12.Tess of the D'Urbervilles ( 1891 )- for APPSC TGPSC TREIRB JL/DL

 

12.Tess of the D'Urbervilles ( 1891 )

for APPSC TGPSC TREIRB JL/DL

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Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) 

He is a novelist, turned to poetry. Novelist, son of a mason and building contractor - His mother, greatly encouraged his early interest in books, father in violin. Wrote around 900 poems. Wessex is frontier in his novels. Hardy's home town of Dorchester is called Casterbridge in his books, notably in The Mayor of Casterbridge. “He began as a late Victorian Romantic poet, he ended as a 20^th century metaphysical poet, fully abreast of the new generation”

Thomas Hardy & AE Houseman are two great pessimistic poets of the Edwardian Era

Thomas Hardy was born June 2, 1840 in the village of Upper Bockhampton, located in Southwestern England. His father was a stone-mason and a violinist. His mother enjoyed reading and retelling folk songs and legends popular in the region. From his family, Hardy gained the interests that would influence his life and appear in his novels: architecture and music, the lifestyles of the country folk, and literature itself.

Hardy attended Julia Martin's school in Bockhampton between the ages of 8 and 16. However, most of his education came from the books he found in Dorchester, the nearby town. He taught himself French, German, and Latin. At sixteen, Hardy's father apprenticed his son to a local architect, John Hicks. Under Hicks's tutelage, Hardy learned about architectural drawing and the restoration of old houses and churches. Hardy loved the apprenticeship because it allowed him to study the histories of the houses and the families that lived there. Despite his work, Hardy did not abandon his academics; in the evenings, Hardy would study with the Greek scholar Horace Moule.

In 1862, Hardy was sent to London to work with the architect Arthur Blomfield. During his five years in London, Hardy immersed himself in the cultural scene by visiting museums and theaters, and studying classic literature. He even began to write his own poetry. Although he did not remain in London, choosing instead to return to Dorchester as a church restorer, he maintained his newfound talent for writing.

From 1867, Hardy wrote poetry and novels, though the first part of his career was devoted mostly to novels. At first, he published anonymously, but after people became interested in his work, he began to use his own name. Like the work of his contemporary Charles Dickens, Hardy's novels were published serially in magazines, and they became popular in both England and America. His first popular novel was Under the Greenwood Tree, published in 1872. The next great novel, Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), was so popular that the profits allowed Hardy to give up architecture and marry Emma Gifford. Other popular novels followed in quick succession: The Return of the Native (1878), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), The Woodlanders (1887), Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891), and Jude the Obscure (1895). In addition to these long works, Hardy published three collections of short stories and five shorter novels, all moderately successful. However, despite the praise Hardy's fiction received, many critics were offended by their violence and sexual content, especially in Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure. The outcry against Jude was so great that Hardy decided to stop writing novels and return to his first great love, poetry.

Over the years, Hardy had divided his time between his home, Max Gate in Dorchester, and his lodgings in London. In his later years, he remained in Dorchester to focus completely on his poetry. In 1898, his dream of becoming a poet was realized with the publication of Wessex Poems. He then turned his attentions to an epic drama in verse, The Dynasts; it was finally completed in 1908. Before his death, he had written over 800 poems, many of which were published while he was in his eighties.

Hardy also found happiness late in his personal life. His first wife, Emma, died in 1912. Although their marriage had not been happy, Hardy grieved at her sudden death. In 1914, he married Florence Dugdale, and she was extremely devoted to him. By the last two decades of Hardy's life, he had achieved a level of fame equal to that of Dickens. In 1910, he was awarded the Order of Merit. New readers had also discovered his novels though the publication of the Wessex Editions, definitive versions of all Hardy's early works. As a result of this increased popularity, Max Gate became a literary shrine and a tourist attraction.

After a long and highly successful career, Thomas Hardy died on January 11, 1928, at the age of 87. His ashes were buried in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey. After his death, Florence published Hardy's autobiography in two parts under her own name. Hardy bequeathed many of his possessions to the nation, most notably his pens. Hardy personally engraved each bone handle with the name of the text it was used to write.

Although Hardy's novels were received badly by critics when they were first published, Hardy has been consistently recognized since his death as one of the great English novelists. He was an important influence on Modernism, and many later writers, including Virginia Woolf, D.H. Lawrence, and Robert Graves, named Hardy as influences. His poetry has been similarly influential; in the twentieth century, several classical composers, including Gustav Holst and Benjamin Britten, have set Hardy's poems to music.

During his lifetime, Hardy was frequently asked to allow his texts to be adapted for the emerging medium of film. He was far-sighted enough to see film's promotional benefits, and the attraction in widening his audience. However, early attempts at filming his work were less than satisfactory, despite Hardy's involvement in the process - most notably, The Mayor of Casterbridge in 1921. Pehaps as the depth of his stories is so often exemplified by the brooding internal conflicts of his strongest characters, it is almost impossible to truly capture the nuances of his work in other media.

Works:

1.   The Poor Man and the Lady was the first novel written by Thomas Hardy. It was written in 1867 and never published. After the manuscript had been rejected by at least five publishers

2.   Desperate Remedies 1871 is the second novel by Thomas Hardy, albeit the first to be published (anonymously). Story of a young woman, Cytherea Graye, is forced by poverty to accept a post as lady's maid to the eccentric Miss Aldclyffe, the woman whom her father had loved but had been unable to marry.

3.   Under the Greenwood Tree: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School (1872)- novel, drawn its title from Shakespeare’s song in As You Like It. second published novel, and the first of what was to become his series of Wessex novels. The novel follows the activities of a group of west gallery musicians, the Mellstock parish choir, Love story of Dick Dewy (musician) with Fancy Day (school mistress) and her rejection of two other suitors.  Hardy called this book as “The Mellstock quire"

4.   A Pair of Blue Eyes (1873):  It was Hardy's third published novel. Love triangle of Blue eyed girl Elfride Swan Court and her two suitors from very different backgrounds: Stephen Smith, a socially inferior but ambitious young man who adores her and with whom she shares a country background and Henry Knight, the respectable, established, older man who represents London society. Elfride, out of desperation, marries a third man, Lord Luxellian.

The conclusion finds both suitors travelling together to Elfride, both intent on claiming her hand, and neither knowing either that she already is married or that they are accompanying her corpse and coffin as they travel.

5.   Far From Madding Crowd 1874:  4^th novel- tragi-comedy set in Thomas Hardy's Wessex in rural southwest England. originally appeared anonymously as a monthly serial in Cornhill Magazine. It describes the life and relationships of Bathsheba Everdene with her lonely neighbour William Boldwood, the faithful shepherd Gabriel Oak, and the thriftless soldier Sergeant Troy. Love of Gabriel Oak, for woman farmer Bathsheba Everdence.

Title from Gray’s "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" (1751).

6.   The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters 1876. It was written, in serial form, for The Cornhill Magazine, which was edited by Leslie Stephen, a friend and mentor of Hardy

7.   The Return of the Native 1878: sixth published novel- first appeared in the magazine Belgravia, a publication known for its sensationalism. set on Egdon Heath, a fictional barren moor in Wessex in southwestern England. The native of the title is Clym Yeobright, who has returned to the area to become a schoolmaster after a successful but, in his opinion, shallow career as a jeweler in Paris. He and his cousin Thomasin exemplify the traditional way of life, while Thomasin’s husband, Damon Wildeve, and Clym’s wife, Eustacia Vye, long for the excitement of city life. Disappointed that Clym is content to remain on the heath, Eustacia, willful and passionate, rekindles her affair with the reckless Damon. After a series of coincidences, Eustacia comes to believe that she is responsible for the death of Clym’s mother. Convinced that fate has doomed her to cause others pain, Eustacia flees and is drowned (by accident or intent). Damon drowns trying to save her.

It has alternative ending. In a later edition, to please his readers, Hardy made additions to his novel. Thomasin marries Diggory Venn, a humble longtime suitor, and Clym becomes an itinerant preacher.

8.   The Trumpet-Major 1880- only historical novel

9.   A Laodicean; or, The Castle of the De Stancys. A Story of To-Day (1881)- a novel, with uncommon plot devices such as falsified telegrams and faked photographs.

10.    Two on a Tower: A Romance (1882) - a novel, a minor work. It is one of Hardy's Wessex novels, set in late Victorian Dorset.

11.    The Mayor of Casterbridge 1886: Subtitle: The life and death of a man of Character. One of the Wessex novels, set in a fictional rural England with Casterbridge standing in for Dorchester in Dorset where the author spent his youth. Michael Henchard (21-year-old hay-trusser) drunk on rum, auctions wife Susan off, along with their baby daughter Elizabeth-Jane, to Richard Newson, a passing sailor, for five guineas. Sober and remorseful the next day, he is too late to locate his family. He vows not to touch liquor again for 21 years.  Susan lives as Newson's wife for 18 years. After Newson is lost at sea, Susan, lacking any means of support, decides to seek out Henchard again. Susan discovers that Henchard has become a very successful hay and grain merchant and Mayor of Casterbridge, a man well respected but not well liked. Susan falls ill and dies shortly after the couple's remarriage, leaving Henchard a letter to be opened on the day of Elizabeth-Jane's wedding. Henchard reads the letter, and learns that Elizabeth-Jane is not in fact his daughter, but Newson's – his Elizabeth-Jane having died as an infant.  Henchard's credit collapses and he goes bankrupt. Farfrae buys Henchard's old business and tries to help Henchard by employing him as a journeyman. Lucetta Templeman who has an affair with Henchard. (once she saved him when he was ill); marries Donald Farfrae, who becomes Mayor of Casterbridge after Henchard. When Joseph Jopp reads the love letters of Henchard- Lucetta in public, Lucetta collapses, has a miscarriage, and dies. After 21 years, Henchard starts drinking again. Elizabeth-Jane marries Farfrae. Henchard leaves a letter his Elizabeth-Jane which reads: his dying wish is to be forgotten. Abel Whittle is a character in it.

Final lines of the novel: “Happiness was but the occasional episode in a general drama of pain.”

12.    The Wood Landers 1887: serialized in Macmillan's Magazine, life of nature woodlanders in a woodland country. Set in a small woodland village called Little Hintock, and concerns the efforts of an honest woodsman, Giles Winterborne, to marry his childhood sweetheart, Grace Melbury

13.    Tess of the d'Urbervilles 1891: subtitle: ‘A Pure Woman faithfully presented’. It was illustrated in the newspaper the Graphic 1891. The novel begins with the discovery by Tess's father, John Durbeyfield, that they are descendants of the ancient d'Urberville family. When Tess accidentally causes the death of the family horse (named as Prince), she feels guilty enough to go work for the d'Urbervilles. Tess is sent to work for the wealthy Mrs. d'Urberville, where she encounters Alec d'Urberville, who seduces her, which leads to her pregnancy and the birth of a son (named as Sorrow) who dies in infancy.  Tess takes a job as a milkmaid at Talbothays Dairy, where she meets Angel Clare, a young man. Tess and Angel fall deeply in love, but Tess hesitates to reveal her past to him. Eventually, they marry, but on their wedding night, Tess confesses her history to Angel. Angel says: “she was more sinned against than sinning" and abandoned her and moved to Brazil seek his fortune. Heartbroken and alone, Tess is forced to reunite with Alec, who offers her financial security. When Angel returns, her loyalty to Angel makes her to stab Alec. At the end, Tess was arrested and hanged.

