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CHAPTER I

About the Author

Thomas Hardy was an English novelist, poet and a Victorian realist. Born on 2nd June 1840 and died on 11th January 1928. He was influenced by romanticism both in his poetry and novels. Also William Wordsworth and Charles dickens were another important influence. Like Charles dickens he was highly critical of much in Victorian society, though Hardy focused more on the declining rural society. Meanwhile Hardy wrote poetry throughout his life and regarded himself primarily as a poet. His first collection was not published until 1898. Initially, therefore he gained fame as an author of novels, including ‘Far From The Madding Crowd’ (1874), ‘The Mayor Of Caster bridge’ (1886), ‘Tess Of the d’Urbervilles’ (1891), and ‘Jude the Obscure’ (1885). Hardy’s poetry, though prolific, was not as well received as novels during his lifetime. It was rediscovered in the 1950s. Hardy’s poetry had a significant influence on the Movement Poets of the 1950 and 1960s, including Philip Larkin. Most of Hardy’s fictional works, initially published as serials in magazines, were set in the semi fictional region of Wessex. They explored tragic characters struggling against their passions and social circumstances. Hardy’s ‘Wessex’ is based on the medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom, and eventually came to include the countries of Dorset and South West and South Central England.

Hardy was born in 1840 in Higher Bockhampton, a hamlet in the parish of Stinford to the cast of England.His father Thomas worked as a stonemason and his Mother Jemima was well-read, and she educated Thomas until he went to his first school at Bockhampton. For several years he learned Latin and demonstrated academic potentials, because Hardy’s family lacked the means for a university education. And his formal education ended at sixteen. Hardy trained as an architect in Dorchester before moving to London in 1862. There he enrolled as a student at King’s College London. Hardy never felt at home in London. Because, he was conscious about the class division and the social inferiority. However, during this time he became interested in social reform and in the works of John Stuart Mill. He was also introduced by his Dorset friend Horace to the works of Charles Fourier and Augusta Comte. Five years later, concerning about his death, Hardy returned to Dorset. And he decided to dedicate him to writing. In 1870, while on an architectural mission to restore the parish church of St. Juliet, Hardy met and fell in love with Emma Lavinia Gifford, whom he married in 1874. And in 1885 Thomas and his wife moved into Max Gate. A house which Hardy had designed and his brother built. After her death Hardy married his secretary Florence Emily Dug dale in 1914, who was 39 years junior to him. However   he remained.

 In 1910 Hardy was awarded Order of Merit and was also for the first time nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. He would be nominated for the prize in eleven more years.

Hardy's work was admired by many younger writers, including D. H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf. In his autobiography Goodbye to All That (1929), Robert Graves recalls meeting Hardy in Dorset in the early 1920s and how Hardy received him and his new wife warmly, and was encouraging about his work.

Considered a Victorian realist, Hardy examines the social constraints on the lives of those living in Victorian England, and criticizes those beliefs, especially those relating to marriage, education and religion, that limited people's lives and caused unhappiness. Such unhappiness, and the suffering it brings, is seen by poet Philip Larkin as central in Hardy's works. Fate or chance is another important theme. Hardy's characters often encounter crossroads on a journey, a junction that offers alternative physical destinations but which is also symbolic of a point of opportunity and transition, further suggesting that fate is at work. Far From the Madding Crowd is an example of a novel in which chance has a major role. The story would have taken an entirely different path. Indeed, Hardy's main characters often seem to be held in fate's overwhelming grip. Thomas Hardy wrote in a great variety of poetic forms including lyrics, ballads, satire, dramatic monologues, and dialogue, as well as a three-volume epic closet drama The Dynasts (1904–08), and though in some ways a very traditional poet, because he was influenced by folksong and ballads, he "was never conventional," and "persistently experiment with different, often invented, stanza forms and meters, and made use of "rough-hewn rhythms and colloquial diction".

Hardy's family was Anglican; Hardy's religious life seems to have mixed agnosticism, deism, and spirituality. Sites associated with Hardy's own life and which inspired the settings of his novels continue to attract literary tourists and casual visitors. Hardy became ill with Pleurisy in December 1927 and died at Max Gate just after 9 pm on 11 January 1928, having dictated his final poem to his wife on his deathbed; the cause of death was cited, on his death certificate, as "cardiac syncope", with "old age" given as a contributory factor. His funeral was on 16 January at Westminster Abbey.

Major Works of Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy is one of the few writers who made a significant contribution to English literature in the form of the novel, poetry, and the short story. His writing is full of delightful effects, beautiful images and striking language. He creates unforgettable characters and orchestrates stories which pull at your heart strings.

Some of his major works are:

Under the Greenwood Tree (1872)

 This was Hardy’s first success as a novelist. It’s a light and gentle evocation of pastoral life. It depicts the world of an agricultural Britain which Hardy saw being transformed by the industrial revolution. It enabled Hardy to express his affection and love for the Wessex countryside. Structurally divided into winter, spring, summer, autumn, it follows the natural rhythms of the earth and of rural society. There’s none of the acute conflict, the psychological drama, or the tragedy of the later novels. This is one for either the complete beginner to Hardy, or for devotees who wish to flesh out their knowledge of the early stages of his career.

 Far from the Madding Crowd (1874)

This was the first of Hardy’s novels to apply the name of Wessex to the landscape of south west England, and the first to gain him widespread popularity as a novelist. Heroine and estate-owner Bathsheba Everdene is romantically involved with three very different men. The dashing Sergeant Troy, who is handsome but unreliable; Farmer Boldwood, who is honourable but middle-aged; and man-of-the-soil Gabriel Oak, who is worthy and prepared to bide his time. The conflicts between them and the ensuing drama have lots of plot twists plus a rich picture of rural life.

