The movie is based on a novel by Thomas Hardy, but Polanski never permits his film to become a Classics

Illustrated; this isn't a devout rendering of a literary masterpiece, but a film that lives and breathes and
has a quick sympathy for its heroine. Nastassja Kinski is just right for the title role. She has the youth, the
freshness, and the naiveté of a Tess, and none of the practiced mannerisms of an actress engaged to
"interpret" the role. That's good because Tess is a character who should stick out like a sore thumb in
many scenes, and Kinski's occasional shy awkwardness is just right for the story of a girl who attempts to
move up in social class on sheer bravado.

The story involves a young girl who will be the victim, the prey, and sometimes the lover of
many men, without ever quite understanding what it is that those men want of her. The first man
in her life is her father, a drunken farmer named John Durbeyfield, who discovers from the local
parson that he is related to the noble local family of d'Urbervilles. The farmer and his wife
immediately send their beautiful daughter, Tess, off to confront the d'Urbervilles and perhaps
win a position in their household.

Tess is almost immediately seduced by a rakish cousin. She becomes pregnant, and her child dies
soon after it is born. She never tells the cousin. But later, after she falls in love with the son of a
local minister and marries him, she confesses her past. This is too much for her new husband to
bear; he "married down" because he was attracted to Tess's humble origins. But he is not
prepared to accept the reality of her past. He leaves on a bizarre mission to South America. Tess,
meanwhile, descends to rough manual labor for a few pennies an hour. She is eventually reunited
with her cousin (who is not a complete bastard, and complains that he should have been
informed of her pregnancy). She becomes his lover. Then the wayward husband returns, and the
physical and psychic contest for Tess ends in tragedy.

As a plot, these events would be right at home in any soap opera. But what happens in Polanski's "Tess"
is less important than how Tess feels about it, how we feel about it, and how successfully Polanski is
able to locate those events in a specific place and time. His movie is set in England, but was actually
photographed in France. It is a beautifully visualized period piece that surrounds Tess with the attitudes
of her time -- attitudes that explain how restricted her behavior must be, and how society views her
genuine human emotions as inappropriate. This is a wonderful film; the kind of exploration of doomed
young sexuality that, like "Elvira Madigan," makes us agree that the lovers should never grow old.

Roman Polanski's film Tess, (1979) adaptation of Thomas Hardy famous novel of the 19th century "Tess
of the D'Urbervilles" , won many prestigious awards, including three Oscars of six nominations and every
award for Best Cinematography it was nominated for. If any film deserves recognition for its beautiful,
lyrical, sensual yet melancholic and poetic visual presentation, "Tess" is it. The movie might be Roman
Polanski's finest achievement, and this statement comes from a viewer who is in love with all Polanski's
films starting with his debut "Knife in the Water". "Tess" is one of the best adaptations of the classic
novel I've seen and it lives, breathes and moves freely. It never rushes to tell its long story but tells it
with rare finesse, compassion, and love for the heroine, a gentle creature who had been insulted,
humiliated, and ultimately destroyed.
The success of the movie starts with the choice of the actress for the title role. Tess as played by 20
years old Nasstassia Kisnki is beautiful, sensual, shy and full of life and hope for love. The life of Tess
unfolds in front of us from her teenage years as an innocent country girl until the powerfully tragic final
scene at the magnificent Stonehenge. The film is almost three hours long but I never was bored, on the
contrary, I felt compassion for the girl and anger toward the men that used and corrupted her, ruined
her hopes for love and happiness, and toward the society that mercifully discarded of her. Tess is one of
the best movies I've seen. It is stunning, subtle, emotional, tragic, and unforgettable.

Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891) has been adapted for the screen by
Roman Polanski, Gerard Brach, and John Brownjohn. It is an eye-inveigling film filled with
gorgeous landscapes and memorable rural scenery. In fact, the earth over which the young
heroine toils and on which she acts out her fate is a major character in the story. In Hardy's vision
of reality, nature is a silent witness to the drudgery, loneliness, and loss of those defeated by
forces beyond their comprehension or control.

In the opening scene, John Durbeyfield, a poor farmer, is told by a parson that he is a descendent
of one of the most prestigious families in England. His beautiful young daughter Tess is sent to
visit the last of the rich d'Urbervilles who live in sumptuous wealth on a palatial country estate.
Alec, the nephew of the blind mistress of the manor, offers Tess a job and eventually seduces
her. She leaves in shame, returning home to bear a child who dies in infancy.

While working at a dairy, Tess falls in love with Angel Clare, a preacher's son. Just before their
marriage, she writes him a letter telling of her past. But, by accident, she slips the missive under
the rug by his door and he doesn't see it. After they are wed, Angel tells Tess of an affair he had
once; she recounts her sad story and he is shattered. Angel abandons his wife and goes off to
Brazil.

Tess becomes an itinerant farm laborer and suffers in silence. Following the death of her father,
she again finds employment with Alec and settles down with him in exchange for his support of
her family. Angel returns with a repentant heart and wants her back. Tess murders Alec and flees
with her husband. After wandering aimlessly, they wind up at Stonehenge. She sleeps on the
stones of the heathen temple and in the morning awakens to find the police have arrived.