The Ruined maid: a ballad used in Tess   

Famous Lines:

     “God's not in his heaven: all's wrong with the world!”;

     “The president of immortals (god) has ended his play with Tess”( Famous Aschelian phrase at the end of novel )

Note: “God’s in His heaven — All’s right with the world!”- Robert Browning- Pippa Passes

Tess is more sinned than against than the sinning.

The quote refers to the protagonist, Tess, who is portrayed as a victim of the societal norms and circumstances beyond her control rather than a willful sinner. Despite her own flaws and mistakes, Tess is often depicted as a passive figure who is buffeted by the harshness of the world around her. The quote has become synonymous with the novel and has been widely discussed in literary criticism as a key theme of the work.

 

14.    Jude the Obscure 1895: Last novel, this book was burnt and banished, so he stopped writing novels and turned to poetry. story of Jude Fawley, a poor country boy (stone mason who dreams of becoming a scholar) escapes from a village to university. The novel is concerned in particular with issues of class, education, religion and marriage. First Jude is seduced by Arabella Donn, and she left him and migrated to Australia. Eight months later she sends the baby to Jude. Jude named the baby as Jude and nicknamed "Little Father Time" because of his intense seriousness and lack of humor. Jude's cousin Sue Bride head - married Mr Phillotson (Jude's former teacher) and left him and reached Jude. Jude and Sue have two children.

Little Father Time kills two children of Sue and killed himself by hanging. Sue and Phillotson remarried.  Jude and Arabella remarried Jude died. (Arabella fails to mourn Jude's passing instead setting the stage to ensnare her next suitor)

15.    The Well-Beloved: A Sketch of a Temperament 1897- novel

16.    The Dynasts (1904,1906,1908)- closet drama- verse epic-drama in blank verse in 3 volumes, 19 acts and 130 scenes. Not counting the fore scene and the after scene, the exact total number of scenes (131). Hardy described it as epic drama of war with Napoleon. It is "the longest English drama in existence"

Closet drama is intended primarily for reading rather than performed onstage. Examples: John Milton’s Samson Agonistes (1671) and Thomas Hardy’s The Dynasts (three parts, 1903–08).

17.    Wessex Poems and other verses (1898), Poems of the Past and the Present (1901), Collected Poems (1919), and  Winter Words in Various Moods and Metres (1928) are his major poetry works.

18.    Wessex Tales 1888; A Group of Noble Dames 1891 -collection of short stories

 

Background:

Tess of the d'Urbervilles, like the other major works by Thomas Hardy, although technically a nineteenth century work, anticipates the twentieth century in regard to the nature and treatment of its subject matter. Tess of the d'Urbervilles was the twelfth novel published by Thomas Hardy. He began the novel in 1889 and it was originally serialized in the Graphic after being rejected by several other periodicals from July to December in 1891. It was finally published as a novel in December of 1891. The novel questions society's sexual mores by compassionately portraying a heroine who is seduced by the son of her employer and who thus is not considered a pure and chaste woman by the rest of society. Upon its publication, Tess of the d'Urbervilles encountered brutally hostile reviews; although it is now considered a major work of fiction, the poor reception of Tess and Jude the Obscure precipitated Thomas Hardy's transition from writing fiction to poetry. Nevertheless, the novel was commercially successful and assured Hardy's financial security.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles deals with several significant contemporary subjects for Hardy, including the struggles of religious belief that occurred during Hardy's lifetime. Hardy was largely influenced by the Oxford movement, a spiritual movement involving extremely devout thinking and actions. Hardy's family members were primarily orthodox Christians and Hardy himself considered entering the clergy, as did many of his relatives. Yet Hardy eventually abandoned his devout faith in God based on the scientific advances of his contemporaries, including most prominently Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Hardy's own religious experiences can thus be seen in the character of Angel Clare, who resists the conservative religious beliefs of his parents to take a more religious and secular view of philosophy.

The novel also reflects Hardy's preoccupation with social class that continues through his novels. Hardy had connections to both the working and the upper class, but felt that he belonged to neither. This is reflected in the pessimism contained in Tess of the d'Urbervilles toward the chances for Tess to ascend in society and Angel's precarious position as neither a member of the upper class nor a working person equivalent to his fellow milkers at Talbothays. Again, like Angel Clare, Thomas Hardy found himself torn between different social spheres with which he could not fully align himself. Tess of the d'Urbervilles reflects that divide.

 

Plot/Narrative structure:

Volume	Phase	Title	Chapters
I	First	The Maiden	1 - 11
	Second	Maiden No More	12 - 15
	Third	The Rally	16 - 24
II	Fourth	The Consequence	25 - 34
	Fifth	The Woman Pays	35 - 44
III	Sixth	The Convert	45 - 52
	Seventh	Fulfilment	53 - 59

Part/Phase wise narrative/plot structure:

Part / Phase		Plot Summary
Phase the First: The Maiden	Tess Durbeyfield, a poor country girl, is sent to claim kinship with the wealthy d’Urbervilles. She meets Alec, who seduces/rapes her. Tess returns home, shamed and pregnant. Her baby later dies.
Phase the Second: Maiden No More	Tess seeks a new life and finds work at a dairy farm, trying to forget her past.
Phase the Third: The Rally	Tess meets Angel Clare. They fall in love. Tess is happy again but hides her past. Angel proposes.
Phase the Fourth: The Consequence	On their wedding night, Tess confesses her past. Angel rejects her, leaves for Brazil. Tess struggles alone.
Phase the Fifth: The Woman Pays	Tess works at a harsh farm. Alec reappears as a preacher, then returns to his old ways and seduces her again.
Phase the Sixth: The Convert	Tess’s father dies, the family is evicted. Desperate and broken, she becomes Alec’s mistress.
Phase the Seventh: Fulfilment	Angel returns and finds Tess with Alec. She kills Alec and flees with Angel. They spend a few days together before Tess is arrested and later executed.

Opening line:

On an evening in the latter part of May a middle-aged man was walking home ward from Shaston to the village of Marlott, in the adjoining Vale of Blakemore or Blackmoor.

 

Closing line:

‘Justice’ was done, and the President of the Immortals, in Aeschylean phrase, had ended his sport with Tess. And the d’Urberville knights and dames slept on in their tombs unknowing. The two speechless gazers bent themselves down to the earth, as if in prayer, and remained thus a long time, absolutely motionless: the flag continued to wave silently. As soon as they had strength they arose, joined hands again, and went on

 

Summary

Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles begins with the chance meeting between Parson Tringham and John Durbeyfield. The parson addresses the impoverished Durbeyfield as "Sir John," and remarks that he has just learned that the Durbeyfields are descended from the d'Urbervilles, a family once renowned in England. Although Parson Tringham mentions this only to note how the mighty have fallen, John Durbeyfield rejoices over the news. Durbeyfield arrives at home during the May Day dance, in which his daughter Tess dances. During this celebration, Tess happens to meet three brothers: Felix, Cuthbert and Angel Clare. Angel does not dance with Tess, but takes note of her as the most striking of the girls. When Tess arrives at home, she learns that her father is at the tavern celebrating the news of his esteemed family connections. Since John must awake early to deliver bees, Tess sends her mother to get her father, then her brother Abraham, and finally goes to the tavern herself when none of them return.

At the tavern, John Durbeyfield reveals that he has a grand plan to send his daughter to claim kinship with the remaining d'Urbervilles, and thus make her eligible to marry a gentleman. The next morning, John Durbeyfield is too ill to undertake his journey, thus Tess and Abraham deliver the bees. During their travels, the carriage wrecks and their horse is killed. Since the family has no source of income without their horse, Tess agrees to go to the home of the Stoke-d'Urbervilles to claim kinship. There she meets Alec d'Urberville, who shows her the estate and prepares to kiss her. Tess returns home and later receives a letter from Mrs. Stoke-d'Urberville, who offers Tess employment tending to her chickens. When Alec comes to take Tess to the d'Urberville estate, Joan thinks that he may marry Tess. On the way to the d'Urberville estate at Trantridge, Alec drives the carriage recklessly and tells Tess to grasp him around the waist. He persists, and when Tess refuses him she calls her an artful hussy and rather sensitive for a cottage girl.

When Tess meets Mrs. Stoke-d'Urberville, she learns that the blind woman has no knowledge that Tess is a relative. Tess becomes more accustomed to Alec, despite his continual propositions to her. She finds Alec hiding behind the curtains while Tess whistles to the bullfinches in his mother's bedroom.

During a weekend visit to Chaseborough, Tess travels with several other girls. Among these girls are Car and Nancy Darch, nicknamed the Queen of Spades and the Queen of Diamonds. Car carries a wicker basket with groceries on her head, and finds that a stream of treacle drips from this basket down her back. While all of the girls laugh at Car, she only notices that Tess is laughing and confronts her. Car appears ready to fight Tess when Alec d'Urberville arrives and takes her away. As Alec whisks Tess off, Car's mother remarks that Tess has "gotten out of the frying pan and into the fire."

On the journey home, Alec asks Tess why she dislikes when he kisses her, and she replies that she does not love him and in fact is sometimes angered by him. When Tess learns that Alec has prolonged the ride home, she decides to walk home herself. Alec asks her to wait while he ascertains their precise location, and returns to find Tess, who has fallen asleep. Alec has sex with Tess.

Several weeks later, Tess returns home. Tess tells Alec that she hates herself for her weakness and will never love him. While at home, Tess admits to her mother what happened and asks her why she did not warn Tess about the danger that men pose. Rumors abound concerning Tess's return to the village of Marlott. In fact Tess is pregnant and has bears the child months later. However, the child becomes gravely ill before she has had it baptized. Without the opportunity to call a minister, Tess baptizes the baby herself with the name Sorrow before it dies. When Tess meets the parson the next day, he agrees that the baby had been properly baptized, but refuses to give Sorrow a Christian burial until she convinces him otherwise.

Tess leaves Marlott once again to work at Talbothays dairy, where she works for Richard Crick and finds that Angel Clare, whom she vaguely remembers, now works at the dairy. The other milkmaids (Izz Huett, Retty Priddle, Marian) tell Tess that Angel is there to learn milking and that, since he is a parson's son, rarely notices the girls. Although his brothers are each clergymen and he was expected to be as well, Angel did not attend college because of philosophical and religious differences with his father and established church doctrine. He works at Talbothays to study the workings of a dairy in preparation for owning a farm himself one day.