The Return of the Native (1878)

 It’s often said that this is one of the most Hardyesque of all the novels. There are some stand-out characters: Eustacia Vye, a heroine who patrols the moors looking out for her man through a telescope; Clym Yeobright, a hero who can’t escape his mother’s influence; and Diggory Ven, an itinerant trader who wanders in and out of the story covered in red dye. Improbable coincidences and dramatic ironies abound – and over it all presides the brooding presence of Egdon Heath. But underneath the melodrama, there are profound psychological forces at work. You need to be patient. This is one for Hardy enthusiasts – not beginners.

The Mayor of Caster bridge (1886)

This is probably Hardy’s greatest work – a novel whose aspirations are matched by artistic shaping and control. It is the tragic history of Michael Henchard – a man who rises to civic prominence, but whose past comes back to haunt him. This is not surprising, because he sells his wife in the opening chapter. When she comes back unexpectedly, he is trapped between present and past. Henchard falls in the course of the novel from civic honour and commercial greatness into a tragic figure, a man defeated by his own strengths as much as his weaknesses. There are strong echoes of King Lear here, and some of the most dramatic and psychologically revealing scenes in all of Hardy’s work.

The Woodlanders (1887)

 Giles Winterbourne, an honest woodsman, suffers with the many tribulations of his selfless love for Grace Melbury, a woman above his station in this classic tale of the West Country. She marries the new doctor, Edred Fitzpiers, but leaves him when she learns he has been unfaithful. She turns instead to Giles, who nobly allows her to sleep in his house during stormy weather, whilst he sleeps outside and brings on his own death. It’s often said that the hero of this novel is the woods themselves – so deeply moving is Hardy’s account of the timbered countryside which provides the backdrop for another human tragedy and a study of rural life in transition.

Jude the Obscure (1895)

This is Hardy’s last major statement before he gave up writing novels for good. Hero Jude is intellectually ambitious but held back by his work as stonemason and his dalliance with earthy Arabella. When he meets his spiritual soul mate Sue Brideshead, everything seems set fair for success – except that she is capricious and sexually repressed. Jude struggles to do the right thing – but the Fates are against him. The outcome is heart-rending bleak and tragic. This novel reveals the deep-seated social and sexual tensions in Hardy – himself a self-made man from a humble background.

And, entering to the Project topic, “Tess Of d’Urbervilles”. Tess has many social and historical relevance and background respectively. Let’s discuss what Tess is, and why hardy wrote Tess; 

Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891)

This novel is probably the most popular of Hardy’s late, great novels. The sub-title is ‘A Pure Woman’, and it is a story which explores the tragic consequences of a young milkmaid who becomes the victim of the men she encounters. First she falls for the spiritual but flawed Angel Clare, and then the physical but limited Alec D’Urbervilles takes advantage of her. This novel has some of the most beautiful and the most harrowing depictions of rural working conditions which reveal Hardy as a passionate advocate for those who work the land. It also has a wonderfully symbolic climax at Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain. There is poetry in almost every page.

 Tess is the clear depiction of a young rural girl. Innocent and beautiful. Tess, the novel is the depiction of England’s social and cultural life in the sense of moralities and sexually explicit lifestyles. So the work stands as a historic text of the life of the people of medieval England. Tess, though received initial criticism, it became a best-read and well received by whole readers of the world. This is the reason and situation for Hardy to write the novel.

Social and Historical Background of the Novel

Historical Background

Thomas Hardy lived and wrote the novel in a time of difficult social change, when England was making its slow and painful transition from an old-fashioned, agricultural nation to a modern, industrial one. Businessmen and entrepreneurs, or “new money,” joined the ranks of the social elite, as some families of the ancient aristocracy, or “old money,” faded into obscurity. Tess’s family in Tess of the d’Urbervilles illustrates this change, as Tess’s parents, the Durbeyfields, lose themselves in the fantasy of belonging to an ancient and aristocratic family, the d’Urbervilles. Hardy’s novel strongly suggests that such a family history is not only meaningless but also utterly undesirable. Hardy’s views on the subject were appalling to conservative and status-conscious British readers, and Tess of the d’Urbervilles was met in England with widespread controversy.

The Victorian Era

The Victorian Era when Hardy lived was a time of great change. Queen Victoria ruled England from1837 until her death in 1901. During her 63-year reign, England became the most powerful and wealthiest country in the world through its colonial acquisition and by harnessing the power of the Industrial Revolution. The population in England doubled during Victoria's reign, and the economy of the country changed from agriculture-based to industry-based. More people were enfranchised (that is, given the right to vote) and, through this, gained influence in government. The Parliament passed labor laws that improved labor conditions, established universal schooling for all children, and reformed the civil service system. Britain ended restrictions on foreign trade, opening the way for the island to become a source for both raw materials and finished goods to an ever-increasing international market.

Victoria, interested in the welfare of her people, worked hard to pass meaningful reforms, and she earned the respect of her subjects. Her prime ministers were her greatest assets, and with them, Queen Victoria decreased the powers of the monarchy to empower the members of the prime minister's cabinet. As a result, the British monarchy has been able to endure, unlike the monarchies in most other countries,

The Church and Religion

One area that was particularly affected by the changes in England was religion. The Church of England was traditionally conservative and offered a literal interpretation of the Bible. During the Victorian period, however, as people began to see the church as an agent for social change as well as an agent for personal salvation, the question became how — and even whether — the church should best fulfill these missions. The result was a schism in the church that fostered three movements: the High Church movement, the Middle Church movement, and the Low Church movement.

The High Church movement was designed to align the Church of England with the "Catholic" side of Anglicanism. The thinking here was that traditional practices were the standard by which faith could be expressed and that supreme authority resided in the Church. The Middle Church movement cared less for tradition and believed that faith could be expressed in various ways, including through social action. The Low Church Movement believed that evangelicals were a force that could reform the church from within and without.