Polanski's best film to date boasts three fine performances: Natassia Kinski as the attractive and
wronged Tess; Leigh Lawson as Alec, the man obsessed with her beauty and his need to possess
her; and Peter Firth as Angel Claire, Tess's confused husband who, though lacking in
compassion and understanding, is capable of love after a period of suffering.

While acknowledging the visual allure of Tess and the notable performances, one has to admit
that it is the story's rich thematic material that makes it so interesting. According to critic
Northrop Frye, Hardy's philosophy vividly presents "a world of the nightmare and the scapegoat,
of bondage, pain and confusion." Love is portrayed in the novel as "a fierce destructive passion
that works against loyalty or frustrates the one who possesses it." Polanski's screen version of
Hardy's novel conveys this bleak determinism which makes Tess's life a miasma of undeserved
anguish and unhappiness. Other themes worth considering are the sexual double standard, the
speciousness of class consciousness, and the nefariousness of religious legalism. While some
literary devotees may carp that Tess is not a totally accurate rendering of the book, no one can
argue that Polanski has not been faithful to the manifold themes of the story.

Roman Polanski’s version, from 1980, of Thomas Hardy’s “Tess of the D’Urbervilles” is
textured and smooth and even, with lateral compositions subtly flowing into each other; the
sequences are beautifully structured, and the craftsmanship is hypnotic. But the picture is tame.
There’s a visual turmoil in Hardy when he describes the Wessex countryside; Polanski’s
tastefully cropped compositions and unvaried pacing make nature proper. For a reader, the shock
of the 1891 book is that Tess isn’t simply a woman at the mercy of men, society, and nature;
she’s also at the mercy of her own passions. Polanski’s Tess (the lovely young Nastassia Kinski,
seventeen when she played the role) is strictly a victim of men and social conventions. The film
takes a sympathetic, feminist position toward her—in a narrow and demeaning sense. She isn’t a
protagonist; she is merely a hapless, frail creature, buffeted by circumstances. And Kinski—a
soft, European gamine—isn’t rooted in the earth of England or any other country; she’s a
hothouse flower, who manages the West Country sounds in a small, uninflected schoolgirl voice.
She’s affecting and sensitive, but she’s in the wrong movie. With fine performances by Leigh
Lawson, as Alec, and by Peter Firth, as Angel Clare, and amazingly sharp, clear performances by
John Collin, as the drunken Durbeyfield, Tony Church, as Parson Tringham, and by just about
everyone else in the supporting cast.

— Pauline Kael

 Tess Durbeyfield

The novel’s protagonist. Tess is a beautiful, loyal young woman living with her impoverished
family in the village of Marlott. Tess has a keen sense of responsibility and is committed to
doing the best she can for her family, although her inexperience and lack of wise parenting leave
her extremely vulnerable. Her life is complicated when her father discovers a link to the noble
line of the d’Urbervilles, and, as a result, Tess is sent to work at the d’Urberville mansion.
Unfortunately, her ideals cannot prevent her from sliding further and further into misfortune after
she becomes pregnant by Alec d’Urberville. The terrible irony is that Tess and her family are not
really related to this branch of the d’Urbervilles at all: Alec’s father, a merchant named Simon
Stokes, simply assumed the name after he retired.

Read an in-depth analysis of Tess Durbeyfield.

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 Angel Clare

An intelligent young man who has decided to become a farmer to preserve his intellectual
freedom from the pressures of city life. Angel’s father and his two brothers are respected
clergymen, but Angel’s religious doubts have kept him from joining the ministry. He meets Tess
when she is a milkmaid at the Talbothays Dairy and quickly falls in love with her.

Read an in-depth analysis of Angel Clare.

 Alec d’Urberville

The handsome, amoral son of a wealthy merchant named Simon Stokes. Alec is not really a
d’Urberville—his father simply took on the name of the ancient noble family after he built his
mansion and retired. Alec is a manipulative, sinister young man who does everything he can to
seduce the inexperienced Tess when she comes to work for his family. When he finally has his
way with her, out in the woods, he subsequently tries to help her but is unable to make her love
him.

Read an in-depth analysis of Alec d’Urberville.

 Mr. John Durbeyfield

Tess’s father, a lazy peddler in Marlott. John is naturally quick, but he hates work. When he
learns that he descends from the noble line of the d’Urbervilles, he is quick to make an attempt to
profit from the connection.

 Mrs. Joan Durbeyfield

Tess’s mother. Joan has a strong sense of propriety and very particular hopes for Tess’s life. She
is continually disappointed and hurt by the way in which her daughter’s life actually proceeds.
But she is also somewhat simpleminded and naturally forgiving, and she is unable to remain
angry with Tess—particularly once Tess becomes her primary means of support.