Angel grows fond of Tess, and begins arranging the cows so that she may milk the ones that are her favorites. However, Tess learns from Dairyman Crick that Angel has scorn for members of noble families, even those whose families have fallen from prominence. Tess realizes that the three other milkmaids are attracted to Tess, but they know that Angel prefers Tess. When Tess overhears the three milkmaids discussing this, she feels jealousy at the others' attraction for Angel, and begins to believe that, as a working woman, she is more suited to be a farmer's wife than a woman of equal rank as Angel. Still, Tess retreats from Angel's affections until he finally declares his love for her.

Angel visits his home in Emminster, where he discusses the possibility of marriage with his parents. While visiting his family, Angel realizes how life at Talbothays had changed him. Although his parents suggest that Angel marry a local girl, Mercy Chant, Angel suggests that he should marry a woman with practical talents. His parents only consent when they feel certain that the woman is an unimpeachable Christian. When Angel returns from Emminster, he proposes to Tess, who rejects him without giving him a reason. Although he persists, she finally admits that she is a d'Urberville, thus a member of the type of family that he despises. When Angel remains unfazed by this news, she agrees to marry him.

Tess writes to her mother to ask whether she should admit the entirety of her past to Angel, but her mother assures her that she should not. Tess remains nervous concerning her impending marriage, attempting to postpone the date and forgetting to make important wedding plans. While in town with Angel, Tess sees a man who recognizes her from Trantridge and remarks on her questionable reputation. Angel defends her honor, but Tess realizes that she must tell him about her past with Alec d'Urberville. Tess writes Angel a letter and slips it under his doorway. The next morning Angel behaves normally. It is only on the day of her wedding that Tess finds that the letter slid under the carpet and Angel thus never found it.

After Angel and Tess marry, they go to Wellbridge for their honeymoon and remain at a home once owned by the d'Urbervilles. Tess learns from Jonathan Kail, who delivers a wedding gift from the Cricks, that the girls at Talbothays have suffered greatly since Angel and Tess left. On their wedding night, Angel and Tess vow to tell one another their faults. Angel admits that he had a short affair with a stranger in London, while Tess admits about Alec d'Urberville.

After telling Angel her story, Tess begs for forgiveness, but he claims that forgiveness is irrelevant, for she was one person and is now another woman in the same shape. She vows to do anything he asks and to die if he would so desire, but he claims that there is discordance between her current self-sacrifice and past self-preservation. Although he claims to forgive her, Angel still questions whether or not he still loves her. Angel's obstinate nature blocks his acceptance of Tess's faults on principle, and he remains with Tess only to avoid scandal until he tells her that they should separate.

That night, Angel begins sleepwalking and carries Tess out of their home and across the nearby river to the local cemetery, where he places her in a coffin. She leads him back to bed without waking him, and the next morning he seems to remember nothing of the event. Angel tells Tess that he will go away from her and she should not come to him, but may write if she is ill or needs anything.

Tess returns home, where her family remains impoverished and Tess has no place to stay. When Tess receives a letter from Angel telling her that he has gone to the north of England to look for a farm, Tess uses this as an excuse to leave Marlott. Angel visits his parents and tells them nothing about his separation, but they sense that some difficulty has occurred in his marriage. Angel decides to go to Brazil to look for a farm, although he realizes that he has treated Tess poorly. Before leaving for Brazil, Angel sees Izz Huett and proposes that she accompany him to Brazil. When he asks her whether she loves him as much as Tess does, Izz replies that nobody could love him more than Tess does, because Tess would give up her life for Angel. Angel realizes his foolishness and tells Izz that her answer saved him from great folly.

Tess journeys to Flintcomb-Ash, where she will join Marian at a different farm. On her way to the farm, Tess finds the man from Trantridge who identified her when she was with Angel, and he demands an apology for allowing Angel to wrongfully defend her honor. Tess hides from him, and after she is propositioned by young men in a nearby inn the next morning, she clips off her eyebrows to make herself less unattractive.

Tess works as a swede-hacker at Flintcomb-Ash, a barren and rough place. Marian believes that Tess has been abused and thinks Angel may be to blame, but Tess refuses to allow Marian to mention Angel's name in such a derogatory manner. Izz Huett and Retty Priddle join Marian and Tess at Flintcomb-Ash, and Tess learns that the man who insulted her is the owner of the farm where she works. Car and Nancy Darch work at this farm as well, although neither recognize Tess. Since the conditions at Flintcomb-Ash are so arduous, Tess visits Emminster to ask the Clares for assistance, but does not approach them when she overhears Felix and Cuthbert Clare discussing how disreputable Angel's new wife must be. While returning to Flintcomb-Ash, Tess learns that a noted preacher is nearby: Alec d'Urberville.

When Tess confronts Alec, he claims that he has a newfound duty to save others and feels that he must save Tess. Still, he seems to blame Tess for her tempting Alec to sin, and makes her swear never to tempt him again. Alec begins to visit Tess frequently, despite her overt suspicion and dislike for him, and even asks her to marry him and accompany him to Africa where he plans to be a missionary. Tess refuses and admits to Alec that she is already married, but Alec derides the idea that her marriage is secure and attempts to refute Tess's (and Angel's) religious views. Alec accuses Tess once more of tempting him, and blames her for his backsliding from Christianity. Alec soon disavows his faith and loses the adornments of it, returning to his more fashionable ways and giving up preaching. When Alec tells Tess that she should leave her husband, she slaps him and then refuses to back down when Alec appears ready to return her blow. She tells Alec that she will not cry if he hits her, because she will always be his victim.

Alec soon tries a different tactic to get Tess to submit to him; he attempts to dominate her by exerting financial superiority. Alec offers to support her family, but only as a means to make Tess and her family dependent. Tess returns home to Marlott when she learns that her mother may be dying and her father is quite ill, but soon after her return her father dies instead, while her mother recovers. After the death of John Durbeyfield, the family loses their home and must find accommodations elsewhere. They move to Kingsbere, where the d'Urberville family tomb is located. Although Alec offers to support the Durbeyfields, Tess refuses, even when he offers a guarantee in writing that he would continue to support them no matter the relationship between Tess and himself. When the Durbeyfields reach Kingsbere, they find no room at the inn where they were scheduled to stay, and thus must remain in the church near the d'Urberville family vault.

Angel Clare returns home from Brazil, weak and sickly, and finds the letter from Tess in which she claims that she will try to forget him. Angel writes to her home at Marlott to search for her, but only later finds out that the Durbeyfields are no longer at Marlott and that Joan does not know where her daughter is. Angel decides to search for Tess, and eventually finds her mother, who reluctantly admits to Angel that Tess is at Sandbourne, a thriving village nearby.

Angel finds Tess at an inn at Sandbourne, where she has been living a comfortable life with Alec d'Urberville. Tess tells Angel that it is too late, and that Alec convinced her that he would never return. Tess admits that she hates Alec now, for he lied to her about Angel. After Angel leaves, Tess returns to her room and begins to sob. Alec finds her, and after a heated argument Tess stabs Alec in the heart, killing him.

As the dejected Angel leaves town, he finds Tess following him. She admits that she has killed Alec, and the two continue along together to escape. They remain at a deserted mansion before continuing northward to find a boat out of England. They rest at Stonehenge; there Tess, who realizes that she will inevitably be captured, asks Angel to marry her sister, Liza-Lu, after she is gone. As Tess sleeps a party of men surround Angel and Tess to capture her and arrest her for Alec's murder. Tess is executed for her crime, while Angel does her bidding and presumably marries Liza-Lu.

 

 

 

Character List

Tess Durbeyfield- The young daughter of a rural working class family at the start of the novel, Tess Durbeyfield is sent to claim kinship with the wealthier side of her family, the d'Urbervilles, when her family faces imminent poverty. After being seduced by Alec d'Urberville, she bears his child, which dies in infancy, and must leave her home to start a new life elsewhere. Although Tess is dutiful and obedient as the novel begins, she gains great strength and fortitude through her suffering, but remains unwavering in her love for Angel Clare and is prepared to do anything that Angel might wish.

 

Angel Clare- The son of a parson and the youngest of three brothers, Angel did not enter college as his siblings, despite his superior intellect, but rather diverged from the career path his father intended for him, the ministry, to study agriculture so that he might become a farmer. Despite holding more liberal opinions than his father and brothers, Angel Clare is nevertheless equally dogmatic and obstinate. He has a deeply theoretical mindset; it is this quality that causes him to reject Tess when he learns information about her past that contradicts his idealistic view of her.

 

Alec d'Urberville- The sophisticated, urbane son of the elderly, blind Mrs. Stoke-d'Urberville, Alec is rapacious and possessive, believing that his status in society and his financial situation gives him power to possess and control Tess after he gives her a job caring for his mother's chickens. After seducing Tess, Alec reforms his hedonistic ways to become a fundamentalist preacher, but soon deviates from his newfound spirituality once he sees Tess again.

 

Mrs. Brooks- She is the householder at The Herons, the boarding establishment at Sandbourne where Alec and Tess stay together. She discovers Alec after Tess stabs him in the heart.

 

Mercy Chant- Reverend Clare and his wife intend this young woman from Emminster to marry Angel, despite his affection for Tess, for she holds proper religious views, according to the Clares.

 

Reverend Clare- A fundamentalist parson in the style that has nearly died out when the novel begins, Reverend Clare does not send his son, Angel, to college because the two disagree on religious philosophy. Reverend Clare is responsible for Alec d'Urberville's conversion after he confronts Alec.

 

Cuthbert Clare- He is one of Angel's older brothers.

 

Felix Clare- He is one of Angel's older brothers.

 

Mrs. Clare- Angel's mother is a conservative woman who dislikes the idea that Angel has married Tess, believing her to be a simple country girl unsuitable for her more refined son.

 

Richard Crick- The dairyman and owner of Talbothays Dairy, he employs both Tess and Angel. Dairyman Crick is a gregarious, jovial man who treats Tess well as an employer.

 

Abraham Durbeyfield- The younger brother of Tess, Abraham accompanies his sister when she must deliver a cart of bees in place of their father.

 

Joan Durbeyfield- Tess's mother is a bawdy, irresponsible woman who views her daughter only in exploitative terms, believing that she can send Tess to the d'Urbervilles explicitly to marry a gentleman and thus raise the fortunes of her family. Tess returns home when Joan is deathly ill, but she makes a sudden recovery just as her husband's health worsens.

 

John Durbeyfield- A jovial, irresponsible man, John Durbeyfield sets the plot of the novel in motion when he learns that the Durbeyfield family is descended from the renowned d'Urbervilles. John suffers from heart disease, and when he dies his family is evicted from their home and forced to move to Kingsbere.

 

Liza-Lu Durbeyfield- Tess's younger sister travels to Flintcomb-Ash to request that her sister return home when her parents are ill. Before Tess is caught, she asks Angel to marry Liza-Lu after Tess has died.

 

Car Darch- Nicknamed the Queen of Spades, this woman nearly fights Tess when Tess laughs at Car when she stains her dress with treacle. Tess is only saved from a brawl when Alec saves her. Tess later meets Car again when the two work together at Flintcomb-Ash.

 

Nancy Darch- Nicknamed the Queen of Diamonds, Nancy is the sister of Car and accompanies her sister to Flintcomb-Ash to work.