The growing reliance on science to explain the nature of man and his relationship with his world opened the doors for further examination of traditionally held beliefs. The publication of Darwin's Origin of Species (1859), which suggested that species evolved from common ancestors that could be found through scientific research, challenged the belief that God created each species individually and separately from every other species. The agnostic movement, which relied on scientific evidence and reason to find universal truths and which held that the existence of God could not be empirically proven, took hold and gained momentum.

Social Darwinism

The last fifty years of the nineteenth century saw innovations in science and technology that changed society to a greater degree than ever before. The theory of evolution popularized by naturalist Charles Darwin in his On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, published in 1859, had enormous cultural implications. The idea that humans were descended from apes changed accepted views of religion and society. It shook belief in the Biblical creation story and, therefore, all religious beliefs. It shocked the Victorians (those who lived during the reign of the British Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901) to think that their ancestors were animals. They glorified order and high-mindedness, and thought themselves, as British subjects, the pinnacle of culture.

To make Darwin’s theory more palatable, a complementary theory called Social Darwinism was formulated. Proponents of this social philosophy argued that Darwin’s ideas of “survival of the fittest” also applied to society. The existence of lower classes could be explained by their inferior intelligence and initiative in comparison to that of the upper classes. Darwin’s book ended forever the security of a society that could offer unalterable answers to every question; like Angel, many began to put their faith in “intellectual liberty” rather than religion. From these ideological splits, religious liberals and conservatives battled over fundamental questions of faith and religious practice. In Hardy's work, we can see that this debate was one that he entered into. In Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Hardy's protagonist finds herself in a world where she questions religion, questions faith, looks for meaning in life, and searches for the truths that mankind has sought for centuries.

Industrialization and Rural England

When the railroad came to the area of southwest England where Tess was born, the area still led an isolated, almost medieval existence. The railroad made it easier for country folk, looking for work to leave the towns where their families had lived for centuries. The railroad also fostered new types of agricultural use of the land. Large dairies such as Talbothays, where Tess worked as a milkmaid, could flourish only because the rapid trains allowed transport of fresh milk to heavily populated areas. Rural workers were unable to get jobs flocked to British cities, causing urban population to double between 1851 and 1881. Less profitable farming, meant farms had to become larger in order to turn a profit, so smaller farms were bought out by larger farm owners. Machines, like the steam threshing machine at Flintcomb-Ash, made agricultural workers less in demand

Women in the Society

In Tess Hardy considers both the “Rights of Man” and, with equal sympathy, the rights of women. Women of the Victorian era were idealized as the helpmate of man, the keeper of the home, and the “weaker sex.” Heroines in popular fiction were expected to be frail and virtuous. The thought that Hardy subtitled his novel “A Pure Woman” infuriated some Victorian critics, because it flew in the face of all they held sacred. For while the Victorian era was a time of national pride and belief in British superiority, it was also an age best-remembered for its emphasis on a strict code of morality, unequally applied to men and women.The Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 granted the right to a divorce to both men and women on the basis of adultery but, in order to divorce her husband, a woman would have to further prove gross cruelty or desertion. Women who sought divorce for whatever reason were ostracized from polite society. This was the life of women in Victorian society.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles is set in England in the first part of the Long Depression (1873-1879), so in general life is especially hard for the poor characters of the book. English society was also going through some major changes during this time. Most important thing is that the novels are the shift from an agricultural to an industrial culture, which is emphasized in the novel as a tension between nature and modernity, and the decline of the old aristocracy.

(First Chapter End)

CHAPTER II

The Novel: Theme, Plot and Summary

Theme

Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. The theme of the novel is surrender of innocence to doomed destiny and the protagonist is not that much brave to change her situation. Although she is sincere towards people, she is naive and flimsy in dealing with diabolic fellows. She is a leaf in fatal storm of incidence that results in her sympathetic death. Injustice of Existence is another theme. Unfairness dominates the lives of Tess and her family to such an extent that it begins to seem like a general aspect of human existence in Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Tess does not mean to kill Prince, but she is punished anyway, just as she is unfairly punished for her own rape by Alec. Nor is there justice waiting in heaven. Christianity teaches that there is compensation in the afterlife for unhappiness suffered in this life, but the only devout Christian encountered in the novel may be the reverend, Mr. Clare, who seems more or less content in his life anyway. For others in their misery, Christianity offers little solace of heavenly justice. Mrs. Durbeyfield never mentions otherworldly rewards. The converted Alec preaches heavenly justice for earthly sinners, but his faith seems shallow and insincere. Generally, the moral atmosphere of the novel is not Christian justice at all, but pagan injustice. The forces that rule human life are absolutely unpredictable and not necessarily well-disposed to us.

One of the recurrent themes of the novel is the way in which men can dominate women, exerting a power over them linked primarily to their maleness. Sometimes this command is purposeful, in the man’s full knowledge of his exploitation, as when Alec acknowledges how bad he is for seducing Tess for his own momentary pleasure. Alec’s act of abuse, the most life-altering event that Tess experiences in the novel, is clearly the most serious instance of male domination over a female. But there are other, less blatant examples of women’s passivity toward dominant men. The theme in the novel is also that of knowledge versus ignorance. Tess and Angel struggle with their parent's unwillingness to accept change and progress and, therefore, this causes a lot of friction between them.

Plot

The poor peddler John Durbeyfield is stunned to learn that he is the descendent of an ancient noble family, the d’Urbervilles. Meanwhile, Tess, his eldest daughter, joins the other village girls in the May Day dance, where Tess briefly exchanges glances with a young man. Mr. Durbeyfield and his wife decide to send Tess to the d’Urberville mansion, where they hope Mrs. d’Urberville will make Tess’s fortune. In reality, Mrs. d’Urberville is no relation to Tess at all: her husband, the merchant Simon Stokes, simply changed his name to d’Urberville after he retired. But Tess does not know this fact, and when the lascivious Alec d’Urberville, Mrs. d’Urberville’s son, procures Tess a job tending fowls on the d’Urberville estate, Tess has no choice but to accept, since she blames herself for an accident involving the family’s horse, its only means of income.

