Character List
1. Tess Clare- She is an independent, motherly, mature, conscientious, and
diligent. Throughout the novel, she is depicted as a symbol of innocence as
well as sexual ambiguity. She’s an outcast from the society she lives in and
exhibits some resistance towards this ostracization as she matures. In this
phase, Tess seems vulnerable to her surroundings, which are ultimately,
affecting her emotions. She also exhibits a desire for affection from others
through her attempt to send Angel a letter for forgiveness. She shows great
strain to keep resistance against Alec, but her uncontrollable tendency to be
submissive to him weakens her.
2. Alec d’Urberville- He initially sexually motivated to get Tess to satisfy his
sexual impulses. He is careless, selfish, stubborn, and proud. Nonetheless,
he goes through a drastic change in this phase. His “converted” state and
authenticity is tested by Tess. He becomes obsessed with protecting Tess
and gaining her forgiveness. Although he display negative and faulty gaps in
his “new religious conversion” during the Cross-in-Hand event with Tess, he
still possesses positive and warm actions towards Tess that could probably
hint that he may actually love her.
3. Parson Clare- Although he does not appear physically in this phase, his
presence is made known through a letter he writes to Alec about his
conversion and hope for his future. He’s seems religious, but appears to have
an overwhelming motivation to get more ministers to join his Church. This is
present through his urges to get his son, Angel Clare, and Alec to join his
ministry.
4. Izz Huett- She seems to be one of the closest feminine relation Tess has
throughout the novel. Izz is in love with Angel, yet she still supports Tess and
resists Angel’s advances towards her. Shows her selfless nature and her
bold, considerate decision to regard Tess’s feelings over her own desires.
5. Farmer Groby- He acts an oppressive character that develops Alec’s
character as Tess’s defender against tyranny and cruel treatment.
6. Marian- Also one of Tess’s closer feminine relation as a fellow worker at
Talbothays and also exhibits selfless and good-natured qualities while
assisting Izz Huett in writing the letter to Angel to forgive Tess.
7. ‘Liza-Lu Durbeyfield- The inexperienced, thin, awkward young sister of Tess.
She seems worn down, rather emaciated, and tired. This probably due to her
parents becoming ill and the stress she is experiencing.8. Joan Durbeyfield- acts as the typical Victorian mother preoccupied with
marrying off her daughters to men of higher social class. She blames Tess
rather than appreciating her visit.
Plot Summary
Tess runs into Alec for the first time since he left his family service. He is now
converted and supposedly very christain, however Tess does not approve/believe in
his faith. The finds it offending that ones who ruin others can then try to convert and
solidify a spot in heaven. Alec will not leave her alone and also makes her swear not
to “tempt” him. He then proposes to Tess who says she is already married. Alec
speaks ill of Angel saying he abandoned her and should be there to protect her.
Tess shuts the conversation down not wanting to ruin her husband’s reputation.
Tess becomes becomes a thresher on a farm. Alec still will not leave her alone. He
has turned from his religious ways and begs her to go away with him. He expresses
his love for her and speaks ill of Angel. Tess, with a leather glove, slaps him in the
face. He angrily calms himself speaking of how he wants to be her true husband and
master. He says he will come back later that day to “collect” her. Alec walks her
home that afternoon again expressing how he would take care of her and her family.
She writes to Angel that night expressing her love and devotion to him and her need
for his help in warding Alec off.
Important quotes
1. “Bygones would never be complete bygones till she was a bygone herself.”
This is important because she is still haunted by her past. As much she wants to
distance herself from it and cannot.
2.
“The former curves of sensuousness were now modulated to lines of
devotional passion. The lip-shapes that had meant seductiveness were
now made to express supplication; the glow on the cheek that yesterday
could be translated as riotousness was evangelized to-day into the
splendour of pious rhetoric; animalism had become fanaticism;
Paganism, Paulinism; the bold rolling eye that had flashed upon her form
in the old time with such mastery now beamed with the rude energy of a
theolatry that was almost ferocious.” pg. 387
This is important because Tess is noticing how much Alec has changed
since she last saw him. Not only has his ideology has changed but also his
appearance and his entire persona.
3.
“That hunger for affection too long withheld was for the time
displaced by an almost physical sense of an implacable past which still
engirdled her. It intensified her consciousness of error to a practical
despair; the break of continuity between her earlier and present
existence, which she had hoped for, had not, after all, taken place.” pg.
389
Although Tess is hurt and damaged by her past that the shared with Alec,
she still has affection toward him and it hurts her to admit that.
4.
“You, and those like you, take your fill of pleasure on earth by
making the life of such as me bitter and black with sorrow; and then it is a
fine thing, when you have had enough of that, to think of securing your
pleasure in heaven by becoming converted!” pg. 392
This is very important because it's a criticism of religion. This condemns
the people who sin but believe that by turning to God they can secure a
place in heaven.