 

Farmer Groby- When Angel and Tess are in town before their wedding, this former Trantridge Cross resident identifies Tess as a woman of ill repute, causing Angel to defend her honor. Later he nearly accosts Tess as she travels to Flintcomb-Ash, and appears a third time as her employer at Flintcomb. Because of her early cold treatment of him, Farmer Groby is a difficult taskmaster who treats Tess poorly.

 

Izz Huett- One of the dairymaids at Talbothays Dairy with whom Tess stays, Izz Huett is also in love with Angel Clare, but after his separation from Tess when he invites her to accompany him to Brazil, Izz refuses because of Tess's love for Angel. Izz later works with Tess at Flintcomb-Ash and sends a letter to Angel telling him to forgive Tess.

 

Jonathan Kail: A servant at Talbothays' dairy, he delivers news of the other works to Tess and Angel during their honeymoon.

 

Marian -One of the dairymaids at Talbothays with whom Tess stays, Marian is also in love with Angel Clare and becomes an alcoholic after Tess and Angel marry. Marian invites Tess to come to Flintcomb-Ash where she works, and with Izz Huett sends a letter to Angel telling him to forgive Tess.

 

Retty Priddle- One of the dairymaids at Talbothays with whom Tess stays, Retty is also in love with Angel Clare. After Tess and Angel marry, Retty attempts to drown herself, but soon joins her former dairymaids at Flintcomb-Ash.

 

Mrs. Stoke-d'Urberville- An elderly, blind woman and the mother of Alec, she employs Tess to look after her chickens. She dies not long after Tess leaves Trantridge Cross.

 

Parson Tringham: This clergyman in Marlott tells John Durbeyfield that his family is descended from the noted d'Urberville family.

 

 

Phase wise/chapter wise summary

Phase One: The Maiden (chapter 1-11)

Chapter One:

As he walks home to the village of Marlott, John Durbeyfield, a middle-aged man, meets Parson Tringham, who greets him as "Sir John." When Durbeyfield asks the parson why he greets him in this manner, he answers that he recently learned that he is from the d'Urberville lineage, descended from Sir Pagan d'Urberville who fought with William the Conqueror. He tells Durbeyfield that if knighthood were hereditary, he would be Sir John. The d'Urberville family is now extinct, and the parson thinks of this only as demonstrating how the mighty have fallen.

Chapter Two:

Durbeyfield was returning home during the May Day dance in which the younger women of Marlott walked in procession in white gowns, holding willow wands and white flowers. Among the girls is Tess Durbeyfield, the daughter of John. Tess is no more handsome than the other girls, but has large, innocent eyes (adorned in white, she symbolizes purity and virginity). She sees her father riding in a carriage singing that he has a great family vault in Kingsbere and knighted forefathers. Tess reprimands her friends for mocking her father. At this time Tess is a “A mere vessel of emotion untinctured by experience.” She still has the local dialect, but also can affect more educated speech. Three young onlookers of superior class watch the women in the procession. The three are brothers (Angel, Felix, and Cuthbert) and consider asking the women to dance. Angel does not dance with Tess Durbeyfield, but among the girls he notices her the most and wishes that he asked her to dance, for she was so modest and soft.

Chapter Three:

Tess remains with her comrades until dusk, thinking of the young man, Angel. When she arrives at home, she hears her mother singing as she rocks her youngest child to sleep. Mrs. Durbeyfield still has some of the freshness of youth, but it is faint. She speaks in the local dialect, and tells her daughter what John Durbeyfield learned that day. Mrs. Durbeyfield thinks that great things will come of this. She also tells Tess that John has fat around his heart, which could cause his death in ten years or ten days. He is now at Rolliver's, and wants to rest before his journey tomorrow with a load of beehives. Now that Tess is home, Joan Durbeyfield can go to Rolliver's to fetch her husband, but Joan herself does not return, so Tess sends her brother Abraham. Tess herself decides to go when Abraham does not return a half hour later.

Chapter Four:

Rolliver's Inn is the only alehouse in the village, and can only boast of an off-license: nobody can legally drink on the premises, but this rule is often averted. Mrs. Durbeyfield had found her husband there bragging about his grand project for his family. He will send Tess to claim kin, for there is a lady of the name d'Urberville. John Durbeyfield admits that he has not told Tess this, but she is tractable and will do what he wishes. Joan Durbeyfield reminds her husband that there are many families that were once estimable and are now ordinary, but agrees to the arrangement. Tess arrives, and Abraham tells her that she will marry a gentleman. It is eleven o'clock when Tess gets her family to bed, and the next morning John is unable to go on his journey. Tess agrees to go with Abraham. On the way there, Abraham and Tess discuss how other stars are worlds just like Earth. Tess says that some worlds are splendid, but a few are blighted, and they decide that they are on a blighted one. Tess realizes the vanity of her father's pride. Suddenly, the wagon stops and they find that the morning mail-cart has crashed into their horse, killing it. Tess blames herself, while Abraham blames it for living on a blighted star. Tess does not know how to break the news to her family, but John Durbeyfield takes the news stoically.

Chapter Five:

Distress looms in the distance because of the death of the horse. Joan Durbeyfield tells Tess about Mrs. d'Urberville living on the outskirts of The Chase, and tells Tess that she must go and claim kinship and ask for help. Tess is deferential, but she cannot understand why her mother should find such satisfaction in contemplating this enterprise. She suggesting getting work, but finally agrees to go. Tess leaves for The Chase, where she finds the home of the Stoke-d'Urbervilles, as they are now called. A young man with an almost swarthy complexion answers the door, and claims to be Alec d'Urberville. He does not allow Tess to see his mother, for she is an invalid, but she tells him that she is a poor relation. Alec shows her the estate, and he promises that his mother will find a berth for her. He tells her not to bother with the Durbeyfield name, but she says she wishes for no better. Alec prepares to kiss her, but lets her go. Tess perceives nothing, but if she had she might have asked why she was doomed to be seen and coveted that day by the wrong man.

Chapter Six:

As Tess leaves Trantridge Cross to return home, her fellow travelers in the van remark about the roses that adorn her appearance, the first time that she is aware of the spectacle she presents to them. Her mother greets Tess excitedly, and Tess shows her a letter written by Mrs. d'Urberville stating that Tess's services would be useful to her in the management of their poultry farm. Tess tells her parents that she would rather stay with them, but she cannot tell them why for she does not know the reason. Later, Alec d'Urberville visits the Durbeyfields to see whether Tess could come to manage the poultry farm. Joan Durbeyfield thinks highly of Alec as a mighty handsome man. John Durbeyfield is convinced that Alec will marry Tess, but Tess tells her father that she does not like having Alec there. Joan Durbeyfield finally prepares for her daughter to leave, assuming that she will marry, for she has been discovering matches for her daughter since she was born.

 

Chapter Seven:

The day that Tess is to leave, her mother scolds her for not dressing well, even though Tess dresses in proper clothes for working. Tess submits to her mother's wishes and has her hair washed. Although Joan expects her daughter to be married, she feels a slight misgiving as Tess leaves. The younger children cry when Tess leaves, but Tess scolds them for thinking that she will marry a gentleman. As Tess leaves, Joan remarks that Tess will do well as long as she plays her trump card. This trump card is not her d'Urberville blood, as her father believes, but her face.

Chapter Eight:

As Alec and Tess drive the carriage toward Trantridge, Tess becomes frightened by the quick movement of the horse as they go down the hill. She grasps Alec's arm, but he tells her to grasp his waist so that he can still control the horse. When the horse becomes calm, she reprimands him for driving so recklessly, but he tells her to put her arms around his waist again. She says never, but he persists. She says that she thought that he would be kind to her as her kinsman. He calls her rather sensitive for a cottage girl, and calls her an artful hussy.

Chapter Nine:

Tess begins to care for the birds in Mrs. d'Urberville's poultry house. Tess meets the old woman, who is blind, and asks Tess if she knows how to whistle. Although she knows that it is not a genteel trait, Tess admits to knowing how to whistle, and Mrs. d'Urberville tells her to practice it every day so that she can whistle to her bullfinches. Mrs. d'Urberville is not aware that Tess is a relative. The next day, Tess tries to whistle to the bullfinches, but becomes cross because she finds that she cannot do so. Alec finds her frustrated, and offers to give Tess a lesson. Repeated interaction with Alec d'Urberville removes Tess's original shyness toward him, without implanting any feeling which could engender a more tender shyness. One day, when Tess is whistling to the bullfinches in Mrs. d'Urberville's room while she is absent, Tess hears a rustling behind the bed. Alec has been hiding behind the curtains.

 

Chapter Ten:

The village of Trantridge demonstrates a particular levity and its residents tend to drink hard. The chief pleasure of many residents is going to Chaseborough, a decaying market town several miles away. Tess did not join in the weekly pilgrimages, but under pressure from matrons not much older than herself, she finally consents to go. During one trip there, she finds Alec d'Urberville also in town, and he promises to see her again. Tess goes on alone and finds a barn where the residents are dancing. Tess does not abhor dancing, but she did not want to do so, for the movement of the dancers grew more passionate. Tess finds Alec again, but she refuses his offers of assistance home. Tess goes to the other girls, one of whom is Car Darch, nicknamed Queen of Spades, and her sister, Nancy, nicknamed Queen of Diamonds. Car carries a wicker-basket containing her mother's groceries on the top of her head, and a stream of treacle had dripped down below her waist. All of the other girls laugh at Car, including Tess. However, Car notices Tess and confronts her. Car begins to disrobe to fight Tess, but Tess refuses and says that if she knew that Car was of that sort, she would not have consented to come with such a whorage. Car merely insults and continuously berates Tess, making her feel indignant and ashamed. Alec finds Tess once again, and he tells Tess to come with him. As Alec rescues Tess, Car's mother laughs, realizing that ”Tess has gotten out of the frying pan and into the fire.”

Chapter Eleven:

Tess admits to Alec that she is much obliged to him. He asks her why she dislikes him kissing her, and she says it is because she does not love him, and is angry with him sometimes. Alec did not object to this confession, because he prefers her anger to frigidity. He asks if he has offended her by love-making, and she says sometimes. She does not answer when he asks if she is offended every time he tries. Tess is weary, and nearly falls asleep on Alec's shoulder. Alec stops the horse and encloses her waist with his arm to support her, which immediately puts her on the defensive. When she pushes him away, he calls her devilish unkind, for he means no harm. He asks if she can show her belief in him by letting him clasp her with his arm. She finally submits and allows him to do so. Later on their journey, Tess finds that Alec has prolonged the ride home, and they are now in The Chase, the oldest wood in England. Tess calls him treacherous, and asks him to let her down so she may walk home. He agrees to let her walk home only after he finds a nearby house and ascertains their distance from Trantridge. Alec gives her an overcoat and walks away. In the meantime, he goes to ascertain which quarter of The Chase he is actually in, for he had purposely ridden at random. He returns to Tess and finds her sleeping. Tess 'A guardian angel' is nowhere to be seen, and Tess is seduced by Alec d'Urberville.