Tess spends several months at this job, resisting Alec’s attempts to seduce her. Finally, Alec takes advantage of her in the woods one night after a fair. Tess knows she does not love Alec. She returns home to her family to give birth to Alec’s child, whom she christens Sorrow. Sorrow dies soon after he is born, and Tess spends a miserable year at home before deciding to seek work elsewhere. She finally accepts a job as a milkmaid at the Talbothays Dairy.

At Talbothays, Tess enjoys a period of contentment and happiness. She befriends three of her fellow milkmaids—Izz, Retty, and Marian—and meets a man named Angel Clare, who turns out to be the man from the May Day dance at the beginning of the novel. Tess and Angel slowly fall in love. They grow closer throughout Tess’s time at Talbothays, and she eventually accepts his proposal of marriage. Still, she is troubled by pangs of conscience and feels she should tell Angel about her past. She writes him a confessional note and slips it under his door, but it slides under the carpet and Angel never sees it.

After their wedding, Angel and Tess both confess indiscretions: Angel tells Tess about an affair he had with an older woman in London, and Tess tells Angel about her history with Alec. Tess forgives Angel, but Angel cannot forgive Tess. He gives her some money and boards a ship bound for Brazil, where he thinks he might establish a farm. He tells Tess he will try to accept her past but warns her not to try to join him until he comes for her.

Tess struggles. She has a difficult time finding work and is forced to take a job at an unpleasant farm. She tries to visit Angel’s family but overhears his brothers discussing Angel’s poor marriage, so she leaves. She hears a wandering preacher speak and is stunned to discover that he is Alec d’Urberville, who has been converted to Christianity by Angel’s father, the Reverend Clare. Alec and Tess are each shaken by their encounter, and Alec appallingly begs Tess never to tempt him again. Soon after, however, he again begs Tess to marry him, having turned his back on his -religious ways.

Tess learns from her sister Liza-Lu that her mother is near death, and Tess is forced to return home to take care of her. Her mother recovers, but her father unexpectedly dies soon after. When the family is evicted from their home, Alec offers help. But Tess refuses to accept, knowing he only wants to obligate her to him again.

At last, Angel decides to forgive his wife. He leaves Brazil, desperate to find her. Instead, he finds her mother, who tells him Tess has gone to a village called Sandbourne. There, he finds Tess in an expensive boardinghouse called The Herons, where he tells her he has forgiven her and begs her to take him back. Tess tells him he has come too late. She was unable to resist and went back to Alec d’Urberville. Angel leaves in a daze, and, heartbroken to the point of madness, Tess goes upstairs and stabs her lover to death. When the landlady finds Alec’s body, she raises an alarm, but Tess has already fled to find Angel.

Angel agrees to help Tess, though he cannot quite believe that she has actually murdered Alec. They hide out in an empty mansion for a few days, then travel farther. When they come to Stonehenge, Tess goes to sleep, but when morning breaks shortly thereafter, a search party discovers them. Tess is arrested and sent to jail. Angel and Liza-Lu watch as a black flag is raised over the prison, signaling Tess’s execution.

Summary of the Novel

First: The Maiden

The setting is in Wessex, in the south of England, during the late 1800s. John Durbeyfield is on his way home after working as a higgler/haggler. He encounters a local parson who tells him of his family history: The Durbeyfields are descended from the once famous d'Urbervilles, a wealthy family dating back to the time of William the Conqueror. John, feeling a rush of superiority, hurries home to tell his family of the good news. The family has had a difficult life, with John a poor provider and his wife barely managing to keep the family fed and clothed. There are seven children in all; Tess, or Theresa, is the oldest. Joan, John's wife, hatches a plan to send the 16-year-old Tess to "claim kin" at a nearby relation, a woman of wealth and position.

When John has had too much to drink, Tess and her brother Abraham set out with the family horse to deliver beehives at a nearby farmer's market. While on route, Tess and Abraham fall asleep in the wagon, and the horse, Prince, is killed accidentally by the local mail cart. Because Tess had allowed Prince to wander into the oncoming lane and had inadvertently caused the accident between the mail cart and the Durbeyfield wagon, she feels it is her responsibility to make matters right. It is at this point that Joan Durbeyfield introduces the plan for Tess to visit their d'Urberville relations. Tess initially objects to the plan, but with the family horse now dead, she relents and goes to the d'Urberville family to seek money or work.

Tess takes a van, or common carrier of the time, to visit. She notices that the home called The Slopes is not old and established as she had expected. Instead, the house is a recently built. Tess meets Alec d'Urberville, the young son of Mrs. d'Urberville. Alec is immediately taken by the young, beautiful maid, and he agrees to find a place for her at The Slopes.

A few days later, a new horse is sent to the Durbeyfields along with an invitation for Tess to assume a post as caretaker for a flock of Mrs. d'Urbervilles chickens. Tess' departure is a great sorrow for her family, but she agrees to go to Trantridge to help boost her family's fortunes. Upon her return to The Slopes, Alec takes Tess on a wild carriage ride in order to scare her and prove himself master over her. She does not give into his demands and walks the greater portion of the distance to her new home.

Tess makes her new home in an old house that had once been the primary house at The Slopes. It is now a chicken coop. The new house is the centerpiece of the estate. Alec sees Tess practicing, finds her attempts humorous, and offers to coach her. Tess declines his offer, but he persists until, just to be rid of him, she agrees to let him assist her. Alec, taken by Tess and unaccustomed to being denied, begins to spy on Tess, watching her as she works in the house, even hiding behind the bed curtains on his mother's bed to catch her whistling to the birds.

