Tess of the D’Urbervilles- Thomas Hardy

Synopsis:

This novel begins with young Tess Durbyfield, a 16 year old impoverished country girl living in rural England with her family, when her world is abruptly turned upside down subsequent to discovering that she is a descendant of an ancient Norman family. Prior to this, Tess was involved in an accident in which their only family horse ( their only means of financial support ) was killed in her own hands. Rapt with guilt and sorrow, this eldest child agrees to venture a visit to meet with Mrs D’Urberville, a rich widow, in order to claim ‘kin’ and seek assistance. On this voyage, Tess meets the son Alec D’Urberville, who instantly develops a violent attraction towards our protagonist, leading him to violate Tess in ways that tarnish her reputation, future, and mental state. Such event seemingly becomes the catalyst for this young girl’s prolonged chain of misery and misfortune- causing her to loose the one man she really loves, and ultimately driving her to commit a desperate, sinful act in the hopes of rekindling love and sparking her redemption.

Thoughts:

Initially, I found this book to be quite word heavy, and therefore slightly difficult to process; upon reflection, I can blame this largely on the fact that this was the first Hardy novel I had read. However, after the first few pages, I began to grow accustomed to his distinctive, descriptive style of writing, and started to enjoy the many layers in which he weaved into his novel . Due to his thorough depiction of the countryside setting, I found it wildly enjoyable to picture such environment; sometimes it felt as though I wasn’t a 21st century reader, rather a girl, much like Tess herself, living in rural England in the late 1800’s, dancing through long weeds of grass and walking miles upon miles to seek the man I so deeply love.

Now, onto the actual plot of the book… Many ask, “Why does Tess suffer so?”, and I believe this question precisely is what Hardy aimed to provoke upon his readers. In recounting her life, as unfortunate as it was, it becomes so outstandingly clear that her relentless chain of events all sprung from the greed and corruption of one singular man. Despite this violation being beyond Tess’ control to prevent, she subsequently bears all the blame, whilst Alec runs free, oblivious, and even justifies himself with the excuse of ‘finding God’. Due to the narrative mostly following the life of Tess, a reader is able to truly see the dire impacts of such event upon her mental state, and therefore become acutely aware of the injustice and inequality inherent in a 19th century society-where a woman is tortured and marginalized due to her ‘purity’ being unwillingly stripped away from her. Perhaps Hardy’s intention was to teach a moral lesson, highlighting the oppression imposed upon women in order to encourage societal awakening and transformation.