 

Phase Two: Maiden No More (chapter 12-15)

Chapter Twelve:

On a Sunday morning in late October, several weeks after the night ride in The Chase, Tess travels home. Ascending the road, she sees Alec d'Urberville, who has been looking for her. He asks why she is slipping away, for nobody wished to hinder her leaving. She vows never to come back. When he asks why she is crying, she says that she sees the village where she was born, and wishes she had not been born at all. Tess tells Alec that she did not come to Trantridge for him, and that she hates herself for her weakness. Tess admits that her "eyes were a little dazed" by Alec. Alec admits that he is a bad fellow, but vows not to be unkind to her again. He attempts to kiss her once more, but she insists that she has never loved him. He tells her that she is being absurd. He asks her to come back to him, but once again she refuses. After Alec finally leaves her, Tess sees a man carrying a tin pot of red paint. He paints a quote from the Bible on a stile: "Thy, Damnation, Slumbereth Not." She asks if he believes what he paints, and he replies quite adamantly that he does. She asks him to suppose that one's sin is not of one's own seeking, but he says that he cannot split hairs on that question. He tells her that if she wants edification, she should speak to Mr. Clare of Emminster, who will preach today. Tess reaches home and says that she is staying for a long holiday. Tess admits to her mother what occurred, and she scolds Tess for not getting Alec to marry her. Tess asks her mother why she did not warn her about the danger that men pose.

Chapter Thirteen:

Tess Durbeyfield's return to Marlott became the subject of gossip. In the course of several weeks Tess revived sufficiently to get to church. When she goes to church, she notices others around her staring at her and whispering; she knows what their whispers concern and feels that she cannot come to church anymore. The only exercise that Tess takes is after dark when she can be alone. She perceives herself as a figure of Guilt introducing into the haunts of Innocence.

Chapter Fourteen:

On a hot August afternoon, the sun beats down on Marlott while men and women work in the corn fields. Among the women is Tess, whom the other women watch carefully. At intervals she rests, for she has been somewhat changed. After a long seclusion she had decided to undertake outdoor work during the busiest season of the year. When she finishes her labor, during lunch her sister brings Tess's child to her so that she may breastfeed it. A nearby woman observes that Tess is fond of her child, although she might pretend to hate it. Tess had come to bear herself with dignity and to resolve not to wallow in her own self-pity. However, as her sorrows over bearing an illegitimate child fade away, a fresh sorrow arises. When Tess returns home after work, she finds that the baby had taken ill. Tess realizes that the baby has not been baptized. Tess begs her father to send for the parson, but he refuses out of pride. Tess goes to bed, but the infant's breathing grows more difficult and Tess prays for pity. Tess finally decides to baptize the infant herself: she gives it the name Sorrow. As she baptizes Sorrow, Tess appears to her siblings as a large, towering, divine personage. When Tess awakes the next morning, she finds that Sorrow has died. Tess wonders whether if it were doctrinally sufficient to secure a Christian burial for the child. She asks the new parson, and he agrees that Sorrow had been properly baptized, but he refuses to give a Christian burial out of community reasons. She tells him not to speak to her as saint to sinner, but as person to person. Finally he agrees that the burial will be the same.

Chapter Fifteen:

Tess began to note the passing of anniversaries, such as her first arrival at Trantridge and the fateful night at The Chase. Almost suddenly Tess changed from a simple girl to a complex woman. Her eyes grow larger and more eloquent. She wonders if chastity, once lost, is always lost and waits for a new departure. She vows that there will be no more talk of d'Urberville castles, and prepares to go to the Talbothays dairy.

 

Phase Three: The Rally (chapter 16-24)

Chapter Sixteen:

Tess leaves home for the second time, deciding that were she to remain, her younger siblings would probably gain less good by her precepts than harm by her example. On the way to Talbothays, Tess passes Kingsbere, the area in which her ancestors lay entombed. She dismisses ideas about her ancestors, realizing that she has as much of her mother as her father in her. Tess arrives at the dairy around milking time, half-past four in the morning.

Chapter Seventeen:

Tess begins milking with the other milkers, including the master dairyman, Richard Crick, who introduces himself to Tess and inquires after her family. Crick knows a little about the d'Urbervilles, but Tess dismisses the ideas that she comes from an esteemed family. Later, while Tess is on a break with the other workers, Crick tells a story about an aged man named William Dewy who was chased by a bull, but played a Christmas Eve hymn for the bull on his fiddle, causing it to lay down as if it were in a Nativity scene. After Crick tells the story, a young man remarks that the story is a reminder of medieval times, when faith was a living thing. The young man is Angel Clare, with whom Tess danced years ago. Later, Tess inquires about Angel, and another milkmaid tells her that Angel is learning milking and never says much. Since he is a parson's son, he is too taken with his thoughts to notice girls. Angel's father is Reverend Clare at Emminster, and all of his sons except for Angel are clergymen.

Chapter Eighteen:

Angel Clare has a nebulous, preoccupied quality, for he is a man with no very definite aim or concern about his material future. The youngest son of his father, a poor parson, he is at Talbothays to acquire a practical skill in the various processes of farming. His father had married his mother late in life, and his brothers had each acquired a university degree, even though Angel was the one whose promise might have done full justice to academic training. Before Angel met Tess at the dance in Marlott years before, a parcel came to Reverend Clare from the bookseller. This book was a philosophical work that prompts an argument between Angel and his father in which he admits that he does not want to be a minister. Since he was not to be ordained, Mr. Clare did not send Angel to Cambridge. Angel instead spent years in desultory studies, undertakings and meditations, beginning to evince considerable indifference to social forms and observances. He began to despise the distinctions of rank and wealth. Angel now takes great delight in the companionship at Talbothays: the conventional farm-folk of his imagination were obliterated in favor of more respectable people. Angel had grown away from old associations and now sees something new in life and humanity, making close acquaintance with natural phenomena. Tess and Angel discuss whether or not one's soul can leave his body while alive, and he finds her to be a fresh and virginal daughter of nature. He seems to discern in her something familiar that carries him back to a joyous past. Angel idealizes Tess as a "fresh and virginal daughter of nature"

Chapter Nineteen:

Since cows tend to show a fondness for particular milkers, Dairyman Crick insists on breaking down these partialities by constant interchange, yet the milkers themselves prefer to stay with particular cows. Angel Clare begins to arrange the cows so that Tess may milk her favorite ones. She mentions this to Angel, yet later regrets that she disclosed to him that she learned of his kindness. Tess hears Angel playing at his harp, and when she finds him she admits that she has no fear of the wilderness, but has more indoor fears. Angel admits that he thinks that the hobble of being alive is rather serious. Tess cannot understand why a man of clerical family and good education should look upon it as a mishap to be alive. She realizes that he is at the dairy so that he may become a rich dairyman. Angel asks Tess if she would like to take up a course of study, but she tells him that sometimes she does not want to know anything more about history than she actually does. Later, Tess learns from Dairyman Crick that Angel has scorn for the descendants of many noble families. After hearing this caricature of Clare's opinions Tess is glad that she had not said a word about her family.

Chapter Twenty:

Tess had never in her recent life been so happy and would possibly never be so happy again. She and Tess stand between predilection and love. For Angel, Tess represents a visionary essence of woman, and calls her Artemis, Demeter, and other fanciful names, but she insists that he call her simply Tess. Tess seems to exhibit a dignified largeness of disposition and physique. The two are always the first to awake at the dairy house, where they feel an impressive isolation, as if they are Adam and Eve.

Chapter Twenty-One:

There is a great stir in the milk-house just after breakfast, for the churn revolved but butter would not come. Whenever this happens the dairy is paralyzed. Mrs. Crick says that perhaps somebody in the house is in love, for she heard that this will cause it. Dairyman Crick tells a story about how a Jack Dollop impregnated a local girl, whose mother came to the dairy to find him. Jack hid in the churn; the mother learned this and started the churn with him inside until he agreed to marry the girl. The problem with the churn resolves itself, and Tess remains depressed throughout the afternoon. She is wretched at the perception that to her companions the dairyman's story had been a humorous one, for none seemed to see the sorrow of it. One night, Tess's three roommates (Retty Priddle, Marian, and Izz Huett) watch Angel in the garden from their window. The three each are attracted to Angel, but Retty says that none will marry him for he likes Tess Durbeyfield the best. Izz Huett says that Angel will not even marry Tess, for he will be a great landowner and a farmer abroad. Tess overhears this conversation and feels some deal of jealousy. She believes that unequal attachments of rank may lead for marriage, for she wonders what good a lady may be on a farm.

Chapter Twenty-Two:

The next morning Dairyman Crick orders his workers to overhaul the mead, for there is garlic in it that has spoiled the milk. While searching for garlic in the field, Angel finds Tess and they search together. Dairyman Crick finds them and tells her that she should not be out in the fields, for she was not feeling well a day or so ago. Tess mentions to Angel that Izzy Huett and Retty look pretty, but Angel insists on Tess's superiority. Tess finally tells Angel to marry one of them if she wants a dairywoman and not a lady, and not to think of marrying her. From this day Tess forces herself to take pains to avoid Angel.

Chapter Twenty-Three:

On Sunday, after milking the milkers travel to church in the rain. The lane leading from the parish has been flooded. While they cling to the bank, the girls find Angel Clare advancing toward them through the water. Angel asks the girls, avoiding Tess, whether they are going to church, and he vows to carry them through the flooded area. Tess is the final one to be carried, and she refuses, thinking that he must be so tired. Angel tells her that he carried the other girls so that he may get the opportunity to carry Tess. On the way to church, Marian remarks that the other girls have no chance against Tess, for Angel would have kissed her if she had encouraged him. Tess's heart aches, for there is no concealing the fact that she loves Angel Clare. That night, she vows that she will never stand in the way of Retty or the other girls. Izz tells Tess that a young lady of Angel's rank who supports him will marry Angel. After this disclosure Tess nourishes no further foolish thought that there lurks a grave import in Clare's attention to her, thinking that the love is a passing summer love for her face.

Chapter Twenty-Four:

The summer air is stagnant and enervating at the dairy now, as heavy scents weigh upon them. To Tess, Angel's face has a real vitality and warmth. Tess becomes aware that he is observing her. As they milk a cow, Angel finally jumps up and clasps Tess in his arms. She is taken completely by surprise, and yields to his embrace with unreflecting inevitability. He begs for forgiveness, but Tess merely says that the cow is angry and will kick over the milk. Tess begins to cry, but Angel declares that he loves her. Something occurs between them that changes the pivot of the universe for their two natures, something which the dairyman would have despised as a practical man. A veil has been whisked aside, for a short time or for a long.

