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    Tess of the D'Urbervilles: Level 6
    Tess of the D'Urbervilles: Level 6
    Tess of the D'Urbervilles: Level 6
    Ebook150 pages2 hours

    Tess of the D'Urbervilles: Level 6

    By Thomas Hardy

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    This is a tale of love, betrayal, and murder. A poor ruralpeasant's daughter, Tess, struggles to find her place in society.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCompass Publishing
    Release dateFeb 24, 2009
    ISBN9781599663432
    Tess of the D'Urbervilles: Level 6

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    Reviews for Tess of the D'Urbervilles

    4/5

    3,637 ratings118 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The book is beautifully written, so much so, I took off a star because it is all so sad. Tess, is a woman betrayed, and the full millstones of the gods descend on her. Do read it, and then try a cheer up routine. At first a bowdlerized version was a magazine serial in 1891...but if you had the money, you could buy the whole thing in three hardcover volumes in 1892.
    • 4/5
      Spoilers be nigh. I read this in high school (sort of), which may explain why I hated it so passionately. I think the only thing I ever read in school that I didn't hate with a passion was Romeo and Juliet (and I was apparently very lucky about that – I understand school usually does a number on Shakespeare for people, too). I remember reading R&J upside-down in the living room armchair, enraptured by and a little drunk on the language. (The latter might have been partly because I was upside down, of course.) All I remember about Tess is the sick feeling of depression when I finished. (Which, given the circumstances, means that this was a remarkably poor choice of books for me at that moment in my life. Why did I never have a decent English teacher? Where was Robin Williams when I needed him?) I remember that, and had a vague presentiment that Tess would hang at the end of the book, but I was fixed on the idea that she must kill herself – somehow I completely forgot about the murder of Alec D'Urberville. And never have I been more delighted by a bloodstain in my life. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I chose audio format for this buddy read with Kim and Hayes and Simran and Jemidar (thank you, my friends!), and I'm glad I did. Not only do I think the world of Simon Vance (whose voice for Angel Clare almost seduced me into forgetting how worthless he was and made me want to forgive him. Almost), but the dialect in print was very likely one reason I loathed this book lo! those many years ago. Vance's compassionate reading was very likely one big reason I did not loathe this book this time. His feminine voices aren't the cringe-worthy things many male narrators produce – his Tess, light and with just the right amount of accent for whatever circumstance, became Tess for me. The men in this book remind me of Ricky's film about the plastic bag in American Beauty, without the beauty: a gust of wind, and the bag soars up; the air stills and the bag drops. A breath, and it skitters to one side; a draft, and it slides to the right. Every change in the wind sends these men in another direction, with another disposition – ecstatic, righteous, lust-filled, angry, depressed… sometimes several of these in one chapter. Alec D'Urberville seems to go from lusty jackass to proselytizing jackass in the blink of an eye, converting like an impressionable child based more on the demeanor of Parson Clare than on what he said – and then, of course, one look at Tess flips him right back again like a light switch: up = hellfire-and-brimstone preacher, down = creepy, creepy rapist. Angel Clare … Oh, where to begin? His treatment of Tess – and then his change of mind, and then his change back, and then back again, and his offhand devastation of Izz Huett … his flip-flopping makes your average politician look like a model of unswerving determination. The man up and sailed to Brazil on the strength of a travel agency sign. Brazil. It's not like going to Brighton. There is one man in the tale who has a more consistent character: Tess's father. He's a lazy stupid drunk, and that never changes. He seizes on a straw in the wind to – in his and his wife's minds at least – lend countenance to his innate laziness. His concentration never wavers from the skellintons in the ancient tombs and all that is, he thinks, due him as the descendant of same. He's an ass, and worthless as a father, a husband, and a human being, and I hate him deeply. I think I hate him more than the other two, even. The person I don't hate, and this shocks me, is Tess. Poor Tess. She didn't want to be put into the position her parents shoved her into – which resulted in her rape. She certainly didn't want anything to do with Alec D'Urberville, but unfortunately she fell asleep, poor little bint, and unfortunately he was a thorough-going bastard. Throughout the book she does the best she can to prevent situations – but it's an ineffectual best, and she is overruled and overpowered and left bleeding by the worthless men in her life, father, "cousin", beloved. There were several aspects of her situation that I was surprised at, because it was as if Hardy smoothed the road for her a bit. I was surprised when the Durbeyfield neighbors did not shun Tess after the birth of the baby; I fully expected her to be spat on. They were not wholly forgiving (as witness the family's eviction after the father dies), but much better than I expected, to her face at least. I was shocked when the baby died – I fully expected him to be a growing millstone around her neck, much harder to get past than a history including a dead child. I was surprised once more when, Izz and Retty and Marian having all also fallen in love with Angel Clare, they decided that they did not and could not hate Tess for being the chosen one, and – whatever damage they did her accidentally – all remained her friends throughout. Even Clare's parents became more kindly disposed to her (which is made into a point against them, in a satirical way, but would have been a good thing for Tess if she could have taken advantage of it). It seems to me that a great many authors would have chosen to isolate Tess, make it their poor beleaguered lass against the world, saved only by the love of a weak man who then also turns away from her; that Hardy chose a more realistic route is a huge point in his favor. There are times when it's nice to have a faulty memory. I re-read this book as if it were the first time, and I'm glad of it – I had no idea how everything would turn out, and I was freed to hope for the best even while I (with that one partial memory in mind) feared the worst: I did know it was not a happily-ever-after book, but the details were drowned in the past. The language, while slightly purple in places, was beautiful; the story genuinely moved me. I could not be more amazed. (Buddy reads FTW!)
    • 3/5
      I'm not sure how I feel about this. Each character is exceptionally well fleshed out - none are held above all as perfect, no character is so flawed as to be irredeemable. Yet, I never felt particularly compelled or biased for or against any character. I never felt invested. I couldn't revel in one character's comeuppance, or celebrate another's successors. If I were to re-read this book, it would only be for the plot, never for the characters.
    • 5/5
      I am currently sitting in a gorgeous B&B in the very county where Thomas Hardy was born, a few miles from a hill Tess herself climbed. Sydling, in case you were wondering. Dorset. It's beautiful, and this book is really location-specific - Hardy spends an inordinate amount of time describing the countryside in minute detail, and you look out the window and yep, that's what it's like.

