Tess Of The D'Urbervilles

The book is divided into seven phases, each of which tells a concise and particular story within the larger story of Tess's life and each accomplishes specific goals in moving Tess from her simple, youthful life in the country to her tragic early death. To an extent, this makes the characte

Although to a given person the offence of rape ranks far above any offense that Angel committed, one must remember Tess's perspective. She is crushed when Alec rapes her, even though Hardy draws a fine line between seduction and rape. However, it is much harder for Tess to recover when Angel helps her to heal the pain of the past, only to tell her he loved a fantasy that she could never live up to. The constant betrayal of trust in her life causes Tess to lose faith in her husband. (Anderson 311)

within despair to get out."-Michel De Montaigne. (Bornstein 51)

Many readers of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles believe that Alec, logically, is Tess's opposition throughout the novel. Often, readers lose perspective of not only the negative impact Angel has on Tess's life, but also the positive effort put forth by Alec. It seems that in the later portion of the novel, Angel and Alec exchange roles. Regardless of this trend, one must recognize the fact that both men add to the turmoil and heart-brake in her life and push her to make decisions that will result in her demise.

As love is should not be forceful, marriage should not be considered a burden or an obligation. Marriages should be based on total trust and "togetherness," and without this, marriage cannot last. (Gottman 85) It is about knowing the good as well as the bad, the thrills and joys versus the pain and sadness. But, knowing Hardy's belief of fate allows a reader to quickly realize the story's outcome. Tess's trails inevitably are lost and she will be ruined. Her life's foundation begins to crumble when she tells Angel about her experience with Alec. Not feeling ready to deal with this, Angel flees the situation and the marriage. He says, "You were one person; now you are another… [I loved] another woman in your shape." This shows the reader that Angel's love was in no way genuine, and he, in fact, distanced himself from reality to obtain, who he thought was, the ideal pure child: a “child of nature.” (Hardy 187) This seems to be more devastating to Tess than the rape itself. She had real emotions at stake in this relationship. She honestly loved Angel and she is betrayed by his deception. Angel’s true self now gives the reader a character to contrast with Alec. Alec did rape Tess, but he shows an extreme amount of remorse for his actions. His guilt drives him to aid Tess’s family; s

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