 

Phase Four: The Consequence (chapers 25-34)

Chapter Twenty-Five:

That night, after Tess retires to her chamber, Angel goes outside, not knowing what to think of himself. Angel and Tess had kept apart since their embrace that afternoon. Angel is shocked to find how great the obscure dairy where he works means to him. To Angel, everything exists through Tess. Angel decides to discuss Tess with his friends, thinking that in less than five months his term at Talbothays will be over and after a few months at other farms he will be fully equipped in agricultural knowledge and in a position to start a farm himself. At that point he would want a wife who would understand farming. One morning Dairyman Crick tells his milkers that Angel has gone to Emminster to spend a few days with his family. Crick expects that Angel will not remain long at Talbothays. Angel returns home, where he finds near his father's church a woman wearing a broad-brimmed hat and attempts to avoid her. The young lady is Mercy Chant, whom his parents hoped would marry Angel. Reverend Clare is a clergymen of a type that had nearly died out, a spiritual descendant of Luther and Calvin, an Evangelical of Evangelicals. Among his family, Angel has become to seem more like a farmer and behaves less in the manner of a scholar. After breakfast Angel walks with his brothers, two men who wear whatever glasses are fashionable without reference to their affect on their vision, and who carry pocket copies of Wordsworth when he is fashionable, and Shelley when he is. His brothers notice Angel's growing social ineptness as he notice their growing mental limitations. At dinner that night, Mrs. Clare tells Angel that she has given away the black-pudding that Mrs. Crick sent as a gift to local children, while they will not drink the mead that Mrs. Crick sent, for it is too alcoholic and they never drink spirits at the table on principle. When Angel suggests that he will say to the Cricks that the family enjoyed the gifts, Mr. Clare insists that Angel tell them the truth.

Chapter Twenty-Six:

Angel discusses with his father his plans for attaining a position as a farmer in England or one of the Colonies. Reverend Clare feels that it is his duty to set up a sum of money for Angel, for he did not pay for him to go to university. When Angel mentions marriage, Reverend Clare suggests Mercy Chant, but Angel says that it would be more practical to have a woman who can work as a farmer. Angel mentions that he has found a possible wife, and Mrs. Clare asks if she is from a respectable family. Mrs. Clare insists on Mercy Chant, claiming that she has accomplishments. Angel claims that Tess is full of actualized poetry, and an unimpeachable Christian. Reverend Clare tells Angel a story about a young man with the last name d'Urberville, known for his rakish behavior. Reverend Clare had confronted him when he was preaching at another church, and the two nearly got into a brawl. Angel finds that he cannot accept his parents' narrow dogma, but he reveres his father's practice and recognizes the heroism under the piety.

Chapter Twenty-Seven:

Angel returns to Talbothays, where he finds Tess, who has recently awakened. Angel tells Tess that he shall soon want to marry, and asks Tess if she will be his wife. Tess declares that she cannot be his wife, and she claims that the reason is that his father is a parson and his mother wouldn't want her to marry him. He counters these objections, telling her that he has discussed the matter with his parents. Angel then recounts the story that his father told him about Alec d'Urberville, not mentioning the actual name, and when he asks Tess about marriage once more she says that it cannot be.

Chapter Twenty-Eight:

Tess's refusal does not permanently daunt Clare, knowing that the negative is often the preface to a later affirmative. Angel asks Tess if she loves another man, but she says that this is not the reason for her refusal. She says that it is for his own good. Tess wonders why nobody has told Angel the entirety of Tess's history. When Angel asks Tess once more, she tells him that she will tell him all about himself. She vows to tell him on Sunday. Tess feels that she cannot help giving in and marrying Angel, but feels that it is wrong and it may kill Angel when he finds out about her.

Chapter Twenty-Nine:

Dairyman Crick tells the milkers at breakfast that Jack Dollop just got married to a widow-woman, and never married the matron's daughter. However, by marrying the widow lost her yearly allowance. Mrs. Crick remarks that the widow should have told Jack sooner that the ghost of her first husband would trouble him. Beck Knibbs, a married helper from one of the cottages, says that she was justified in not telling him, for all is fair in love and war. For Tess, what is comedy to her fellow workers is tragedy to her. Tess refuses Angel once more. Dairyman Crick sends Angel to go to the station, and Tess agrees to accompany him.

Chapter Thirty:

Tess and Angel travel together on the carriage to the station. Tess considers the various Londoners and such who will drink the milk that they are bringing to the station. Angel once again asks Tess to marry him. Tess finally begins to tell Angel her history. She tells him that she is not a Durbeyfield, but a d'Urberville. He dismisses that information as insignificant. He claims that he hates the aristocratic principle of blood, but is interested in this news. Angel claims that he rejoices in the d'Urberville descent, for Tess's sake. Angel vows to spell Tess's name correctly from this very day, and calls her ‘Teresa d'Urberville.' Tess finally assents to marry Angel. Angel realizes when he saw Tess first, at the dance at Marlott.

Chapter Thirty-One:

Tess writes a letter to her mother the next day, and by the end of the week receives a reply. Her mother gives Tess her best wishes and tells her not to tell Angel anything about her past, for many women have trouble in their time and she should not trumpet hers when others do not trumpet theirs. This advice reassures Tess, who dismisses her past, treading upon it and putting it out as a smoldering, dangerous coal. As a suitor, Angel is more spiritual than animal. Tess worries when the two walk in public as a couple, thinking that it may reach his friends at Emminster that he is walking about with a milkmaid. He thinks it absurd that a d'Urberville hurt the dignity of a Clare. One evening Tess abruptly tells Angel that she is not worthy of him, but Angel tells her that he will not have her speak as such. Angel asks on what day they shall be married, but he does not want to think like this. The news of their engagement reaches the other milkmaids and Dairyman Crick. Tess tells the other girls that Angel ought to marry one of them, for all are better than she. The girls try to hate Tess for her relationship but Angel, but find that they cannot.

Chapter Thirty-Two:

Tess seems to want to stay in a state of perpetual betrothal with Angel, although the beginning of November seems to be when she will marry him. Angel mentions to Tess how Mr. Crick told him how, when he leaves Talbothays it will be winter, when the workload would be light and therefore he should take Tess with him. Tess finally agrees to fix the day of the wedding. Angel wishes to see a little of the working of a flour mill, and visits one at Wellbridge, where he stays at a farm house that had once been a d'Urberville mansion. Angel’s visit to the former d'Urberville mansion (planning to be the site of the couple's honeymoon), foreshadows the inevitable return of Tess's history. Tess finally decides to marry Angel on the thirty-first of December. Tess, however, forgets to publish banns in time, but Angel says that obtaining a marriage license will be a better means of marrying. Tess forgets to publish the banns for the wedding, due to her fear that her secret may be exposed. (During this time in England, the most common means of marriage is the publish banns; which requires the announcement of the engagement on several successive Sundays in church). She thinks of her mother's ballad of the mystic robe: "That never would become that wife / That had once done amiss." Tess wonders whether her wedding dress will betray her.

Chapter Thirty-Three:

Angel wishes to spend a day with Tess away from the dairy before the wedding, thus they spend a day in the nearest town on Christmas Eve. While in town, others remark that she is a comely maid, although a Trantridge man thinks that he recognizes her. He thinks that she was once a woman of ill repute. That night, Angel has a dream that he fought with the man who insulted Tess. This is the last thing required for Tess to turn the scale of her indecision. Tess writes on four pages a succinct narrative of those events of years before and slips it under his door. The next morning, Angel meets her at the bottom of the stairs and kisses her as warmly as ever. Tess feels that her doubts were childish and he may have forgiven her. On the wedding day, Tess finds in Angel's room the note under the carpet, unopened and never seen. Tess attempts to tell Angel once more, but she does not. On the way to the church, Tess believes that she has seen the carriage before. Angel tells Tess the legend of the d'Urberville Coach, the superstition of the county that a certain d'Urberville who committed a dreadful crime in his family coach. Supposedly, members of the d'Urberville family see the coach at certain times, but Angel refuses to tell Tess when. Tess marries Angel, but feels that she is somewhat more truly Mrs. Alexander d'Urberville. When she finds herself alone, Tess prays. Although she tries to pray to God, she in fact prays to Angel. As the two leave Talbothays, Tess advises Angel to kiss her three roommates one more time. On their way out of Talbothays, they see an afternoon crow.

Chapter Thirty-Four:

Tess and Angel go to Wellbridge, where they stay in one of the d'Urberville ancestral mansions. On entering, they find that they have only a couple of rooms. Two life-size portraits of d'Urberville ladies frighten Tess, for she can see her form in theirs. Jonathan Kail, the servant, brings a package from Reverend Clare to Tess, containing a necklace with pendant, bracelets and earrings. Angel has Tess put on the jewelry, and imagines how wonderful she would appear in a ballroom. Tess thinks that the jewelry must be sold. Jonathan tells Tess how Retty Priddle attempted to drown herself when the Clares left, and how Marian was found drunk. Only Izzy remains as usual, but her spirits remain low. Tess feels guilty about her fate, thinking herself undeserving. Angel promises to tell Tess all of his faults. Angel admits how in London he plunged into a forty-eight hour dissipation with a stranger. Tess decides to tell Angel about her sin, and enters into her story about Alec d'Urberville.

 

Phase 5: The Woman Pays (Chapters 35-44)

Chapter Thirty-Five:

Tess finishes her story, which she had given in a monotone and without any displays of emotion. She watches the flame in the fireplace flicker, as everything around her seems to mock her situation with its lack of response. Angel stirs the fire, having not yet comprehended the events. His face withers as he cries out that this cannot be true. She begs for forgiveness, for she has forgiven him the same. Angel claims that forgiveness is irrelevant, for she was one person before and now is another. He calls her another woman in her shape. She bursts into tears as she asks whether or not she still belongs to him anymore. Tess vows not to do anything unless he orders her, and vows to behave as a wretched slave and die if he so desires. He tells her that there is a discordance between her present mood of self-sacrifice and her past mood of self-preservation. Angel leaves the room for a walk. Tess follows him, but the two say nothing. Finally she asks what she has done, saying that it is his mind that has changed and that she is not the deceitful woman that he thinks she is. She claims that she was a child when it happened and knew nothing of men. He claims he forgives her, but forgiveness is not all. Tess says that her mother has told her of many cases in which similar situations occur, in which the husband survives and still loves the wife. Angel claims that his situation is one for satirical laughter rather than tragedy, and asks Tess to return to the house to go to bed. Angel returns later to find her sleeping soundly. He turns to leave and sees a portrait of a d'Urberville lady that appears sinister.

Chapter Thirty-Six:

Angel arises at dawn; the neighboring cottager's wife knocks on the door, but he sends her away because her presence is awkward. Angel prepares breakfast, and the two behave civilly to one another, although “the pair are but ashes of their former fires." Angel asks again if it is true, and he asks if the man is still in England. Tess says that he can get rid of her by divorcing her; her confession has given him adequate grounds for that. She tells him that she thought of putting an end to herself under the mistletoe, but did not because she felt it would cause scandal. Tess continues to do chores around the house for Angel while he visits a local miller, but he scolds her for behaving as a servant and not a wife. Tess breaks into tears, claiming that she had told him that she was not respectable enough to marry him, but he urged her. Her tears would have broken any man but Angel Clare, whose affection masks a hard, logical deposit like a vein of metal that blocks his acceptance of Tess as it blocked his acceptance of the Church. He tells her that it is not a question of respectability, but one of principle. Angel tells Tess that it is imperative that they should stay together to avoid scandal, but it is only for the sake of form. Angel tells Tess that he cannot live with Tess without despising himself and despising her. He considers what their possible children may think. She considers arguing that in Texas or Australia, nobody will know about her misfortunes, but she accepts the momentary sentiment as inevitable. Angel's love is doubtless ethereal to a fault, imaginative to impracticability . He orders her to go away from him, and she says that she can go home. She claims that she has convinced him and that she thinks it best.