      The advice I give to people who aren't feeling Tess, which never helps because if you ain't feelin' it it ain't gettin' felt, is to not take it too seriously. It's a Melodrama (capital M!). Everything in it is totally over the top. I thought it was a blast. Think of it as Hardy gleefully jumping the shark. The pheasant scene is what does it for me - you'll know it when you get there, it won't be long - it's beautiful and vividly drawn, but at the same time ludicrously overblown. That's the novel. Hardy is pulling the stops out.

      No spoilers, I promise: The ending is the same deal. Some folks criticize it for being sortof "TA-FRIGGIN'-DAH!" But that's why I love it. Why not? In my opinion, anyone who hates that ending secretly wishes they'd thought of it themselves. Someone had to write that. Hardy did.
    • 5/5
      Much better than I remembered from high school. A story about a woman who just could not get a break, with a lot to say about Victorian morals, social class and economic realities as the English countryside and villages emerged into the modern world.
    • 2/5
      Tess was a Lady, I don't care what anybody says of her. She had to do what she did...fate was so cruel to the naive girl. Over all I didn't like the book. Tess did nothing to deserve her fate. I watched the movie on Masterpiece, and after crying for hours...decided I didn't care to finish the book. However, I am keeping the book and hope one day to finish it.
    • 4/5
      This is an enjoyable read, and I found ‘The Maiden’, the first of six ‘phases’, to be five star, really getting it off to a great start. I’ll describe the main elements of its plot (mini spoiler alert), but not too much beyond that. We’re first introduced to Tess Durbeyfield’s father, who is somewhat lazy and a drinker; when he finds out he has a connection to an ancient family in the region, he comes to have some unrealistic, high falutin’ hopes about falling into fortune. One night when he can’t drive his beehives to the market for the following morning’s sales, Tess goes in his place. Unfortunately, she falls asleep at the reins, which Hardy describes cosmically: “With no longer a companion to distract her, Tess fell more deeply into reverie than ever, her back leaning against the hives. The mute procession past her shoulders of trees and hedges became attached to fantastic scenes outside reality and the occasional heave of the wind became the sigh of some immense sad soul, conterminous with the universe in space, and with history in time.”Shortly afterward, in a shocking sequence, Tess gets into a violent accident with a wagon coming the other direction, which kills the family horse. The resulting financial hardship encourages her parents all the more to send her off to the distant d’Urberville family, to work on their property and form a connection with them, but there she becomes the prey of the dastardly Alec d’Urberville. Hardy hints at Alec’s intentions in ways that make the reader cringe, and in an absolutely brilliant sequence late at night after a dance, he rapes Tess. In the morality of the time, this stains Tess; she feels guilty over it for the rest of the novel and unworthy of a future husband, while Alec happily goes on with his life. Grrr.Hardy was a transitional writer in the late 19th century, including old school melodrama in his writing, but also modernist psychology, and challenges to religion and the morality of the day which deeply offended Victorians. As an extension of that, his (ostensible) protagonist Angel Clare, the more enlightened gentleman who finds Tess and falls for her, is a transitional thinker. On the one hand, Angel is aware of evolution and flouts religion and conventionality, but on the other hand, he has old-fashioned about a woman’s virtue. Between the outright evil of Alec, who Tess has fled, and Alec’s hypocrisy, it’s hard to like either character, or to know who is worse, but I think that’s part of Hardy’s point. The unfairness of life for women will almost certainly make you grit your teeth, and Hardy may go on a teeny bit too long in the center sections of the book, but there is a lot to like here.Quotes:On art:“She thought, without exactly wording the thought, how strange and godlike was a composer’s power, who from the grave could lead through sequences of emotion, which he alone had felt at first, a girl like her who had never heard of his name, and never would have a clue to his personality.”On beauty:“How very lovable her face was to him. Yet there was nothing ethereal about it; all was real vitality, real warmth, real incarnation. And it was in her mouth that this culminated. Eyes almost as deep and speaking he had seen before, and cheeks perhaps as fair; brows as arched, a chin and throat almost as shapely; her mouth he had seen nothing to equal on the face of the earth. To a young man with the least fire in him that little upward lift in the middle of her red top lip was distracting, infatuating, maddening. He had never before seen a woman’s lips and teeth which forced upon his mind with such persistent iteration the old Elizabeth simile of roses filled with snow. Perfect, he, as a lover, might have called them off-hand. But no – they were not perfect. And it was the touch of the imperfect upon the would-be perfect that gave the sweetness, because it was that which gave the humanity.”On death, I thought this was an interesting perspective, and yes, our ‘deathday’ is out there somewhere for all of us:“She philosophically noted dates as they came past in the revolution of the year; the disastrous night of her undoing at Tantridge with its dark background of The Chase; also the dates of the baby’s birth and death; also her own birthday; and every other day individualized by incidents in which she had taken some share. She suddenly thought one afternoon, when looking in the glass at her fairness, that there was yet another date, of greater importance to her than those; that of her own death, when all these charms would have disappeared; a day which lay sly and unseen and among all the other days of the year, giving no sign or sound when she annually passed over it; but not the less surely there. When was it? Why did she not feel the chill of each yearly encounter with such a cold relation? She had Jeremy Taylor’s thought that some time in the future those who had known her would say, ‘It is the- th, the day that poor Tess Durbeyfield died’; and there would be nothing singular to their minds in the statement. Of that day, doomed to her terminus in time through all the ages, she did not know the place in month, week, season, or year.”On knowledge:“’Because what’s the use of learning that I am one of a long row only – finding out that there is set down in some old book somebody just like me, and to know that I shall only act her part; making me sad, that’s all. The best is not to remember that your nature and past doings have been just like thousands’ and thousands’, and that your coming life and doings’ll be like thousands’ and thousands’.’‘What, really, then, you don’t want to learn anything?’‘I shouldn’t mind learning why – why the sun do shine on the just and the unjust alike,’ she answered, with a slight quaver in her voice. ‘But that’s what the books will not tell me.’”On religion, harkening back to worship of the sun:“The sun, on account of the mist, had a curious sentient, personal look, demanding the masculine pronoun for its adequate expression. His present aspect, coupled with the lack of all human forms in the scene, explained the old-time heliolatries in a moment. One could feel that a saner religion had never prevailed under the sky. The luminary was a golden-haired, beaming, mild-eyed, God-like creature, gazing down in the vigour and intentness of youth upon an earth that was brimming with interest for him.”And this one, questioning God in a world of cruelty:“The calmness which had possessed Tess since the christening remained with her in the infant’s loss. In the daylight, indeed, she felt her terrors about his soul to have been somewhat exaggerated; whether well founded or not she had no uneasiness now, reasoning that if Providence would not ratify such an act of approximation she, for one, did not value the kind of heaven lost by the irregularity – either for herself or for her child.”And:“Once upon a time Angel had been so unlucky as to say to his father, in a moment of irritation, that it might have resulted far better for mankind if Greece had been the source of the religion of modern civilization, and not Palestine; and his father’s grief was of that blank description which could not realize that there might lurk a thousandth part of a truth, much less a half truth or a whole truth, in such a proposition.”Lastly this one, an example of Hardy taking a simple scene on a dairy farm and both putting it in perspective in the bigger picture, but also pointing out it’s no less important than scenes of royalty; this quote really has it all, compared to how simply it may have been put:“Long thatched sheds stretched round the enclosure, their slopes encrusted with vivid green moss, and their eaves supported by wooden posts rubbed to a glossy smoothness by the flanks of infinite cows and calves of bygone years, now passed to an oblivion almost inconceivable in its profundity. Between the posts were ranged the milchers, each exhibiting herself at the present moment to a whimsical eye in the rear as a circle on two stalks, down the centre of which a switched moved pendulum-wise; while the sun, lowering itself behind this patient row, threw their shadows accurately inwards upon the wall. Thus it threw shadows of these obscure and homely figures every evening with as much care over each contour as if it had been the profile of a Court beauty on a palace wall; copied them as diligently as it had copied Olympian shades on marble facades long ago, or the outline of Alexander, Caesar, and the Pharaohs.”
    • 5/5
      I truly believe that this is the greatest book ever written. There is nothing about this book that I can criticise - it has drama, romance, betrayal, violence, tragedy and every part of it lulls you in. What the truly great thing about the book is that all the characters are flawed - Tess, even as a great literary heroine is naive to a fault, almost to the point of stupidity at times. She's selfless to a fault and because of her inexperience she never truly fights for what she wants, and it's a trait that sometimes makes you want to shake her and tell her she's worth more, that she deserves happiness and that she's got to fight for it more, but her naivety is a trait that you find yourself accepting and wanting to protect her from.

