Tess of the d'Urbervilles

A detailed Summary of Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Tess of the d'Urbervilles is solely about Tess - her personality, trials, growth, and development. While many novels concern the interaction of characters, this novel concentrates almost single - mindedly on the life of its heroine Tess. The other characters are important only to the extent that they affect Tess' fate. Tess' story is of a woman who tries to respond to the changing world around her with honesty and integrity. She can be viewed as an independent, active heroine who chooses to suffer. She can also be seen as a victim either of society or of her own nature, who has no choice but to let herself be destroyed.

Society as a whole affected Tess' lifestyle in numerous ways. In Victorian England, it was considered a heinous crime to have a child out of wedlock. Therefore, Tess was considered "ruined" at such a young stage in her life. Not only was she raped and had no control over her pregnancy, but now her worst fear is that society will forever shun her. Even the love of her life, Angel, becomes a part of this society

for a short time when he feels he can not forgive her for her sins. Tess becomes distressed throughout the entire novel, as she feels as though everyone knows about what she has done. It is evident that this was a big tremendous occurrence in this time period as society felt as though a woman's most prized possession was her virginity. Tess obviously destroyed all hope of being seen through society's eyes as moral.

Throughout the novel, one clearly sees that Tess' relationships with Alec and Angel are as different as night and day. Tess' association with Angel and Alec are major focal points in the novel. Alec reflects her sensuality but she rejects his love because he has few aspirations and doesn't seem to care sincerely for people. Angel, her true love, is forever striving after the highest and best in life. However, he's too steeped in traditional values to translate his dreams into reality. On one hand, Angel exposes her to a new world and lifts her out of her melancholy. On the other hand, she's driven to accept Angel'

Some common words found in the essay are:
Victorian England, , Tess Alec, Angel Alec, Tess Angel, Overall Tess, Joan Durbeyfield, Alec Angel, tess alec,

Approximate Word count = 701
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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