Symbols
1. Cross-in-Hand- Ironically, a cross seems to have a negative connotation in
this novel. A cross, usually a representation of Christianity and salvation, is
utilized in this novel as an ominous omen. Due to Alec’s aggressive way of
coercing Tess to swear on it, still demonstrates his insincerity in his
“conversion,” ultimately, showcases that he may never change his ways.
Blaming Tess for “tempting him,” implies his inability to accept himself as the
true sinner, highlighting his selfish and stubborn qualities.
2. Blood- This lashing out at Alec acts as the first instance in which Tess
displays aggression. This contrasts her initial innocence in preceding phases.
This, ultimately, can act as a type of foreshadowing of her aggression later in
the novel.
3. Tess swearing on the stone- Alec commands Tess to swear on the Holy
Cross to not tempt him. This represents the guilt that Alec has for causing
great sorrow and pain to Tess. This is also is ironic because he this also
places some blame on Tess for it being her fault in tempting him in the first
place.
4. Alec's conversion-In this section, also titled the Convert, Alec goes through a
religious experience and accepts God before visiting Tess for the first time
since she left. This symbolizes the guilt in Alec and sorrow from losing his
mother. It also serves as a religious criticism, as Tess is angered over how
people that have sinned only turn to God to secure a place in heaven.
Imagery
1. “Of all spots on the bleached and desolate upland this was the most forlorn.
Its was so far removed from the charm which is sought in landscape by artists
and view-lovers as to reach a new kind of beauty, a negative beauty of tragic
tone. The place took its name from a stone pillar which stood there, a strange
rude monolith, from a stratum unknown in any local quarry, on which was
roughly carved a human hand...there was and is something sinister, or
solemn, according to mood, in the scene amid which it stands; something
tending to impress the most phlegmatic passer-by.”
This imagery of the Cross-in Hand provides for the ominous tone in this phase. It
revelates some sort of omen for Tess associated with Alec. It could possibly serve
as a foreshadowing. It connects to Romanticism to create a sense of worry for Tess
and the dark description emphasizes Gothic and medieval aesthetic.
2) “Its a dry pale surface stretched severely onward, unbroken by a single figure,
vehicle, or mark, save some occasional brown horse-droppings which dotted its
cold aridity here and there. While slowly breasting this ascent Tess became
conscious of footsteps behind her, and turning she saw approaching...the one
personage in all the world she wished not to encounter alone on this side of the
grave.”
The small details of the road in which Tess in travels tends to parallel the events in
her past. She was once an unbroken and pure person. However, this tranquility is
disturbed by the emerging presence of Alec into her life, which could allude to the
affair they had in The Chase.
3) “The wide acreage of blank agricultural brownness, apparent where the
swedes had been pulled, was beginning to be striped in wales of darker brown,
gradually broadening to ribands. Along the edge of each of these something crept
upon ten legs, moving without haste and without rest up and down the whole length
of the field; it was two horses and a man, the plough going between them, turning up
the cleared ground for a spring sowing.”
The detailed description of the agricultural setting provides the reader with insight
into the author’s possible inclination toward the agrarian lifestyle during the Victorian
Age rather than the industrial revolution taking place at the time. This could also be
references to the nature aspects involved in Romanticism as well as the depiction of
working class and everyday tasks that refers to the Realism aspects in the novel.
4) “His fire, the tumultuous ring of his eloquence, seemed to go out of him. His lip
struggled and Trembled under the words that lay upon it; but deliver them it could
not as long as she faced him. This piece of imagery is extremely vivid and depicts
the complexity between the relationship between Alec and Tess, which is crucial to
the novel as a whole, but especially this section since this section is about Alec and
Tess, his changed ways and their effect on each other.
5) “The creatures had crept downwards with the subsidence of the rick till they were
all together at the bottom, and being now uncovered from their last refuge they ran
across the open ground in all directions, a loud shriek from the by-this-time half-tipsy
Marian informing her companions that one of the rats had invaded her person -- a
terror which the rest of the women had guarded against by various schemes of skirttucking and self-elevatig” This piece of imagery is very important to the section
because it brings a light hearted funny tone to a book which for the most part is
extremely serious. It also signifies the desparity of the rats in representation of Tess
herself. Their breaking free or causing chaos similar to the conflicts Tess faces in
regards to Angel and Alec.
6) “All the way along to this point her heart had been heavy with inactive sorrow; now
there was change in the quality of its trouble. That hunger for affection too long
withheld was for the time displaced by an almost physical sense of an implacable
past which still engirdled her. It intensified her consciousness of error to a practical
despair; the break of continuity between earlier and present existence, which she
had hoped for, had not, after all, taken place. Bygones would never be complete
bygones till she was a bygone herself.” This piece of imagery if crucial to this section
of the book because it not only makes her struggle with how she feels about her past
with Alec very clear, but it also addresses her struggle with the past dragging her
down.