      She's a victim of circumstance, and whether you buy into her being raped or merely seduced by Alex, the undeniable fact is that she was taken advantage of. Alex is a character who comes in with the air of a stereotypical victim complete with the evocative language designed to show how worldly wise and sleazy he is compared to Tess' ignorance and innocence. He, in a lot of ways though is an honest villain - he does her wrong, attempts to attone before basically backing her into a corner in her weakest moments and looking after her and her family when the hero of the piece has left her abandoned. Make no mistakes though, Alex is never a guy you like, or fully trust and even when he's 'good' there is still the dangerous air about him and the way he plays on her doubts, insecurities and fears shows that even as a changed character, at the end of the day he is still just a predator.

      Perhaps the most interesting character is Angel - the love interest and one more man who does her wrong. He meets and falls in love with her and pursues her relentlessly until she agrees to marry him and then, when she eventually agrees he casts her aside with such stunning hypocrisy that you want desperately to hate him for it. He admits that prior to their marriage that he had taken another lover and that confession leads to Tess confessing what happened in her own past and the scene where she's begging his forgiveness is heartbreaking.

      Angel, deciding he can't be with Tess due to her 'sins' decides to separate for her until he can forgive her, and Tess, in her shame at hurting him agrees to every term he demands. Angel, after separating from her decides to go to Brazil but in his heartbreak he considers taking a mistress with him and propositions Tess' friend and it is only when she admits that Tess loves him more than she ever could he realises his folly, but it's a sign of the utter hypocrisy of the times.

      The return of Angel, and the culmination of the Tess,Angel,Alex dynamic is heartbreaking. You want so badly for Angel and Tess to have their happily ever after, you want Tess to have good things happen for once in her life, but ultimately you know that it's not going to happen. I remember reading this for the first time as a kid and being shocked and heartbroken how it ended despite the clues throughout, and even after multiple re-readings and knowing how it ends, I still read it and get shocked and heartbroken because I will never stop wanting Tess and Angel to get away. There's something about tragedy and soulmates being wrenched asunder under such tragic circumstances after wasting so much time due to stupid things that will never not be relevant be it in 19th Century Wessex, or 21st century anywhere.

