Similar to many of Hardy's works, Tess of the D'Urbervilles is filled with a succession of unlikely coincidences at the plot level. In any context other than one that assumes a deterministic universe, the frequency and significance of these coincidences and fateful events might seem melodramatic or at least extremely improbable for a narrative that aims to be realistic. One of the most unlikely coincidences involves the recurring appearances of characters throughout Tess's life. A minor instance of this is when Tess encounters Angel Clare at a community festival near Marlott while Clare and his conceited brothers are on a walking tour. Angel sends his pompous brothers ahead and dances with several young women, leaving Tess feeling overlooked for not being chosen. Two years later, in a secluded area of Egdon Heath, Tess secures a job as a dairymaid at a farm where Angel is training in dairy farming. Despite not having spoken a word to each other during their brief meeting two years earlier, and despite Tess's traumatic experiences with Alec D'Urberville, the birth and tragic death of her son, and the rejection by the more devout members of the Marlott community, both Tess and Angel clearly remember the missed chance.

At the other end of the coincidence spectrum, Tess decides to seek aid from Angel's father due to her severe poverty and the animosity of Farmer Groby. Groby, as mentioned earlier, holds a grudge against Tess because Angel had hit him for implying that he recalled Tess as a woman with a questionable past—which she indeed had. Tess undertakes a long half-day journey to Emminster, only to overhear a shallow yet condescending conversation between Angel's brothers and Mercy Chant. This disheartens her, causing her to lose the nerve to present her situation to Mr. Clare, who, as Hardy assures us, would have been far more compassionate than Angel's haughty brothers. In despair, she returns to Flintcomb-Ash and overhears an evangelical preacher leading a revival in a tent. This preacher turns out to be none other than D'Urberville, who has reformed after an encounter with Mr. Clare.