 Mrs. d’Urberville

Alec’s mother, and the widow of Simon Stokes. Mrs. d’Urberville is blind and often ill. She
cares deeply for her animals, but not for her maid Elizabeth, her son Alec, nor Tess when she
comes to work for her. In fact, she never sees Tess as anything more than an impoverished girl.
 Marian, Izz Huett, and Retty Priddle

Milkmaids whom Tess befriends at the Talbothays Dairy. Marian, Izz, and Retty remain close to
Tess throughout the rest of her life. They are all in love with Angel and are devastated when he
chooses Tess over them: Marian turns to drink, Retty attempts suicide, and Izz nearly runs off to
Brazil with Angel when he leaves Tess. Nevertheless, they remain helpful to Tess. Marian helps
her find a job at a farm called Flintcomb-Ash, and Marian and Izz write Angel a plaintive letter
encouraging him to give Tess another chance.

 Reverend Clare

Angel’s father, a somewhat intractable but principled clergyman in the town of Emminster. Mr.
Clare considers it his duty to convert the populace. One of his most difficult cases proves to be
none other than Alec d’Urberville.

 Mrs. Clare

Angel’s mother, a loving but snobbish woman who places great stock in social class. Mrs. Clare
wants Angel to marry a suitable woman, meaning a woman with the proper social, financial, and
religious background. Mrs. Clare initially looks down on Tess as a “simple” and impoverished
girl, but later grows to appreciate her.

 Reverend Felix Clare

Angel’s brother, a village curate.

 Reverend Cuthbert

Clare Angel’s brother, a classical scholar and dean at Cambridge. Cuthbert, who can concentrate
only on university matters, marries Mercy Chant.

 Eliza Louisa Durbeyfield

Tess’s younger sister. Tess believes Liza-Lu has all of Tess’s own good qualities and none of her
bad ones, and she encourages Angel to look after and even marry Liza-Lu after Tess dies.

 Sorrow

Tess’s son with Alec d’Urberville. Sorrow dies in his early infancy, after Tess christens him
herself. She later buries him herself as well, and decorates his grave.

 Mercy Chant

The daughter of a friend of the Reverend Clare. Mr. Clare hopes Angel will marry Mercy, but
after Angel marries Tess, Mercy becomes engaged to his brother Cuthbert instead.
Alex character in film TESS

An insouciant twenty-four-year-old man, heir to a fortune, and bearer of a name that his father
purchased, Alec is the nemesis and downfall of Tess’s life. His first name, Alexander, suggests
the conqueror—as in Alexander the Great—who seizes what he wants regardless of moral
propriety. Yet he is more slippery than a grand conqueror. His full last name, Stoke-d’Urberville,
symbolizes the split character of his family, whose origins are simpler than their pretensions to
grandeur. After all, Stokes is a blunt and inelegant name. Indeed, the divided and duplicitous
character of Alec is evident to the very end of the novel, when he quickly abandons his
newfound Christian faith upon remeeting Tess. It is hard to believe Alec holds his religion, or
anything else, sincerely. His supposed conversion may only be a new role he is playing.

This duplicity of character is so intense in Alec, and its consequences for Tess so severe, that he
becomes diabolical. The first part of his surname conjures associations with fiery energies, as in
the stoking of a furnace or the flames of hell. His devilish associations are evident when he
wields a pitchfork while addressing Tess early in the novel, and when he seduces her as the
serpent in Genesis seduced Eve. Additionally, like the famous depiction of Satan in Milton’s
Paradise Lost, Alec does not try to hide his bad qualities. In fact, like Satan, he revels in them. In
Chapter XII, he bluntly tells Tess, “I suppose I am a bad fellow—a damn bad fellow. I was born
bad, and I have lived bad, and I shall die bad, in all probability.” There is frank acceptance in this
admission and no shame. Some readers feel Alec is too wicked to be believable, but, like Tess
herself, he represents a larger moral principle rather than a real individual man. Like Satan, Alec
symbolizes the base forces of life that drive a person away from moral perfection and greatness.

Sample questions

1. In what ways might knowledge of the social context in which Tess of the d'Urbervilles
was written and first published contribute to an understanding of the novel?

2. Discuss the ways in which Hardy uses the different locations of Tess of the d'Urbervilles
in order to emphasise the themes of the novel.

3. What might Angel recount in telling the story of his life and Tess's? How would this help
the reader to understand the themes of the novel?

4. Describe the narrative structure of Tess of the d'Urbervilles and discuss how it may affect
the reader's understanding of the novel.

5. To what extent is it useful to see the narrative of Tess of the d'Urbervilles in terms of a
quest or a pilgrimage?

6. Explore the relationship between Tess and the communities in which she lives. Would
you say she belongs to them?

7. Discuss the ways in which Hardy compares and contrasts Alec and Angel.
8. What are the causes of Tess's feelings of guilt and hesitation? How does Hardy present
them and their consequences?

9. How does Hardy show the relationship of Tess to her family?

10. Discuss Hardy's narrative method in terms of its silences, ambiguities and ironies.

11. ‘A male author can never fully expect to portray a woman as she really is.' Discuss this in
reference to Hardy's portrayal of Tess.

12. Explore the relationship between Tess, time and history.

13. In what ways does Hardy relate Tess to nature?

14. What patterns of time does Hardy reveal in Tess of the d'Urbervilles? To what extent are
such patterns harmful to Tess?

15. How do you respond to the view that the novel shows “the destruction of the English
peasantry”?