      If you haven't read it, please do. It's an amazing book with amazing characters and everyone should read it at least once in their lives.
    • 3/5
      Poor Tess. I'm ready for the tragedy. I know it's coming. After all it's Thomas Hardy and he doesn't repeat Far From Madding Crow. Yet, with what force you experience Tess' downfall. So many sins committed against her - and no wonder she doesn't want to have anything to do with God after being presented with such a distorted view of Christianity. From the strict hypocritical father of Angel, Alec's insincere conversion - and Angel himself with his judgmental attitude. "Justice was done, and the President of the Immortals had ended his sport with Tess…” Well, I don't know Mr. Hardy.
    • 1/5
      I really, really do not like this book at all and, to be honest, I found the ending concerning her sister a little bit twisted and wrong. How that is supposed to make the misery of the rest of the book okay, I don't know. Yes, it gives you a lot to think about. And yes, it does have a good storyline, but some of the final conclusions just made me want to reinvent the ending for myself as the headstrong protagonist apparently completely lost herself and ended up doing things I would never have expected considering the character that was laid out beforehand.
    • 3/5
      so melodramatic!!!!
    • 4/5
      I decided to pick up this audio-book for my drive from Chicago to Atlanta. I was pleasantly surprised with how enjoyable it was. I had been dreading this book for a long time, but knew I was going to have to read it eventually if I ever wanted to complete the 1001 Books to Read challenge.

      This book was surprisingly modern. Tess is a strong female character. From the beginning she's not afraid to do what is necessary for her family, even when her mother and father seem childish and much more naive than Tess. She takes responsibility for things that she feels are her fault and works extraordinarily hard throughout the entire novel.

      Alec d'Urberville is immediately unlikable. This is (naturally) reinforced after he rapes Tess. The language that Hardy uses surrounding the rape is chock full of euphemisms. It probably took me about half of the book to solidly determine that she had been raped and not just seduced.

      Angel Clare starts out likable enough, wooing and insisting on Tess to take his hand in marriage, that is until he turns into a total hypocritical ass.

      I was rather shocked by the ending.