7) “There
was the same handsome unpleasantness of mien, but now he
wore neatly trimmed, old-fashioned whiskers, the sable moustache having
disappeared; and his dress was half-clerical, a modification which had
changed his expression sufficiently to abstract the dandyism from his
features, and to hinder for a second her belief in his identity.”pg. 387
This is important because this the first time that Tess is seeing Alec since
her departure from Trantridge. This shows the visual/ physical
representation of the conversion that Alex goes through.
8) "they were talking no secrets, and the clear unconcerned voice of the
young woman, in response to the warmer accents of the man,spread into
the chilly air as the one soothing thing within the dusky horizon, full of a
stagnant obscurity upon which nothing else intruded. "Pg. 397
This quote highlights the beauty and blissfulness of nature. It provides the
reader with peace and calm; this, reflecting nature itself.
Motifs
1. Quest for forgiveness- Throughout the novel, Tess is constantly attempting to
seek forgiveness from God, her family, and society. Immediately following the
affair with Alec in the Chase, she expresses her contrition of her sin and
repents to God. She begins to feel obligated to gain forgiveness and
acceptance from society. She also looks for forgiveness from Angel after she
divulged of her unchaste history through the letter she wrote to him and her
confession. Despite the negative treatment she receives from her family, she
still desires their approval and helps them by surrendering to Alec’s effort to
help them to seek his own forgiveness from Tess.
2. Religious identity- In this phase, Alec is the one who is searching for his
religious identity, often, offering a clash between what he believes is his
Divine duty and his primitive desires and attractions. Tess also analyzes
Alec’s true intentions and “scheme of religion” with his “conversions” through
rationalizing how his actions match with Christianity’s expectations of
behavior.
3. A haunting past - continually throughout not only this section, but the book as
a whole the reader sees a strong illusion to the past having major effects on a
character/weighing them down. Especially through the character Tess, one
sees the challenges of a past and how it affects the characters. Reputation
was a big deal.
4. Letters - Tess writes letters to Angel when she needs to turn to someone or
find clarification, though she doesn’t send them all. This signifies the need to
communicate and have another person to lean on and an ear to hear. The
letters are strong indicators of who Tess is, as a character and in her own
sanity. Also, Alec keeps an old letter from Mr.clare
Passages demonstrating Romanticism and/or Realism
“I will think. But before we part come here.” He stepped up to the pillar. “This was
once a Holy Cross. Relics are not in my creed; but I fear you at moments-- far more
than you need fear me at present; and to lessen my fear, put your hand upon that
stone hand, and swear that you will never tempt me--by your charms or ways.”
“Good God--how can you ask what is so unnecessary! All that is furthest from my
thought!
“Yes--but swear it”
Tess, half frightened, gave way to his importunity; placed her hand upon the stone
and swore.
“Of all spots on the bleached and desolate upland this was the most forlorn. Its was
so far removed from the charm which is sought in landscape by artists and viewlovers as to reach a new kind of beauty, a negative beauty of tragic tone. The place
took its name from a stone pillar which stood there, a strange rude monolith, from a
stratum unknown in any local quarry, on which was roughly carved a human
hand...there was and is something sinister, or solemn, according to mood, in the
scene amid which it stands; something tending to impress the most phlegmatic
passer-by.”
Both these passages are prime examples of Romanticism/Realism because
they highlight the romantic, religious, and emotionally in-tune or expressive aspects
of this era of writing. The book being written during this literary era is part of what
makes it so intense, because the expression of passion is and feeling is so strong.
Key Discussion Points
1. What motivates Alec’s protective and insistent behavior of Tess? Could he be
driven by his religious pursuits or could he be in love with her? (Duty vs.
Desire pg. 401)
2. Is Alec’s “conversion” an authentic and sincere attempt to seek salvation and
forgiveness?
3. Could Hardy’s emphasis on the agricultural setting rather than urban settings
display his dislike towards the societal change of England at this time from
old-fashioned to primarily industrial living?
4. Alec is excessively persistent and trying to get Tess. Why does he seem to
disregard how she feels and go for her, even though she is clearly not going
for him?
5. Is Tess’s love for Angel really as pure as it appears by her reaching out to
him through letter? Or is her love for Angel just her excuse or comfort zone to
give her something to run to away from Alec?
6. What does the way Hardy writes about Alec and Tess say about either how
he feels or how society feels about men and women and their roles/places in
society and in the home?
7) Why do you think Alec has Tess swear not to tempt him on the the Holy Cross?
Why do you think she does? Do you think she feels that it is her fault for tempting
him in true first place? Later we find out that it was never a cross and was instead
believed to be where a man sold himself to the devil. Why so you think Alec lied
about this to Tess?
8) Why do you think Alec goes through this conversion? Is it because of the guilt he
has from Tess, the death if his mother, or something else? Do you think Alec has
changed or wants to believe he has changed?