Tess of the d'Urbervilles

As you know, Thomas Hardy considered Tess in Tess of the D'Urbervilles a pure woman since the subtitle of the work is "A Pure Woman." I have not taught or researched the novel, so you may get a...

The subtitle of the novel, A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented, leads us to the heart of Hardy's intention. "Faithfully Presented" speaks to Hardy's naturalism: the phrase tells us that, in this...

The subtitle is important to know about because it was part of a tremendous controversy that Hardy's book ignited surrounding what was called by his Victorian society "the Woman question." This...

Hardy's feminist perspective can be seen on the very cover of the novel. The book's full title is Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented. His description of Tess as pure goes...

As with any great author, it's hard to identify a single point or theme that is expressive of Hardy's overall vision. I would focus, however, on the "randomness" of the way the universe operates...

Hardy's subtitle, A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented, gets to the heart of his intentions. First, even though Tess would be considered a fallen, impure woman by most of her society, Hardy wants to...

In Thomas Hardy's poignant narrative of Tess of the D'Ubervilles, the plight of the repressed woman in Victorian Times is clearly evident. Women were expected to be frail and virtuous--Tess is...

Angel causes Tess more suffering because she loves and believes in him, only to be cruelly rejected. Alec, although he "ruins" her by "seducing" (raping) and impregnating her when she is very...

In a traditional tragedy, it is fate, sin, or a combination of the two that ushers in the tragic events. For example, in Oedipus Rex, the gods have decreed that Oedipus will kill his father and...

In Hardy's naturalism, nature is not full of signs of God's purpose or wonder, but is largely indifferent to the fate of Hardy's characters. Protagonists and antagonists alike are crushed as...

Important literary elements in Tess of the D'Urbervilles are the pathetic fallacy, synesthesia, tragic irony, and omniscient narrative. A good starting point is examining the way Hardy's use of the...

Chance plays a big role in the story of Tess. In the first chapter, Tess’s father, John Durbeyfield, has a chance meeting with Parson Tringham in the road. The parson, as a joke, addresses him as...

Alec is a rich and entitled man, who thinks he can take whatever he wants from the world and from the people around him. He tries to woo Tess when he first meets her, but she's too proud and...

Tess's author, Thomas Hardy was a Fatalist, and Tess arguably more than any of Hardy's other novels demonstrates his literary philosophy. Most of the horrible events in Tess's life result not from...

Naturalism as a literary movement is distinct from Romanticism or Realism in that it takes a detached, dispassionate view of human life. As the eNote on naturalism puts it: Naturalism applies both...

The way in which the title of this novel by Thomas Hardy Tess of d'Ubrevilles may affect the readers is by giving a false impression that the main character is a well-to-do person with a strong,...

This phrase occurs in "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" when Angel remarks that Tess has the "ache of modernism" which seems to refer to Hardy's dislike, as Marcelle Clements writes in the introduction,...

The text does not confirm the idea that Tess's life was one of "constant movement between hope and despair." The definition of "constant" is something that is not changing, not variable; something...

It seems in Hardy's novel that murder and betrayal are not controlled directly by the characters in the novel. The plot is mired by tragedy after tragedy, all of which appear to be completely out...

Among other language techniques, Hardy uses dialogue and dialect to characterize Tess and Angel. Hardy also evokes an indifferent universe and shows the seductive appeal of the dairy through his...

The quotation refers to the main character of the novel, Tess. She is a victim of rape, and feels tremendous guilt because of the loss of her purity. She blames herself throughout the novel for the...

In "Tess of D'Urbervilles" the story is told with third person omniscient—meaning the narrator is outside of the story but can see and hear the thoughts and emotions of every character in the...

Tess of the d'Urbevilles is a social tragedy in that it shows how, at that time in English history, one's fate was inextricably bound up with one's class. Tess may fondly imagine that she has blue...

Tess is seduced, not raped; although, it might as well be called rape due to the many variables that weakened her before succumbing to Alec's selfish desires. On page 45 on the enotes.com etext...

Thomas Hardy’s 1891 novel, Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented, can be read as a cautionary tale that explores women as objects of male consumption. For instance, Hardy...

In more modern criticisms of Hardy's novel, there are those who perceive Tess Duberyfield as a true Humanist, ...a human being free of supernaturalism...a part of nature [who] holds that values-be...

The word "tincture" means to have a trace of something, or a small amount. In this quote, Tess is a carrier of surface-level emotion without a trace of life's experience to guide her through any...

By the time Hardy wrote Tess of the D'Urbervilles, he was a successful novelist with an established reputation. Earlier in his career, under the advice of such mentors as Leslie Stephen, Virginia...

Realism, with regard to literature, is a relative term. Thomas Hardy's novels, in my view, exemplify realism more fully than other English writers of his time and earlier, but less than a...

According to Veidemanis (see the source below), Polanski's 1979 film of the Hardy novel portrays Tess as passive, weak, and childlike. However, Hardy conveys the strength and unrelenting quality of...

Hardy shows aristocratic lineage to be a fraud in Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Although Tess's parents are delighted to discover what they believe to be aristocratic ("knightly") roots through their...

In one of his novels, Thomas Hardy quotes the German author Hardenberg, declaring that "character is fate." Indeed, there may be no character in literature to whom this better applies than Hardy's...

Clearly, Hardy believes that Tess is a pure woman. He says so in the subtitle to the work and he often refers to her as pure or innocent. So the author clearly sees Tess's purity. Scholars argue...

If you are answering this question then you must consider the novel as a TRAGEDY - the outcome is already pre-determined, fated. Tess, of course, is a character but on a symbolic level she...

When you set out to write a close analysis of any text, you must first read the piece carefully, paying close attention to the details. After all, an analysis seeks to break down a text into its...

This is certainly a theme that is explored within the text through the life of Tess. It is important to remember that the laws and customs that we accept as being so integral to our lives as humans...

Answering this question largely depends on how we perceive the role of women in the rural society of Hardy's day. According to the prevailing moral standards, Tess is to blame for her own...

Hardy depicts conventional religion and morality as cruel and destructive forces. Tess has a pure heart. She is a victim, raped by Alec, but she is morally condemned by her society for being...

Bird symbolism can be important in Hardy. Tess is identified with herons not only in terms of The Heron Inn but also when she arrives at the dairy. It is worth quoting the passage below at length,...

The conflicts of the story include all that you list. Certainly one conflict is "man" vs. "woman" because Tess is raped by a man, which triggers the rest of the story. However,...

Tess of the d’Urbervilles was written by Victorian novelist and poet Thomas Hardy in 1891. It tells the story of poor farm girl Tess Durbeyfield whose father discovers that their family is...

In "Tess of the d'Urbervilles," the quote "Remember my Lady, I was your master once! I will be your master again," is significant because it is a foreshadowing of what fate has...

It is difficult to measure the intention of a novelist when writing a piece of literature, for their might be ostensible and subconscious motives involved. These are often referred to as the text...

[Please note that eNotes policy permits only one question and answer per post. I've edited your question accordingly.] The separation of Angel and Tess begins on their wedding night before they...

Of the two men, Alec d'Urberville is obviously the worse one in his treatment of and general attitude toward women. He rapes Tess and later makes no apology or attempt to help her with their child....

Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy focuses on how love and sex affect the life of a young woman, Tess, from a peasant family in the fictitious English county of Wessex. The basic plot of...