      My only regret is that I didn't read this book sooner.
    • 3/5
      Ditching the book because it is too sad. Left off on part three chapter ten.
    • 3/5
      A beautiful novel full of mysterious, luminous landscapes and portraits, painted with care by Hardy, as an artist on a canvas. My favorite quote: "Many...have learnt that the magnitude of lives is not as to their external displacements, but as to their subjective experience."
    • 5/5
      Spellbinding, suspenseful, and a must-read. Cannot believe I have not read this before, but glad I read all of Jane Austen first. Hardy was absolutely brilliant! It's been awhile since I spent days raging to family about a character or cried on walks while listening to audio (I also read portions from my hard copy which has been on my shelf for years).
    • 4/5
      It's almost impossible to rate a novel without taking into account its place in the canon. 'Tess' is an iconic novel about hypocrisy, seduction, betrayal. suffering and the compromises we make for love. It's indisputably a powerful and beautifully structured story - Hardy's descriptive prose is like poetry and his characters are fully (in some cases painfully) realised. As a reader it left me stunned - Hardy wields tragic irony like a cudgel and he's never met a trauma he doesn't love.
    • 5/5
      This book by Hardy comes to me highly recommended by others and it lived up to its high recommendation. Tess Durbeyfield is a tragic heroine, Angel Clare is maddening. Men readily abuse this young woman who starts out so sweet and ends so tragically. Tess's spirit is slowly destroyed by the events until the final moment of passion. I am thankful that I knew nothing about this book going in to it and therefore I am not going to say anything here. Even though this book is set in the 1800s, I felt that it was still very relevant today, though I would hope women would not be this self sacrificing. Hardy wrote this novel, a social commentary on the lives of nineteenth century English Women. Hardy is an excellent author. His characters are well developed. His writing is full of beauty and skill. This is the second book I have read by him and exceeded Jude the Obscure which I also enjoyed.
    • 3/5
      Another TV tip from Faulks on Fiction, about as successful a selection for me as reading The End of the Affair. Tess is well crafted, but unevenly developed, and although I liked Hardy's style to begin with, there was far too much introspection and pastoral eulogising between the main events of the story. Novels filled with thinking, especially Victorian novels, bore me silly.Tess is a victim throughout most of the story, until Hardy has an attack of the potboilers in the final chapters, and her choice in men (or the men who choose her) is woeful, from priggish Angel (what a name!) to Hardy's omniscient narrator, who obviously fancies her. She is a Victorian pin-up, with 'peony' lips (or cheeks in the Graphic) and a voloptuous figure. And although I thought that Tess' confrontation with her new husband was tense and incredibly emotional, he is hardly worth the bother. Likewise, Alec D'Urberville is a pantomime villain with no depth or shade whatsoever.Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book is the contrast between the 1891 text reprinted as the Penguin Classics edition, and the very Victorian censorship of the same story for Graphic magazine in Hardy's time (the footnotes mark where passages were changed, such as the description of Tess' looks). The prudishness is almost laughable! (The central conflict of Tess was 'cleaned up' as a clandestine marriage between Tess and Alec.)
    • 4/5
      Young dairymaid Tess Durbeyfield goes to work for a supposed cousin when her father learns that their family roots go back to the noble D’Urberville family. The degenerate son of the upstart modern D’Urbervilles rapes her. Some time later, she finds both work and love elsewhere, but can she truly move on from her past trauma? I knew from the start that this was going to be a downer, and yes, it turned out to be just as depressing as expected. I kept hoping for a happy ending for Tess, and it so nearly could have been. I got pretty irritated at Angel Clare, let me tell you. I can see how this work gained its classic status; the writing is lovely in spots (strewn with classical allusions that I didn’t always take the time to grasp, though) and the plot fairly compelling. Not one I’ll read again, but I’m glad I finally got around to it.
    • 4/5
      I'm loathe to give my first read of 2013 a 5/5 but this one definitely comes close! Proper review to follow but for now I must just say that I loved it! 4½/5, maybe! :)
    • 3/5
      the first 80% of the bookmare rather slow. lots of repetitions and hidden meanings that uounalmost miss the rape until you read that she has a baby. thrn you roll your eyes for a long time while thr main characters are courting and then again when they make themselves miserable. however, the ending was a surprise and for me the best part of the book when Tess finally took some action.
    • 4/5
      It is a long time since I read this (for my A Levels, and if I said how long that would be giving away too much!), and it probably merits a reread.On a par with Mme Bovary and Anna Karenina (in period and theme), it is the story of a fallen woman, a victim of her class and the patriarchal society she lives in. She is seduced by the caddish Alex D'Urbeville, and subsequently cast away by her fiance, Angel (and on this basis he is the more dastardly, as Alex at least tries to atone for his sins). A tragic ending.