Later, when the cottage staff return home, Tess and Car, another girl who works at The Slopes, get into a fight over Car's jealousy at Alec's attention towards Tess. Alec rides up and rescues Tess from a small mob of resentful women. He takes her away from a beating she surely would have suffered at the hands of the cottage staff women.

Instead of returning directly to The Slopes, Alec meanders along, hoping to take advantage of Tess in a vulnerable state. He finally actually loses his way in the dense fog. He leaves Tess in the woods as he goes to find a cottage for directions back to Trantridge. When Alec returns to Tess, he finds her asleep and rapes her, knowing he has worn down Tess' defenses over the last few months.

Second: Maiden No More

In October, four months after her arrival in Trantridge, Tess leaves the d'Urberville estate to return home. Alec pursues her, offers her a ride home, and she accepts. He admits to his mistake and begs Tess' forgiveness, but to no avail. She leaves Alec in the road near her home, walking the remainder of the way. Along the way, she encounters a sign painter whose signs preach against vice and sin.

Tess' mother is the first to encounter Tess when she enters the family home, and the two talk about Tess' experiences. Here, Tess asks her mother, "Why didn't you tell me there was danger in men-folk?" Joan still believes that her daughter might have a chance to marry Alec d'Urberville and become a real lady, but she is too simple or ignorant to understand Tess' dilemma. Joan's response is to, "make the best of it, I suppose. 'Tis nater, after all, and what do please God!"

Later that night, the infant falls ill. All sense that the child will die sometime in the next few days. Tess, realizing that her baby has not been baptized, gathers her siblings and baptizes the infant herself.

The fall turns to winter and winter turns to spring. In May, Tess, now 20, sets out again, on her second excursion, to find work in a nearby town, at Talbothays Dairy. She wants solitude and time away from home where "she might be happy in some nook which had no memories." Her journey takes her to a beautiful valley called Blackmoor on the river Froom/Frome where a new phase of her life begins.

Third: The Rally

In the milking parlor, Tess does not actually meet the other workers, but she hears them as they perform their chores. There is discussion among the other workers about some cows going "azew," or dry. Superstitiously, the workers believe that, because there is "a new hand come among us," the cows are not as likely to give as much milk. A tale from medieval times is told to entertain the workers, and a song is sung to make the work easier and to coax the cows to be generous with their milk — all the kinds of banter one would expect in a milking parlor.

Finally, a strange voice chimes in, and we are introduced to Angel Clare. Angel, at age 26, is the youngest son of an area parson; he has come to Talbothays to learn the business of the dairy farm so that he may one day become a farmer himself. Tess recognizes Angel. She fears that he will discover her past and shun her. Tess learns of Angel's past when she shares a room, which is over the milking room, with three other milkmaids.

Tess and Angel's relationship starts off slowly, but begins to develop when he lines up Tess' cows for her, the ones that are hard to milk. The two later meet while Angel is playing a second hand harp for entertainment and a conversation ensues. Angel finds Tess rather mature, mysterious. Tess decries her lack of education, and Angel volunteers to tutor her in any subject she might choose. Tess replies, "I shouldn't mind learning why — why the sun does shine on the just and unjust alike." Angel chides her for being so negative about life.

The entire dairy is paralyzed when the milk does not begin to turn to butter. It is suggested that the butter won't come because "Perhaps somebody in the house is in love." Mr. Crick doesn't believe the superstition but instead tells a rather raucous story about a man who had gotten a young girl pregnant. Tess hears the tale, and while others laugh at the story, she rushes outside because the story of Jack Dollop is too real for her. Tess does not engage in the girls' sport, and Marian suggests that Angel is in love with Tess, that "he likes Tess Durbeyfield best." All the maids are in love with Angel, but even they seem to sense that Tess and Angel are beginning to show signs of love for each other.

One Sunday, the four maids ready themselves for church. On their way, as a heavy summer downpour had flooded the rivers and creeks, an overflowing creek stops them. Coming from the direction opposite the church is Angel. He volunteers to carry each girl across the swollen current so that their Sunday frocks are not ruined. All of them, including Tess, are shocked and delighted that Angel would spontaneously extend an opportunity for each of them to be held so close to their "ideal man."

As Angel crosses the creek with Tess, he hints at his feelings for her, telling her that "he has undergone three-quarters of the labour entirely for the sake of the fourth-quarter". When Tess replies that she also had not anticipated the heavy rains and swollen creek, Angel realizes that Tess does not realize his meaning. Feeling that he is taking unfair advantage of an accidental situation, Angel carries her rest of the way across and deposits her with her friends.

During the hot summer at Talbothays, the relationship between Tess and Angel grows as Hardy notes "It was impossible that the most fanciful love should not grow passionate. The ready bosoms existing there were impregnated by their surroundings." Angel secretly watches Tess as she works and musters the courage to tell her his love.

Fourth: The Consequence

Angel leaves the dairy to visit his family and to tell his parents about Tess. His parents had intended Angel to marry Miss Mercy Chant, a real "lady" and local teacher. Angel is against the union and proposes to his parents that Tess Durbeyfield would be a much better choice.

Angel's wishes win out with his father's concern expressed by his question, "Is she of a family such as you would care to marry into — a lady, in short?" His parents warn Angel not to rush into a hasty marriage with an unknown woman, but his descriptions of her are enough. Angel returns to the dairy and asks Tess to marry him. Tess says that she cannot. Angel persists, not being too aggressive in his tactics to convince Tess, but she insists, "I am not good enough — not worthy enough.” She resolves to give in to Angel's proposal: "I shall give way — I shall say yes — I shall let myself marry him — I cannot help it."