Chapter Thirty-Seven:

At midnight, Angel enters the bedroom to find Tess, who was asleep. Standing still, he murmurs in an indescribably sad tone "dead, dead, dead." Angel occasionally walks in his sleep as he does now. Tess sees this continued mental distress. Angel bends low and encloses Tess in his arms, and rolls her in the sheet as in a shroud. He lifts her from the bed and carries her across the room, murmuring "my dearest darling Tess! So sweet so good, so true!." He leans her against the banister as if to throw her down, but rather kisses her and descends the staircase. Tess cannot determine Angel's ultimate intention, but finally realizes that he is dreaming about the Sunday when he carried her across the water with the other milkmaids. He carries her near the river, and she believes he may drown her. He walks through the shallow areas of the river carrying her, but they reach the other side in safety; if she had awakened him, they would have fallen into the gulf and both died. Angel carries her to the empty stone coffin of an abbot, where he lays Tess and then falls down asleep. Tess sits up in the coffin, but does not awake Angel out of fear that he may die if awakened from sleep-walking. She walks him back to the house and induces him to lay down on the sofa bed. The next morning, Angel seems to know nothing about the previous night's events. The two leave Wellbridge to return to Talbothays to pay a visit to the Cricks. At Talbothays, Tess learns that Marian and Retty have left Talbothays, and she fears they will come to no good. After Tess and Angel leave, Mrs. Crick remarks how unnatural the two look, as if they were in a dream. Angel tells Tess that he has no anger, and he will let her know where he is going as soon as he himself knows. He tells her that until he comes to her she should not come to him, and that she should write if she is ill or if she wants anything.

Chapter Thirty-Eight:

Tess returns to Marlott, where a turnpike-keeper tells how John Durbeyfield's daughter has married a gentleman farmer and the Durbeyfields have since been celebrating. Tess attempts to arrive at home unobserved, but cannot. She sees a girl whom she knew from school and claims that her husband is now away at business. When Tess arrives at home, she admits to her mother that she told Angel about her past. Tess claims that she could not so sin against him, but Joan replies that she sinned enough to marry him first. Tess finds that there is no place for her at home anymore; her old bed is now used by two of the younger children. Her father is a foot-haggler now, having sold his second horse. When John finds out what has happened to Tess, he laments the humiliation he will receive, and claims that he will put an end to himself. Tess decides to stay only a few days, and receives a letter from Angel informing her that he had gone to the north of England to look for a farm. Tess uses this as a reason to leave Marlott, claiming that she will join Angel. Before she leaves, she gives half of the fifty pounds Angel has given her to her mother, as a slight return for the humiliation she had brought upon them.

Chapter Thirty-Nine:

Three weeks after the marriage, Angel returns to his father's parsonage. His recent conduct has been desultory, and his mood became one of dogged indifference. He wonders if he had treated Tess unfairly, and returns to Emminster to disclose his plan to his parents and to best explain why he has arrived without Tess without revealing the actual cause of their separation. Angel tells his parents that he has decided to go to Brazil. They regret that they could not have met his wife and that they did not attend the wedding. Mrs. Clare questions Angel about Tess, asking if he was her first love, and if she is pure and virtuous without question. He answers that she is. The Clares read a chapter in Proverbs in praise of a virtuous wife. After reading the chapter, Mrs. Clare thinks about how the passage so well describes the woman Angel has chosen. Angel can no longer bear this, and goes to his chamber. Mrs. Clare follows him, thinking that something is wrong. He admits to his mother that he and his wife have had a difference. Mrs. Clare senses that Tess is a young woman whose history will bear investigation, but he replies that she is spotless. Angel perceives his own limitations, knowing that he is a slave to custom and conventionality. In considering what Tess was not, he had overlooked what she was.

Chapter Forty:

Angel discusses Brazil with his parents at breakfast, then does errands around town. On the way to the bank, he encounters Mercy Chant, carrying an armful of Bibles. Angel suggests that he may go to Brazil as a monk, implying Roman Catholicism, which shocks Mercy, who claims she glories in her Protestantism. He apologizes to her, telling her that he thinks that he is going crazy. Angel deposits money for Tess and wrote to her at her parents to inform her of his plans. Angel calls at the Wellbridge farmhouse, where he surprisingly reminisces about the happier time there. Angel wonders whether he has been cruelly blinded, and believes that if she had told him sooner he would have forgiven her. Angel finds Izz Huett there. She tells Angel that if he had asked her to marry him, he would have married a woman who loved him. Angel admits to Izz that he has separated from his wife for personal reasons, and asks Izz to go to Brazil with him instead of her. She admits that she does not love him as much as Tess did, for Tess would have laid down her life for him and Izz could do no more. Finally Angel claims that he does not know what he has been saying, and apologizes for his momentary levity. He tells Izz that she has saved him by her honest words about Tess from an impulse toward folly and treachery. According to Angel, women may be bad, but are not so bad as men in such things.

Chapter Forty-One:

Eight months after Angel and Tess part, Tess is a lonely woman who found irregular service at dairy-work near Port Bredy to the west of Blackmoor Valley. She had concealed her circumstances from her mother, but Joan wrote to Tess that the family was in dreadful difficulty, and Tess sent money to her. Tess is now reluctant to ask Reverend Clare for money, as Angel suggested that she could, for she fears that the Clares despise her already. At this point Angel lies ill from fever in Brazil, having been drenched with thunderstorms and persecuted by other hardships. Tess now journeys to an upland farm to which she had been recommended by Marian, who learned of her separation through Izz Huett. On her journey, she meets the man whom Angel confronted for addressing Tess coarsely. He tells Tess that she should apologize for allowing Angel to inappropriately defend her honor, but Tess cannot answer him. Tess instead runs away, where she hides in the forested area. She remains in hiding until morning, where she finds dying birds around her, the remains of a shooting party from the night before. She puts the birds out of their misery.

Chapter Forty-Two:

Tess starts again alone toward Chalk-Newton, where she has breakfast at an inn. At this inn, several young men are troublesomely complimentary to her because of her good looks. After leaving the inn, Tess covers her chin and hair with a handkerchief and cuts off her eyebrows to deflect against men's admiration. She thinks that she will always be ugly as long as Angel is not with her. Tess walks onward, from farm to farm in the direction of the place from which Marian had written her. Tess finally reaches Flintcomb-Ash, the place of Marian's sojourn. The place is barren and rough. Tess's plain appearance surprises Marian, who thinks that she has been abused. Tess asks that Marian not call her Mrs. Clare. Marian tells Tess that she will be employed at swede-hacking, a rough profession. Tess asks Marian to say nothing about Angel, for she does not wish to bring his name down to the dirt.

Chapter Forty-Three:

Tess sets to work at Flintcomb-Ash, sustained by her sense of patience. For Tess, patience combines moral courage with physical timidity. The movement of the swede-hackers shows a mechanical regularity, as they work hour after hour unconscious of the forlorn aspect they bear on the landscape. Marian now has alcohol as her only comfort. She proposes to Tess that they invite Izz Huett and Retty Priddle to come to Flintcomb-Ash. Marian soon hears from Izz that she is coming. The winter is particularly harsh, one day preventing work altogether. Marian tells Tess that the harsh weather improves Tess's beauty, and that her husband should see her now. Tess reprimands Marian for her mention of him. Along with Tess, Marian and Izz, two other women working at Flintcomb-Ash are Car and Nancy Darch, neither of whom recognize Tess. Tess finds that her employer is the Trantridge native from whom she had taken flight. He laughs that he has regained his superior position. Tess does not answer him, so he demands an apology. Izz tells Tess that Angel was a splendid lover, no doubt, and tells Tess that Angel has left for the New World. Tess claims that she can always find out where Angel is. Tess continues to work, but she finally sinks down upon a heap of wheat-ears at her feet. Marian cries out that the work requires harder flesh than hers. The farmer suddenly enters and reprimands her for not working. Izz and Marian continue working to make up for Tess after the farmer leaves. Marian tells Tess how Angel asked Izz to accompany him to Brazil, but changed his mind. Tess cries at this news, thinking that she has been wrong and neglectful. Tess writes a letter to Angel, but cannot finish it. Afterwards she takes the wedding ring she keeps on a ribbon around her neck and wears it on her finger.

Chapter Forty-Four:

Tess wonders why her husband has not written to her, for he had distinctly implied that he would at least let her know of the locality to which he journeyed. She wonders whether he is indifferent or ill. On a Sunday morning, the only morning in which Tess may leave, Tess leaves for Emminster. When Tess reaches the home of the Clares at Emminster, nobody answers, for they are all at church. Tess sees Felix and Cuthbert, but fears that they should find her before she is prepared to confront them. Tess also sees Mercy Chant, whom one of the brothers identifies; Tess remembers the name from Talbothays, and listens as the brothers discuss how Angel threw himself away upon a dairymaid. When the Clares reach their home once more, they find Tess's boots which she has left there and appropriate them as charity. Tess views this scene as evidence of her condemnation, and feels that she cannot return to the vicarage. Tess leaves Emminster and reaches the village of Evershead, where she learns that a fiery, Christian man is preaching. Tess finds this preacher giving a sermon on justification by faith. She recognizes the voice of the preacher as that of Alec d'Urberville.

 

Phase 6: The Convert (Chapters 45-52)

Chapter Forty-Five:

Alec d'Urberville appears with the same unpleasantness, but now has a neatly-trimmed mustache and a half-clerical dress. Alec has not been reformed, but rather transfigured, his passion for religious devotion instead of sensuality. Tess feels that this change is unnatural, although Christianity has a pattern of great sinners becoming great saints. Alec approaches her and tells her that his duty is to save, and there is no person to whom he has a greater duty than Tess. Tess asks him if he has saved himself, for charity begins at home. He says indifferent that he has done nothing and that no amount of contempt will equal what he has brought upon himself. Alec mentions Reverend Clare, who has been his religious inspiration since confronting Alec. She tells Alec that she does not believe his conversion, for a better man does not believe as much as Alec claims. Alec tells Tess that he should not look at her too often, for women's faces have too much power over him already. The two reach the point called Cross-in-Hand, named for a stone pillar that once stood there. Alec asks her who has taught her such proper English, and she claims that she has learned things in her troubles. She tells him about Sorrow, which shocks him. He asks Tess to swear on the Cross-in-Hand that she will never tempt him by her charms and ways. Upon leaving Tess, Alec opens a letter from Reverend Clare that expresses joy at Alec's conversion. Tess asks a shepherd the meaning of the Cross-in-Hand, and he says that it is no holy cross, but rather a medieval torture device and a place of ill omen.