    • 5/5
      This book is so masterfully executed that I rate it a 5. What I especially like was Hardy's ability to describe everything so elegantly, including the scenery and the emotions. He excels at using just enough brushstroke to convey his ideas, while leaving everything else to the reader to complete. The themes are simple, yet profound. The book is reminiscent of ancient Greek classics in several ways. The characters live tragic lives, some linked to the downfall of their ancestors. There are also natural and spiritual forces at work. Hardy even interjects narrated commentary that immediately reminded me of the remarks we hear from the Greek chorus of the great plays. I suspect such narrative seemed very modern in the late 19th century.Also Modern were some of Hardy's phrases, such as the "vegeto-human pollen" he describes in a village dance scene. To me, the primary struggle Hardy was exposing was the balance between human nature and societal norms. Several times, he interposed comments such as: She was ashamed of herself for her gloom of the night, based on nothing more tangible than a sense of condemnation under an arbitrary law of society which had no foundation in Nature. Given the time in which this book was written, I also believe Hardy was showing the tension that comes with our migration away from agrarian society. The description of the threshing machine and the engineer are examples supporting this.
    • 3/5
      With all the hype surrounding “Tess”, I had high hopes, though sadly my hopes weren’t realised.Somehow, it failed to hit the mark. I enjoyed parts rather than the novel as a whole. I prefer some of Hardy’s lesser-known tomes to this one. Can’t remember any specifics, unfortunately, as I’m reviewing this nearly six years after reading it, but as it’s Thomas Hardy, I’d like to give it a second read some time.
    • 4/5
      **** "Happiness is but a mere episode in the general drama of pain." ~Thomas HardyA fitting quote to sum up the entire existence of Tess Durbeyfield, the beautifully tragic heroine of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Tess reminded me of that sister or friend in your life that you cannot help but love because of her absolute goodness of character, yet at the same time cannot help but become exasperated by due to her constant poor judgment and lack of common sense. She i...more "Happiness is but a mere episode in the general drama of pain." ~Thomas HardyA fitting quote to sum up the entire existence of Tess Durbeyfield, the beautifully tragic heroine of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Tess reminded me of that sister or friend in your life that you cannot help but love because of her absolute goodness of character, yet at the same time cannot help but become exasperated by due to her constant poor judgment and lack of common sense. She is the embodiment of all that is good and right, but her lack of backbone and ability to think for or stand up for herself is often maddening to the point of distraction. Devotion is an admirable quality in any human being, but at what point does such a trait cross the line to becoming blind obedience? This character trait in Tess had me questioning throughout the entire book whether the pivotal moment of the story...the point at which Tess loses her innocence...was, in fact, a case of rape or just another moment in Tess's life in which she allowed someone to coerce her into her actions.On the whole, I was captivated by Hardy's beautifully tragic story, despite the fact that I found all 3 of the main characters to be unbelievably exasperating and frustrating to me. The writing was beautiful, and in many ways I found the author's use of purposeful ambiguity in regards to the "main event" to be a masterful move in creating his story. His use of character development gives us many clues as to what could have happened, but in the end we're left to decide for ourselves. Regardless, the culmination of events leads to a heartwrenching conclusion that left this reader pondering the age old themes of Forgiveness, Redemption, Judgment, Pride, Devotion, and more...
    • 5/5
      Profoundly affecting.
    • 4/5
      Prachtig, in de eerste plaats als smartelijk liefdesverhaal.Centrale figuur Tess is heel geloofwaardig uitgewerkt; bijna sotto voce.Naturalistisch accent in sociaal stigma, de erfelijke belasting en het noodlotsthema maar niet overdreven.Figuur van Angel is intrigerend, maar niet helemaal geloofwaardig (zijn sociaal nonconformisme vloekt met zijn verstoting van Tess om sociale redenen). Het einde (vooral het huwelijk van Angel met Liza Lie is heel ongeloofwaardig)Prachtige setting in agrarische Engeland in volle verandering (machines)
    • 2/5
      I deeply prefer the morbid foreshadowing and brutal cynicism of 'Jude' to 'Tess'... never has reading a novel felt so exactly like being stifled by passive tragic heroine bosoms. I think my copy of this book actually removes air from any given room. Accordingly, I keep it in a closet.
    • 3/5
      The essence of the plot is appealing, but Hardy drapes everything in so much symbolism and imagery that it makes it so difficult to get to the actual point. I downloaded this on my Nook since I somehow made it through high school and college without reading this, and I've been slogging my way through it. It will happen. Eventually.
    • 3/5
      That just couldn't end well, could it? Quite a gloomy novel, well written as per usual with Hardy.