Tess rethinks her position, even suggesting that any of the other milkmaids would be worthy wives for Angel. Angel refuses Tess' suggestions. Later Angel learns that Tess comes from the d'Urberville family. He suggests that she adopt the "d'Urberville" spelling, and he quells her fears about his hating "old families." Relieved, Tess accepts Angel's marriage proposal. Then Tess kisses Angel.

Tess insists that she write her mother in Marlott, and Angel then remembers that day four years earlier, during the May Dance, that he had seen Tess but had not danced with her. Tess writes to her mother and receives a response by the end of the week. Tess decides not to tell Angel of her history.

Everyone at the dairy seems to know that Tess will someday marry Angel. Even when the maids feel some jealousy toward Tess at the possibility of marriage, they cannot bear her any ill will. Tess sets the date of their wedding as December 31.

Angel and Tess travel to the nearby town, Vale of Blackmoor, on Christmas Eve to do some last minute shopping. There Tess sees two Trantridge men who know of her past and speak of it loud enough for all to hear. Angel confronts the men, who admit their possible mistake of confusing Tess with another woman. The incident disconcerts Tess, who asks Angel if the wedding can be postponed. He asks her to forget the incident. The pair remains as guests at Talbothays until the day of their wedding. No one from the Durbeyfield or Clare families attends the ceremony; instead, the Cricks and all the workers at Talbothays attend the services. After they leave the wedding ceremony, Tess tries to confess her past sins, but Angel will not hear of it. Tess feels guilty that she had some hand in the incidents that happened to her friends. Then Tess and Angel confess their sins, first Angel, and then Tess.

Fifth: The Woman Pays

Angel cannot forgive Tess for her past: "O Tess, forgiveness does not apply to the case! You were one person; now you are another." Tess is dumbfounded by Angel's reaction and seeks to have him understand her plight. He cannot see her past as she sees it. Tess is nearly speechless. Instead of remaining with his wife on their honeymoon night, Angel sleeps on the couch downstairs.

The next morning, Angel is the first to speak; suggesting reconciliation, but it is a false hope. The couple, sure of marital bliss, now must decide what is to happen next. Tess tries to make her point clear, to bring Angel around to her viewpoint. Finally, Angel suggests that Tess go home to her family in Marlott. She agrees. During the night, Angel, in a deep sleep-walking state, comes to Tess' room and carries her out into the night. He lies down beside her, continuing to sleep. Tess rouses him carefully and leads him back to the couch in their house.

Angel gives Tess a good sum of money before he leaves her and tells her to write to him via his parents if she needs anything. Then he leaves Tess near the entrance to her hometown. Tess enters the town through a back route, going unnoticed into her family's home. When Tess tells her mother of her plight, the two cry over the events. During the short period that she is home, Tess receives a letter from Angel telling her he is in the north of England searching for a farm. Tess gives her mother half her money from Angel and leaves home.

Angel returns home to his parents in Emminster. He brings up the possibility of going to Brazil to be a farmer with his family. Naturally, they are taken aback at his suggestion of so sudden a move, far away to another land. Angel's idea is to work for a year in Brazil and to bring Tess later when he is established. His parents ask about her character and physical attributes, which Angel says are the best.

Angel meets his former intended bride, Mercy Chant, on his way home. They discuss his upcoming journey to Brazil where he says to her "I think I am going crazy." Angel puts away the jewelry and money for Tess with a local banker and meets Izz on his way back to his house. He asks Izz if she will join him for the trip to Brazil and she agrees. He realizes his impetuous actions and reconsiders asking Izz to leave with him. Five days later, Angel leaves for Brazil.

Eight months pass, and Tess is in dire straits with little income and irregular work. She is down to her last pennies when she remembers a letter from Marian and prospects for a job as a field woman, grueling work at best. Tess' journey takes her from Marlott to Flintcomb-Ash, not far from her home. On the way, because she hasn't even enough money for lodgings, she sleeps in a forest, where she encounters wounded pheasants shot by hunters who have lost track of the injured creatures. To put them out of their misery, Tess kills the suffering birds.

The work is digging rutabagas, harvesting corn, and making the thatch for roofs. It is indeed difficult work for men and women alike. Tess agrees to work until April 6, also known as "Old Lady-Day." The two friends work in the rain and snow at the farm. Marian writes to Izz Huett, who later comes to Flintcomb-Ash for work as well.

Tess meets her employer, He is mean and vengeful toward Tess, telling her, "But we'll see which is master here." He urges the girls to work harder, and Tess stays behind to finish her work with Izz and Marian. Tess is overcome by exhaustion and faints. As she recovers on a haystack, she overhears Izz tell the story of Angel asking her to accompany him to Brazil. Tess decides to contact Angel's parents to ask about Angel. The next Sunday, Tess sets out for Emminster, a 30-mile roundtrip walk for her. Angel's brothers discover Tess' boots, not knowing she is nearby, and takes them back to the Clare's vicarage. Tess loses her nerve to see the Clares and returns to Flintcomb-Ash dejected and depressed. On the way back to the farm, Tess encounters Alec d'Urberville, now an evangelical "fire and brimstone" street preacher.

Sixth: The Convert

Tess is disturbed greatly by Alec d'Urberville's appearance once again, now as an evangelic minister. He has taken on the appearance of a common person, not like his appearance earlier as man of wealth. Alec stops his sermon when he sees Tess. He tells Tess of his conversion and his mother's recent death. He apologizes for his past once he learns what happened to Tess after she left Trantridge, and he makes Tess swear never to tempt him again.