Chapter Forty-Six:

Several days pass since Tess's journey to Emminster. Tess sees a man approach as she works; it is not Farmer Groby, her employer, but rather Alec d'Urberville. Alec claims that he has a good reason for violating Tess's request that he not see her. He tells her that he now sees that she suffers from hard conditions, which she did not know earlier because he saw her in her best dress. He tells her that her case was the worst he was ever concerned in, and he had no idea of what resulted until their encounter days before. He takes blame for the ordeal, but says that it is a shame that parents bring up girls ignorant of the wicked. He tells her that he has lost his mother since Tess left Trantridge and he intends to devote himself to missionary work in Africa. He asks Tess if she will be his wife and accompany her. He tells Tess that his mother's dying wish was for Alec to be married, and he presents Tess with a marriage license. Tess admits to Alec that she is already married, and claims that she and Alec are now strangers. As Tess attempts to explain her situation, Alec calls her a deserted wife and he grabs her hand. She asks Alec to leave in the name of his own Christianity. Farmer Groby approaches Alec and Tess and asks what the commotion is, and Alec calls him a tyrant. When Farmer Groby leaves, Tess says that Farmer Groby will not hurt her, because he's not in love with her. That night, Tess writes a letter to Angel, concealing her hardships. Tess sees Alec again, and he remarks that Tess seems to have no religion, perhaps owing to him. She says that she believes in the spirit of the Sermon on the Mount, but she does not believe other details. Alec dismisses her opinions as merely those of her husband. He claims that Angel must be an infidel. Alec gives Tess a poster giving the time when he would preach, but claims that he would rather be with Tess. Alec claims that Tess has the means of his backsliding, and accuses her of tempting him.

Chapter Forty-Seven:

A man comes to see Tess, and her three companions watch. They do not recognize the man as Alec, however, for Alec does not appear as a ranting parson, as they have heard him described, but rather as a dandy. Alec has returned to his normal appearance, wearing fancy clothing once more and shaving off his beard. Alec claims that he has given up his preaching entirely. Alec tells Tess that he does not want her working at Flinctcomb-Ash. He derides Tess's husband, whose name he does not know, as a "mythological personage." Alec tells her that she should leave her husband forever, and Tess responds by slapping him with her leather glove, drawing blood. When he springs up at her, she tells him that he can whip her or crush her, and she will not cry out because she is always his victim. Alec tells her that he was her master once and will be her master again.

Chapter Forty-Eight:

Alec continues to visit Flintcomb-Ash to observe Tess. When he visits her again, he says that if he cannot legitimize their former relations, he can at least assist her. He says that although his religious mania is over, he retains a little good nature. He says that he will make her family comfortable if only she will show confidence in him. She tells him not to mention her siblings, and if he wants to help them, he should do so without telling her. After Alec leaves, Tess writes yet another letter to Angel, asking him to return to her. In this letter, she writes that she lives entirely for him and would be content to live with him as his servant if not as his wife.

Chapter Forty-Nine:

The Clares receive the letter that Tess wrote to Angel so that they may forward it to him. Mrs. Clare laments that Angel has been ill-used and should have been sent to Cambridge. The Clares blame themselves for Angel's marriage, for if Angel were not destined to be a farmer, he would have never been thrown in with an agricultural girl. During Angel's absence he had mentally aged a dozen years. Angel wonders whether he rejected Tess eternally and could no longer say that he would always reject her. Angel has grown to be Tess's advocate, remembering Izz Huett's words about her. Tess's sister, Liza-Lu, visits Tess at Flintcomb-Ash and tells her how both of their parents are ill and Joan may be dying.

Chapter Fifty:

Tess returns home to find a neighbor who has been caring for Joan Durbeyfield. John tells Tess that he is thinking of asking local antiquarians to subscribe to a fund to maintain him as a part of local history. He says that such societies keep local bones, and living remains should be far more interesting. Alec finds Tess in Marlott. He asks Tess if her engagement at Flintcomb-Ash has ended, and mocks the idea that she might join her husband. Tess replies that she has no husband. Alec tells her that he has sent her something that should have arrived at her house, and insists that he will help her in spite of herself. When Tess returns home, she finds that her father has died.

Chapter Fifty-One:

Over the preceding generation, the class of skilled laborers in Marlott had largely left, leaving only tenant farmers. Those who were not employed as farmers were largely forced to seek refuge. Upon John Durbeyfield's death, the Durbeyfield's lease of their home is not renewed and the family is forced to find accommodations elsewhere. Tess believes that their lease is not renewed because of her reappearance in Marlott, a reminder of the family's questionable morals. Alec tells Tess the full legend of the d'Urberville coach. According to family legend, a d'Urberville abducted a beautiful woman who tried to escape from his coach and, in a struggle, he killed her. Tess admits that she is the reason that her family must leave their home, for she is not a proper woman. She tells Alec that they will go to Kingsbere, where they have lodgings. Alec offers his house at Trantridge and tells Tess that her husband will never return to her. Tess says that, if her circumstances with Alec would change, her mother would be homeless again. He offers a guarantee in writing against that occurring. Tess says that she can have money from her father-in-law if she were to ask, but Alec retorts that he knows that she will never ask. Tess writes to Angel again, asking why he has treated her so monstrously and vowing to forget him because of the injustice she has received at his hands. Tess and her family remain in their home for the last night, and Joan sees a man at the window. Tess says that it is not her husband, and once they reach Kingsbere she will tell her mother everything. Tess worries that Alec is her husband in a very physical sense.

Chapter Fifty-Two:

Tess and her family leave Marlott, and on their journey she sees Marian and Izz, who have left the hard life at Flintcomb-Ash. When the family reach their destination, the innkeeper tells them that they have no lodgings there, for he received their request too late. The family instead stays in the d'Urberville Aisle church where the family vault is located. Alec d'Urberville finds Tess there. Marian and Izz discuss Angel; Marian thinks that they will never have Angel no matter what, and they should try to mend his situation with Tess. They write to Angel that he should look to his wife if he loves her as she loves him.

 

Phase 7: Fulfillment (Chapters 53-59)

Chapter Fifty-Three:

Reverend and Mrs. Clare await the return of their son, and when they see him Mrs. Clare is shocked to see him sickly and angular. He asserts that he is fine now, but then nearly faints. The Clares give Angel the latest letter they received from Tess, which asserts that Tess will try to forget him. Mrs. Clare tells him not to worry about such a mere child of the soil, but Angel retorts that they are all children of the soil. Angel sends a line to Marlott announcing his return and his hope that Tess is still living there, but in several days receives a letter from Joan Durbeyfield telling him that they are no longer at Marlott and Tess is not with them and she does not know when Tess will return. Angel decides to wait for another letter, but then rereads an earlier letter by Tess in which she claims that she would die for him. He determines that her more recent note does not show her true feelings, and decides to find Tess. Angel realizes that Tess has not asked for money from the Clares because of their special charity toward sinners. As Angel packs, he finds the note from Marian and Izz.

Chapter Fifty-Four:

Angel travels to find Tess, passing Cross-in-Hand and Flintcomb-Ash. He discovers there that nobody knew a Mrs. Clare, but they did know about Tess. Angel travels to Marlott, where he learns that John Durbeyfield is dead and his widow and children had left for Kingsbere. He sees John Durbeyfield's tomb, with its inscription "How Are the Mighty Fallen." Eventually, Angel finds Joan Durbeyfield, who tells him that Tess has not come home. When Angel asks whether Tess would want him to look for her, Joan Durbeyfield claims no emphatically, but Angel replies that he is sure that she would because he knows Tess better. Joan admits that she has never really known her daughter, and tells Angel that Tess is at Sandbourne.

Chapter Fifty-Five:

Angel reaches Sandbourne, a fashionable village that had recently experienced tremendous growth. Angel wonders where Tess could be amidst the wealth and fashion around him. He asks the postman for the address of a Mrs. Clare, and then a Miss Durbeyfield, but he does not know either. Another postal worker tells Angel the address of a d'Urberville at The Herons. Angel goes to this lodging house and asks Mrs. Brooks, the householder, for Teresa d'Urberville. He learns that she has been passing as a married woman. Tess appears, loosely wrapped in a cashmere dressing gown. Angel begs forgiveness for going away, but she says that it is too late. She says that she waited and waited, but Alec has won her back. She says that she hates Alec now, for he told her the lie that Angel would never come again. Angel can barely speak, but feels that Tess had ceased to recognize the body before her as her husband.

Chapter Fifty-Six:

Mrs. Brooks had heard fragments of the conversation between Angel and Tess, and hears Tess return to her room. Mrs. Brooks ascends the stairs and stands at the door of the drawing room. She can hear only a low sort of moaning as Tess sobs, and then hears portions of a conversation between Alec and Tess in which she tells him that Angel has returned and it looks as if he is dying. She tells Alec that she has lost Angel again because of him. Alec replies in sharper words and there is a sudden rustle before Mrs. Brooks hastily retreats down the stairs. Later, Mrs. Brooks notices a red spot on the white ceiling that had grown since the morning and has qualms of misgiving. She finds a workman nearby and asks him to enter the room with her. They find in the room Alec d'Urberville, who has been stabbed in the heart with a knife and is now dead.

Chapter Fifty-Seven:

Angel prepares to leave town, dejected. He walks to the first nearby train station, and as he travels he sees a woman running toward him. It is Tess, who has been following him. She tells Angel that she has killed Alec, and smiles faintly as she tells him this. Tess admits that she killed Alec when he taunted Tess and called Angel by a foul name. Angel wonders what obscure strain in the d'Urberville blood had led to this aberration of moral sense, if it were an aberration. Angel thinks about the legend of the d'Urberville coach. He vows not to desert Tess, and they continue together. They pass a deserted mansion, Bramshurst Court, where they rest.

Chapter Fifty-Eight:

That night, Tess tells Angel about how he carried her while sleepwalking, and he regrets that she did not tell him about this earlier, for it might have prevented much misunderstanding and woe. Tess is reluctant to leave their shelter and go toward Southampton or London, for she wonders why they must put an end to all that is sweet and lovely. She says that what must come will come. Angel decides that they must finally leave the mansion, but Tess wishes to stay, for she believes she will not last more than several weeks. Angel plans to take Tess north, where they can sail from Wessex. They travel northward and reach Stonehenge. Tess wishes to remain there, for Angel used to say that she was a heathen and thus Stonehenge is appropriate for her. Tess asks Angel to look after Liza-Lu if he loses her and to marry her. Tess falls asleep there, and as she sleeps a party of sixteen men surrounds Stonehenge to get Tess. Tess awakes, and asks Angel if they have come for her. Tess admits that she is almost glad, for her happiness could not have lasted. She tells them that she is ready.

Chapter Fifty-Nine:

Angel Clare walks with Liza-Lu, moving hand in hand without speaking. Tess is executed for her crime, as "justice" is done and fate has ended his sport with Tess. As the black flag is raised, Angel and Liza-Lu silently rise, join hands and move on.

 

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