    Book preview

    Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

    Sir John d’Urberville and His Daughter

    One evening, toward the end of spring, a middle-aged man was walking from the village of Shaston to his home in Marlott, carrying an empty basket. He was not well dressed, and the way he walked made it clear that he had been drinking. He met an elderly parson riding a horse and wished him a good evening.

    Good evening, Sir John, replied the parson.

    The man with the empty basket stopped and spoke to the parson. "Excuse me, Pastor Tringham, but that is the third time this month that I’ve met you and you’ve called me Sir John. Everybody knows that I am not Sir John but plain old Jack Durbeyfield. You know that I buy and sell things and hardly make enough money to feed my family. Why do you call me Sir John?"

    The pastor hesitated before replying. I am doing some research into the history of the area, he said at last, "and I have discovered that you are descended from an ancient and knightly family called d’Urbervilles. The family came to England withWilliam the Conqueror in the eleventh century. Branches of your family owned a lot of the land in this area and built huge houses and castles. Knighthood is not hereditary, but if it were, you would be Sir John now."

    Durbeyfield expressed his surprise and began to think very highly of himself. However, Pastor Tringham explained that very few people knew of the connection; therefore, knowledge of it was useless since he had no claim to any land or houses.

    However, I thought you might be interested in knowing about it, he continued.

    Well, I have heard that our family once had two horses instead of one. I do have a spoon with a coat of arms on it at home, but I never imagined that we had been as rich and important as you say we were, said Jack Durbeyfield. Where does the rich part of our family live now?

    In the graves of the cemetery at Kingsbere, I’m afraid, replied the old pastor. "There are none of them living, and your family no longer owns farms, houses, or lands of any kind. There are some other cottagers in the villages around here who are also descendants of great families, but it means nothing to anybody except students of history like me."

    I think it is wonderful news, Pastor Tringham, and I think you should come and have a drink with me to celebrate!

    Pastor Tringham, however, declined the invitation. You’ve had more than enough already, Durbeyfield, he said before continuing on his way.

    Durbeyfield sat on the grass at the side of the road to think about his new status, which sounded very impressive to him. Just then, he saw a young man walking toward him and called out to him.

    Carry this basket for me! he told the lad. Go to the hotel in Marlott, and tell them to send a carriage for me.

    The young man refused, so Durbeyfield told him about his new name and ancestry. The young man was still not impressed, but when Durbeyfield offered him a shilling, one of the few that he had, the lad changed his mind and agreed to go. Jack Durbeyfield lay down among the flowers in the grass and waited for his carriage to arrive.

