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Tess of the D

            "Tess of the D"Ubervilles" is a classic tragedy by Thomas Hardy. This novel is about Tess Durbeyfield, a simple country girl who is used by Alec D"Uberville, a wealthy gentleman as a victim of lamentable purpose, and later finds love with Angel Clare who marries her but abandons her on their wedding night when he finds out about her previous history. Tess is left to survive by herself only to run into Alec D"Uberville again, who quickly becomes obsessed with trying to win her back. Tess refuses all of Alec's advances until he convinces her that Angel will never come back. Angel returns to find her with D"Uberville and is deeply hurt. Tess ends up killing D"Uberville in a fit of despair and she escapes with Angel only to be caught and executed a few days later. .
             The characters in "Tess of the D"Ubervilles", especially Tess, are well-rounded three-dimensional characters (although towards the end of this novel Hardy appears to have grown sick of all the other characters but Tess). Tess is a powerful and beautiful heroine who through out the novel exhibits generosity, resourcefulness, endurance and vulnerability in everything that she does. An example of Tess" generosity is how she always puts others first. Even though Tess despised Alec she went back to him so that her brothers and sisters would be properly taken care of and provided for. Through out the novel Tess" vulnerability and innocence is an attribute to her womanliness. It was these characteristics that first attracted the attentions of both Alec and Angel. Angel described Tess as "a rosy warming apparition, an exceedingly novel, fresh and interesting specimen of women kind" (Pg. 186). Both Alec and Angel realize that Tess is unique straight away but even through all the distress she experiences it still doesn't destroy the tenderness that she has for others. For instance when Angel leaves her, she still thinks of him as her husband and she refuses to say a bad word against him or let others bring his character into disrepute despite all the hardship that he puts her through.


Essays Related to Tess of the D

1. Tess, Oh Poor Tess

... pure enough. It was by chance Alec met Tess's former husband. Angel was disgusted of Tess because Alec had sex with her. Alec also mentions about Tess's baby and describes it as a religious symbol to find Tess. Ironically, Alec meets Angel. The fact that this happened makes Alec want to have Tess even more. Fate brought Alec's visit. Tess tries to suppress Alec so that she can be ... pure. Unfortunately, it does not stop Alec from visiting Tess. The very essence of this visit was to get Tess. Fate and chance brought Alec to Tess because there were symbols along the way to get to Tess, s...

  • Word Count: 305
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Tess of D'urberville as a naturalistic novel

Naturalism is based on the belief that everything real comes from nature, and that humans behave as if they were animals responding to their environment without control or understanding of their situation. If this is the definition of naturalism, then Tess of D"Urberville is a naturalistic novel. Naturalism focuses on the progression from organism to environment, struggle, adaptation, fertility, survival, resistance, and extinction. From the beginning of the novel, one can perceive ... that Tess is a mere organism, living day-to-day life with few complications. As everyone ... ...

  • Word Count: 328
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Tess

In Tess of the D"urbervilles Alec's character is considered immoral and evil. His presentation through out the film allows the viewer to like and dislike his character. From the beginning to the end there occurs a change in his character which in the end one feels more sympathetic. In the beginning of the film Alec comes into Tess" life as the intruder of her peace. He invades her life and breaks her innocence. The evil that he ... represents in the beginning allows for the sympathy that is later achieved in the film. After he rapes Tess and she later leaves because of the damage that he has...

  • Word Count: 277
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

4. To What extent is Tess of the D

... in her picturesque surroundings: "the birds-eye perspective before her was not so luxuriously beautiful, perhaps, as that other one which she knew so well, yet it was more cheering"; and: "Tess had never visited this part of the country before, yet she felt akin to the landscape". Such references give Tess an almost mystical feel - the idea of a woman being so close ... to her environment is very paganistic. Tess' animality, reflected in her realtionship with her surroundings, mirrors her vulnerability, yet ... highlights her sexuality. Contemporary critics had trouble equating Tess' o...

  • Word Count: 316
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

5. Tess

... to tragedy consciously, as well as subconsciously, unaware of the consequences that will subsequently follow. In the novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, tragedy is undoubtedly present in the protagonist, Tess Durbeyfield's life. Although Tess is portrayed as an innocent girl who makes wrongful decisions which lead to her destruction, Tess' parents, Angel Clare, and Alec d'Urberville play ... an important part in her life, leading to her tragedy. The Durbeyfield parents started the cycle of tragedy in Tess life by thinking of ... daughter to claim kin against her will with a...

  • Word Count: 877
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles

In Phase five of Tess of the D"Urbervilles I feel that Tess really grew as a person. In this chapter she grew up and took responsibility for things that have happened and that will happen. She knows that everything that has happened isn't totally her fault but, she needed to own up to her part in those events. In this phase she understands the estrangement from her husband and ... to her as Mrs.Clare but just plain Tess. This is because she doesn't want to be sent back to everything she has been through Tess really wants to move on. I think that so far out of all the phase in this book that I...

  • Word Count: 368
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Chapter Four in Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Chapter Four Tess of the d"Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy, has many significant chapters that relate to Tess's downfall. However, the most important of these is chapter four in Phase the First of the novel. This chapter is very significant because it is where Tess's family horse, Prince, dies. The effects of the horse's death cause many tragic events to occur throughout Tess's life. Prince's death in chapter four initiates Tess's guilty feelings, forces her to live ... is finally ended when she is put to death because of her sin. Angel refuses to love Tess, which indirectly causes her slow dete...

  • Word Count: 586
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Tess of the D'Urbervilles

... Vs. Character Luck does not always indicate a good occurrence. In Thomas Hardy's novel, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, luck frequently takes the meaning of a bad event. Such events occur throughout Tess' life because of her characteristics, but also due to luck. Tess has many qualities that, though help her in her survival, attract unwanted attention to her. Tess is attractive, hard working, responsible, courageous, independent, and enduring, as well as ... to be affected much by fate, or luck, to a large degree. While, in the beginning of the book, Tess travels to the D'Urbervilles, Tess' ...

  • Word Count: 873
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Character Review - Tess of the d'Urbervilles

... has to live her life as an impure woman. Tess has had to take responsibilities of other people's actions and those actions lead to her downfall in society. Hardy uses Tess's submissiveness to her parents and Alec d'Urberville to show the effects of what impurity can do to a woman's future relationship like that of Angel and Tess d'Urberville. Tess d'Urberville's first oppressors, Joan and John d'Uberville had set ... to purchase a new horse in order to please her family."And to please her parent the girl put herself quite in Joan's hands...Do what you like with me, Mother" (84). Tess's ...

  • Word Count: 1060
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

10. Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles

... Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Tess is abandoned by her new husband, Angel Clare, when she tells him of her past of being involved with a horrible man named Alec d'Urberville. As Angel promises to come back, Alec is offering his help to gain Tess's affection. Tess writes two letters to Angel by cause of her circumstances and as they change, Tess's tone shifts ... to Angel and telling him that she will keep her fidelity to the marriage vows. In the second letter she does not start with an address and no signature expressing her anger of the abandonment. The different physical ...

  • Word Count: 1193
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

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