Tess of d`Urbervilles (1891)
Biography of the author:
Thomas Hardy was born in Higher Bock Hampton on the 2nd of June 1840.
He once commenced to a friend that he would never have written a line of prose he could have earned his living as a poet, yet it is as the author of some of the greatest novels ever written in English language that he is best remembered.
Even if some people never read his novels they must have heard of his best three novels “ The Mayor of Caster bridge”,” Tess of the d'Urbervilles” and “ Jude the obscure”.
Hardy wrote from his personal knowledge and experience . His characters were drawn from people, real and remembered, and his settings were locations known to him.
He was born in an attractive thatched cottage in the hamlet of Higher Bock Hampton within the parish of Stinsford,an area he named `Mel stock` in his writings.
He died at MaxGate, his house on the outskirts if Dorchester, on the 11th
January 1928.
Main characters:
Tess Durbeyfield - She is the main character who is raped, then married, but shunned by her husband because of the rape while before they were married, he had an affair.
Alec d'Urbervilles - He is a man believed by the Durbeyfield’s to be a relative, but Tess finds out that he is no relative. He falls in love with Tess and rapes her.
Angel Clare - Tess met him at Talbot hay's farm and they fell in love to later get married but separated immediately after the marriage.
Joan Durbeyfield - She is Tess’ mother who pushed Tess to find help in the d’Urbervilles only to get Tess raped, and tells Tess to never mention the rape or the child to anyone.
Plot:
Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891) is generally regarded as Hardy's finest novel. A brilliant tale of seduction, love, betrayal, and murder, Tess of the d'Urbervilles yields to narrative convention by punishing Tess's sin, but boldly exposes this standard denouement of unforgiving morality as cruelly unjust. Throughout, Hardy's most lyrical and atmospheric language frames his shattering narrative.
The novel centers around a young woman who struggles to find her place in society. When it is discovered that the low-class Durbeyfield family is in reality the d'Urbervilles, the last of a famous bloodline that dates back hundreds of years, the mother sends her eldest daughter, Tess, to beg money from relations with the obvious desire that Tess wed the rich Mr. d'Urbervilles. Thus begins a tale of woe in which a wealthy man cruelly mistreats a poor girl. Tess is taken advantage of by Mr. d'Urbervilles and leaves his house, returning home to have their child, who subsequently dies. Throughout the rest of this fascinating novel, Tess is tormented by guilt at the thought of her impurity and vows to never marry. She is tested when she meets Angel, the clever son of a priest, and falls in love with him. After days of pleading, Tess gives in to Angel and consents to marry him. Angel deserts Tess when he finds the innocent country girl he fell in love with is not so pure.
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