    The village of Marlott is in the northeast part of the Valley of Blackmoor in Wessex, about four hours from London. It is a fertile and sheltered part of the valley with lots of small farms and forests. It was once known as the Forest of the White Hart and had some interesting historical stories and customs. One of those customs was Club-Walking Day, on which all the women of the village dressed in white gowns and marched around the village carrying a stick in one hand and a bunch of white flowers in the other.

    On this day, the women were just marching past the Pure Drop Inn when one of them called out, Look, Tess Durbeyfield! Isn’t that your father riding home in a carriage?

    One of the pretty young women turned to look. She had large red lips, large blue eyes, and a bright red ribbon in her hair. She saw her father sitting in a carriage waving his hand above his head and singing, I’ve got a family grave at Kingsbere! Everybody else laughed but Tess. She was embarrassed. Her father seemed to be making a fool of himself once again.

    At the end of the march, the women began their dance in a field just outside the village. A little while later, in the afternoon, the young men of the village arrived to watch the dancing, and some of them began to dance with the girls. Among the spectators were three well-dressed young men with backpacks. They were brothers on a walking tour through the valley, and they leaned over the gate to watch the girls. The youngest of them put down his backpack and opened the gate.

    What are you going to do, Angel? asked his oldest brother.

    I’d like to have a dance with some of the girls, replied Angel.

    Don’t be foolish, said his brother. If somebody saw you dancing with a group of silly country girls, we would all be embarrassed.

    Angel, however, was determined, promising that he would only be a few minutes and would catch up with them. So his two brothers went on without him.

    All the girls, including Tess, hoped that the handsome, rich young stranger would dance with them. He danced with several of the girls before he had to hurry on. As he left, his eyes met those of Tess. Both regretted not having danced together. He ran through the village and up the hill. At the top of the hill, he stopped to look back and saw the girls still dancing except for Tess, who stood alone. Again, he wished that he had danced with her. However, it was too late now, and he turned and ran after his brothers.

    Plans and Accidents

    Tess did not forget the young stranger as quickly as he forgot her. She danced for a while longer and then began to worry about her father, so she walked home. There, she found her mother rocking the baby’s cradle with her foot, singing a happy tune, and washing the clothes in a tub. Tess felt guilty for enjoying herself in the field while her mother was working, and she immediately offered to help.

    Her mother was very happy to see her and not at all angry with her. I’m glad you’ve come home, she said, because I want to fetch your father home. Something wonderful has happened while you were out. We’ve been found to be related to a great and famous family!

    So that’s why my father was riding in a carriage this afternoon, thought Tess. Will it do us any good? she asked her mother.

    Oh, it is certain to do us good! I’m sure a whole lot of rich people in the city will come to visit us in their carriages as soon as they know who we are!

    But where is father now?

    He went to Rolliver’s hotel to get his strength for the journey to deliver those beehives to Casterbridge tomorrow morning. They must be delivered tomorrow, and it is such a long way that he will have to start at midnight!

    Oh Mother! He has gone to a hotel to drink when he has to start so early! How could you let him? I’ll go and fetch him now!

    No, Tess, I will go. He will not come with you.

    Tess knew that her mother wanted to have a drink herself and that she would not be able to prevent her. Going to fetch her husband from the hotel was one of the few pleasures that Joan Durbeyfield had. It was an escape from the constant work of raising children and reminded her of happier days before she was married.

    Her married life was full of babies, with a new one being born every couple of years. Tess was the oldest. The next two had died, and then came Liza-Lu and Abraham, two girls, a boy, and finally the baby who was just one year old. Because Tess was four years older than her sister, she was almost like a mother to the other children. Now she set about her mother’s work as Joan went to the hotel.

    Tess waited for her parents to return, but she was worried because it was very late for a man to be up when he had to start his journey so early the next morning. She sent her little brother Abraham to Rolliver’s to fetch them both home. Half an hour later, he had not returned. Tess had to go and fetch them all home herself.

    In an upstairs room at Rolliver’s sat a dozen people talking and drinking. Among them, of course, was Jack Durbeyfield, still singing to himself about his rich ancestors. When his wife arrived, she soon found a seat near him and told him about a new idea that she had.

    There’s a rich lady who lives near Trantridge whose name is d’Urberville. She must be our relative. I am going to send Tess to visit her so that our two families can become friends. Then Tess will meet a rich young gentleman and marry him.

    As they talked about this plan, they didn’t notice Abraham come into the room. They were surprised when he clapped his hands in delight at the thought of Tess marrying a rich young gentleman.

    And we’ll all ride in a fine carriage! he said excitedly.

    What are you doing here?

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