Tess leaves Alec to begin an impassioned letter to Angel to urge him to come to her at once. The letter reaches the Clares in Emminster who forward it to Angel. Angel has had his share of misfortune as well, becoming ill in the wild of Brazil and having buried a fellow farmer who had died from disease. He feels remorse for his treatment of Tess, now having a change of heart from his previous position.When Tess nears the end of her time at Flintcomb-Ash, her sister, Liza Lu arrives to tell her that both of her parents are ill and that Tess must come home. Tess immediately leaves for Marlott that evening. Tess travels the Wessex countryside and arrives at Marlott at 3 a.m. She finds a neighbor sitting with her parents, both of whom are ill. Tess also finds that the allotment for the family garden has not been planted. She and Liza Lu begin work at once on the garden while the parents recuperate. Tess even works by moonlight to complete the spring gardening task. Alec finds Tess in the garden and approaches her to tell her he has left a gift for her at the house. Liza Lu returns to tell Tess that their mother has recovered but their father, John Durbeyfield, has died.

The next day, as the family makes its way to Kingsbere, Tess meets Marian and Izz, who have now begun work for another farmer. She relates what has happened to her father. Upon arrival in Kingsbere, the family learns that their intended house has been rented to someone else. All of their goods are unloaded in the churchyard while a new house is procured. As the family beds down under the stars for the night, Tess goes into the church and finds Alec lying on a tomb. He frightens Tess when she sees his body on top of a crypt. Meanwhile, Marian and Izz write a letter to Angel urging him to come at once.

Seventh: Fulfilment

Angel's parents await his arrival from Brazil anxiously. He returns looking older and thinner from his journey to Brazil. He reads Tess' letters, immediately writing to her mother, Joan, to see if she is well and living at home. Joan's curt, short letter tells him she is not at home and Joan does not know Tess' whereabouts. Further, Angel finds that Tess had not visited his parents nor had she asked for any money in his absence. Angel makes plans to leave at once to find Tess when he reads the letter from Marian and Izz.

Angel first goes to Flintcomb-Ash and Marlott to locate Tess. Instead, he finds John's grave and pays the sexton, or churchyard caretaker, for the balance owed on John's tombstone. He finds that the family is in Kingsbere and sets out for the Durbeyfield house. There, he finds Joan and asks her about Tess only to find she is now living in the fashionable seaside resort of Sandbourne.

Angel treks to Sandbourne, arriving late at night, too late to find any information. The next morning, Angel finds Tess at an inn called The Herons, from information provided by a mailman. He goes to the inn and asks for Tess, where she is now known as Teresa d'Urberville. Tess has been living with Alec, and the pair has traveled to the resort for relaxation. Angel sees Tess, only to be told that she cannot go with him, that Alec has won her. Repeatedly, Tess tells Angel, "It is too late." She sends Angel away, urging him not to return, as she now belongs to Alec. Angel leaves the inn, wandering the streets aimlessly.

Tess returns to her room to confront Alec. The innkeeper, Mrs. Brooks, watches the d'Urbervilles through a keyhole and from her office below their room. Tess realizes Alec's deception, blaming him for lying to her about Angel's future return so that he could once more have her. In her fury, Tess stabs Alec through the heart with a carving knife. She leaves the inn immediately to find Angel. In the interim, news of the murder moves quickly through the resort.

At the station, Tess finds him and confesses to murdering Alec. Immediately, Angel formulates a plan to walk to the north of England, avoiding the more traveled roads, until they can reach a port city after the events surrounding the murder are forgotten. The two walk for miles, finally happy to be in each other's company. Along the way, they discover a vacant house, with only a caretaker occasionally stopping by. The great house, called Bramshurst Court, is empty of a renter, so the couple takes up residence. They spend five days in the house until the local caretaker sees them sleeping in the large bedrooms.

Once discovered, Angel and Tess move directly north until they reach the ancient monoliths of Stonehenge. Tess feels that her freedom is limited and her end is near, so she has Angel promise to marry Liza Lu after her death. Now that it is night and the two are tired, Tess sleeps on one of the "altars" of stone. Near daybreak, the two are surrounded by police who take Tess into custody. For her part, Tess is glad that the end has come, and she goes with the police willingly.

In the final chapter, Angel and Liza Lu journey together to Wintoncester to see that Tess' sentence, death by hanging, is carried out. They do not actually witness the deed, but know the enterprise is done when a black flag is hoisted over the town's tower. The two then return the way they came, "As soon as they arose, joined hands again, and went on."

This is the Summary of the novel.

(Second Chapter Ends)

CHAPTER III

Symbolism in the Novel

Symbols are objects, characters, figures, places, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the d'Ubervilles starts out with positive symbols of peace and happiness, but then it ends with symbols of darkness and sadness. In the beginning of the novel, Tess, along with other women of her home town, is wearing a white dress during a May festival. The opening scene portrays peace, hope and happiness because the color white symbolizes virtue and purity; the time of year also symbolizes a period of youth, birth, and playfulness since it is during the spring. On the opposite end of the novel, however, the cloudy and cold days of winter create a mood of gloominess and darkness. In the end, one black flag waives in the distance and marks the death of Tess at a young age for a crime she would never have committed in the beginning of the story. There are also Christian symbols throughout the novel that depict Christianity's influence on Victorian society. Alec dresses as a parson when he is converted by Angel's father; Tess and her friends from the dairy farm dress nicely and go to church on Sundays; and, Tess's baby is not allowed to be buried in the cemetery of the churchyard. All of these symbols help to aid the author in relaying the story from all aspects of life so that the reader may fully understand the culture and society from which Tess hails. Other symbols include the landscape, the weather's changing, parental figures, the Fortune Teller book, and the ever-present symbol and value of money.

