationship had
been very irrational and doomed from the start. She was of the lower class,
and Angel was of the upper class, but he decided he wants to be a farmer,
which seems irrational. Also, a man marrying below his social class was
unconventional at the time. This made this relationship very hard from
beginning to end. Even when they were together, they were to hide their
relationship, and when they no longer could, the whole thing seemed awkward
to everyone else.
The relationship between the sun, setting, and time is undeniable in Tess of
d’Urberville. There are many images in which the setting seems to set up the
consequence of the protagonist’s actions. The use of time depicts of things
that should have been, rather than the way they are. This novel by Hardy is
full of imagery and useful techniques that deliver a certain impact on the
reader. The events have shaped and controlled the lives of our protagonists.