In a brief moment of madness, I decided I wanted to tackle my ever-growing pile of classical TBR. I’m guilty of purchasing a lot of credible classic novels without actually sitting down to read them. By all means, I have the intention, but the time never comes. This is where Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’ubervilles comes into play.
The novel was written in 1891 and first appeared as weekly instalments in the magazine The Graphic. When I found this out, it gave explanation for why so much occurred in each chapter. Hardy was writing to maintain the interest of the magazine readers and therefore keeping his work in publication.
I will be spoiling some significant incidents that occur in the novel, but if you are intrigued to read, all I’ll say is this: Hardy presents a chaotic and tragic story where you’re left unsure what direction it’s going in. It’s exciting and modern in its plot and actively points out some of the ridiculous double-standards held towards women of this time. It’s a gripping read and encouraged me to continue reading Hardy’s work.
Firstly, I was surprised at how serious the distressing sexual assault episode was handled. Hardy didn’t brush past it, he candidly presented Tess’s struggle and trauma as a valid and shocking event. He didn’t stop there either, the result of this assault was a pregnancy, losing the baby to an illness, and then having to bury her child alone. In the short span that these events occur, you fully empathize with Tess’s grief and rightly criticize the villagers, her family, and the rapist for the way they treated her. Hardy didn’t victim blame nor portray Tess as unfavourable or impure; he instead highlighted the unlawful treatment she received.
Speaking of her treatment throughout the novel, let’s discuss Tess’ parents. Firstly, they send her off to a strange house to virtually sell her off for inheritance; then they shun her for falling pregnant through rape alongside trying to encourage her to marry the rapist. Overall, I am not a big fan. Now let’s talk about the other disappointments in the book, the men. Of course, Alec D’Urberville is the literal worse, and I feel his character is the carbon copy of ‘Jock Douche-bag Guy’ in every high school narrative. He is an aggressor and actively pursues Tess even after she says ‘no’ and avoids him as much as possible. But to Alec, ‘no’ means ‘yes,’ and after the sexual assault, he disappears for most of the middle part. However, he doesn’t go away that easily; instead, he pops up again as a born again Christian. Of course he does! I feel like I can name several other characters like him who do something so awful and then change their ways. Alec truly is the blueprint for this.
Now Angel comes into the picture as the antithesis of Alec, he’s intelligent and sensitive and seems to love Tess not only for her looks. Hardy encourages you to feel like he’s perfect for Tess. Don’t get your hopes up. He also refuses to listen to Tess when she tries to discourage him from marriage due to her past; but he simply doesn’t want to hear it. Instead of plays it off like whatever it is can’t be that bad. Lo and behold, when he finds out,he decides the best punishment is to leave his new wife to fend for herself and go to South America alone. Yes, he just up and left her with no money and no date of his return. Husband of the year award goes to him. Hardy does redeem him slightly by the end, Angel comes to his senses and in a bizarre turn of events is very supportive when Tess confesses she has murdered Alec in a moment of anger. Angel again feels like a predecessor for the character trope of the lovable, naive man who makes mistakes but at least owns up to them.
All these elements lead result in a really sad ending where Tess ultimately pays the price for her crime and is executed. An ending I would have never expected in a million years. Hardy really took this novel on a journey, and now that I know it was published in chapters, I doubt if he had a vision on how he wanted the story to end. Yet, this is what makes this novel such a joy to read.
saharamelts 