Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles, published in 1891, is a tragic novel that explores themes of fate, social injustice, purity, and the struggle against rigid moral conventions. The story follows the life of Tess Durbeyfield, a young woman whose life is shaped by circumstances beyond her control, leading to heartbreak and tragedy.
The novel begins with John Durbeyfield, a poor farmer, discovering that he is a descendant of the once-noble d’Urberville family. He sees this as an opportunity to elevate his family’s status. Meanwhile, his daughter, Tess, an innocent and beautiful young woman, is sent by her family to claim kinship with the wealthy d’Urbervilles in hopes of securing financial support.
Tess arrives at the d’Urberville estate in Trantridge, where she meets Alec d’Urberville, the manipulative and predatory son of the household. He immediately becomes infatuated with Tess and relentlessly pursues her. Despite Tess’s resistance, she is ultimately seduced or raped (Hardy leaves the event ambiguous), an event that changes her life forever. Tess returns home, ashamed and burdened with guilt. She gives birth to a child named Sorrow, who soon dies, deepening her grief.
Determined to move forward, Tess leaves home and works as a dairymaid at Talbothays Dairy. There, she meets Angel Clare, an idealistic and intellectual man who aspires to be a farmer rather than follow his family’s clerical tradition. Angel falls deeply in love with Tess and admires her beauty and purity. Tess, hesitant due to her past, eventually reciprocates his feelings but struggles with whether to reveal her history with Alec.
Angel proposes marriage, and despite her inner turmoil, Tess accepts. The night before their wedding, she writes Angel a letter confessing her past, but he never sees it as it slips under a rug. On their wedding night, Angel confesses to having had a previous affair, which emboldens Tess to share her own past. However, Angel, bound by rigid Victorian moral standards, is unable to forgive Tess, believing her to be impure. He abandons her, leaving for Brazil to pursue farming, believing they may one day reconcile.
Tess, devastated, returns home and struggles with poverty. She eventually takes work at a harsh and unforgiving farm called Flintcomb-Ash, where she endures physical hardship. During this time, Alec reappears in her life, now a preacher but still obsessed with her. He pressures her into becoming his mistress, using her family’s financial struggles to manipulate her. Desperate and abandoned by Angel, Tess succumbs to Alec’s coercion.
Meanwhile, Angel, having suffered illness and misfortune in Brazil, realizes his love for Tess and returns to England to find her. He arrives too late. Tess, now living with Alec, is overcome with rage and despair and murders him. She flees with Angel, and they spend a few days in happiness before being pursued by the authorities. They seek refuge at Stonehenge, where Tess, exhausted and resigned to her fate, is finally captured. She is arrested, tried, and executed.
The novel ends with Angel walking away with Tess’s younger sister, Liza-Lu, suggesting a cycle of fate and the persistence of life beyond tragedy.
Commentary
Tess of the d’Urbervilles is a powerful critique of Victorian morality and the double standards imposed on women. Hardy presents Tess as a victim of fate, society, and male dominance, making her one of literature’s most tragic and sympathetic heroines. The novel explores themes of purity, injustice, and the cruelty of rigid moral expectations, showing how Tess is unfairly punished for circumstances beyond her control. Hardy’s evocative descriptions of the natural world contrast with the harshness of human judgment, emphasizing Tess’s innocence and the indifference of fate. While the novel’s ending is undeniably tragic, it remains a poignant meditation on love, loss, and the injustice of social norms. Hardy’s novel continues to be relevant for its critique of societal hypocrisy and its deeply human portrayal of suffering and resilience.