One of the best examples of symbolism in Hardy's Tess of the d'Ubervilles is right at the beginning of the novel. All of the women, both old and young, are parading through the village in white dress while holding white flowers. It's the May Day Festival and it's probably one of the only holidays where everyone is viewed (visibly anyway) as equals. The festival encompasses all of England and is celebrated as one. Tess, of course, is also wearing the color that symbolizes purity and virtue. Although she starts the novel out as an innocent in society, Fate and poor decisions will slowly lead her down a dark path--even to the depths of murder, which is black and completely opposite from her beginnings. Symbolism is a device used by authors to show a story rather than to tell it. Letters, flowers, colors, personal items, national items (i.e., flags, bells) all help to paint a picture for the reader. It is more fun to read a book and to decipher the symbolic codes and other figures of speech rather than to have the author explicitly reveal everything at once. Suspense, mood, and other plot elements are satisfied as an author uses a literary device correctly.

The Novel ends in winter, when Tess has killed Alec, and is now going to be hung. This is a sad ending, in what is also a sad season. As well as seasons having a significant effect on what is to happen, we can also tell what is going to happen in the future by colours that Hardy uses. Hardy uses colours as a representation, to show something for what it really is. Most colours have symbolic reference and can show something when looked into more deeply. The colour white is symbolic, because it represents purity and cleanliness. Tess is often seen wearing white clothes, and is described as being "this white shape" which is almost like describing her to an angel. Green is used as a representation of good things, such as grass, and hills and the countryside, and everything that Hardy likes that is natural. If the land and outlook ahead was green then it would be a good life. Hardy described Tess' old life, before she moved to Trantridge as being good and green. "behind the green valley of her birth" Grey symbolises no hope and looking into a bad future. As hardy referred to Tess' life ahead as being grey. " Before a grey country of which she knew nothing." Which is how Hardy makes it easy to tell by colour and the seasons what will happen in the future. Another colour that is also very important and is used a lot is red, red is a danger sign, warning of what is to come. It is referred to when Alec feeds Tess strawberries, by the red of the strawberries, and placing flowers on her. This should have started alarm bells sounding in Tess' mind about the danger that Alec was, but they didn't, as Tess was oblivious as to what was going on. The colour red was also used to describe Alec D'urberville's house, as a "crimson brick lodge" which was forewarning Tess that something bad would happen here. This is how colour can be used effectively to show what is to come in future. Some types of symbolisms found are:

Colour Symbolism

The two major colours being symbolized are red and white. Throughout the novel the colour red keeps recurring. It is the colour of the luxurious strawberries. Tess's lips are described as 'rosy'. Tess had also been offered roses, often associated with red and that symbolize passion. Red is the colour of blood. The shedding of blood occurs at significant moments, beginning with Prince's death, which is what precipitates Tess towards Alec, This blood symbolizes Tess bearing the guilt of the horse's death, and just as later she bears the guilt of Alec's death. The red of Alec's blood ironically forms an ace of hearts on the white ceiling: the murder is an act done out of love and passion. Red is the colour of the threshing machine. At one level, the machine becomes an image of hell, suggesting evil and danger. Alec's cigar glows red, so red again suggests danger here rather than physicality.

Tess often wears white, as at the first time she is seen in second chapter. In chapter eleven also she is wearing a 'white muslin dress' just before she is violated, suggesting her innocence. Her tissue is 'white as snow' which is violated. Readers may assume the sudden presence of red blood as Tess's virginity is taken. White is also associated with the soul or spirit. The mists surrounding Tess are white. As milk is also white, Tess's job as a milkmaid maintains the association, though her work is set against a background of green at Talbothays.

Geographical symbolism

Landscape is never a background in Hardy's work; it is a living and dynamic force, moulding the characters and helping determine their actions and responses. Hardy creates a symbolic landscape, each novel having a different set of symbols. Hardy's main landscape symbolism lies in the contrasts of the two valleys of Blackmore Vale and the Valley of the Frome and the plateau in between where Flintcombe-Ash is situated:

They are often contrasted to bring out their meanings in Tess's life, as they become symbolic of her inner landscapes.

Seasonal symbolism

The cycle of the seasons is significant for any novel set in a rural setting, the seasons generating both imagery and structure for the agricultural year and its activities. The construction of a timeline of Tess of the d'Urbervilles demonstrates several cycles of seasons. The book's opening, in high spring in May, is significant in second chapter. Here are girls all in bud, as it were, anticipating future courtship and marriage. The symbolism of the dance is undoubtedly pagan, perhaps part of ancient fertility rates. The time at Talbothays occurs over the height of summer into a long autumn, and images of fertility, heat and prosperity abound. What is significantly important is that they parallel Tess's growing passion for Angel.

Ironically, Tess and Angel's wedding on New Year's Eve, in the depths of winter, when it would seem much more appropriate to have had it earlier, as part of the autumn fruitfulness. But we have to remember, in dairies, autumn is NOT the season of fruitfulness, but a gradual running down of the supply of milk. The wintry aspects of Flintcombe-Ash are also powerfully portrayed. The description of the Arctic birds is particularly dramatic and full of symbolic overtones, and should be studied closely.

Psychological symbolism

Although Hardy would have been aware of the work of the early psychologists and psycho-analysts, he was probably drawing on an older tradition of gothic symbolism in making some episodes psychologically symbolic. In this, the mid-nineteenth century American writer, Edgar Alan Poe, could have been a model for Hardy. Two key incidents which demonstrate this technique are:

The incident of Angel's sleepwalking. This is the most obvious example of gothic melodramatic symbolism. Angel's subconscious sees Tess as dead and wishes to bury her in a setting befitting her ancient ancestry. The way he manages to circumnavigate all sort of obstacles to do this suggests forces in Angel of which he is unaware or which he is repressing. A more ambiguous incident is that of Tess's letter going under the carpet. Is this to be interpreted as an act of Fate working against Tess, or could it be seen as a subconscious wish to push the past 'under the carpet'. Hardy's ambiguity here is best seen as part of a gothic convention that offers dual explanations for strange happenings.

These are all about Symbolism in Thomas Hardy’s Novel “Tess Of the d’Urbervilles’’.

(Third Chapter ends)