AP English: Literature and Composition Name: Bianca Patel

Major Works Data Sheet

Biographical information about the author: Thomas Hardy was

Title: Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Author: Thomas Hardy
Date of Publication: 1981
Genre: Victorian Era.
Historical information about the period of publication:
The early Victorian world witnessed widespread
parliamentary reforms. These reform attempts were driven by
an aggressively optimistic belief that the conditions of human
life could be improved through rational effort. Hardy
sympathized with the widespread desire to improve the human
condition, but in a fundamental way he doubted that it was
possible to do so. His underclass beginnings compounded
with the poverty he witnessed during his years in London
made him angrily sensitive to the deprivations of others,
particularly those who were unlikely to benefit measurably
from social or political reform, like Tess Durbeyfield. Hardy’s
works act as a counterstatement to the prevaling optimism of
the Victorian age, as well as to the surviving optimism of our
own time.
born in a cottage in Higher Brockhampton on June 2, 1840. He was
educated locally and moved to London in 1862 where he began to
write poetry and published an essay. By 1867 he returned to Dorset
where he worked as an architect’s assistant and began his first
(unpublished) novel, The Poor Man and the Lady. By the time he
met his first wife, Emma Gifford, in 1874 he had published four
novels and was earning his living as a writer. It was in Dorset that
Hardy produced most of his major novels, including The Mayor of
Casterbridge, The Woodlanders, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, The
Pursuit of the Well-Beloved, and Jude the Obscure. For the next
thirty years he turned to writing poetry and published over nine
hundred poems and his epic drama The Dynasts.He died on January
11 1928. His ashes were buried in Westminister Abbey and his heart
in Dorset.
Characteristics of the genre: Victorian literature was produced
during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). It forms a link and
transition between the writers of the romantic period and the very
different literature of the 20th century. Victorian novels tend to be
idealized portraits of difficult lives in which hard work,
perseverance, love and luck win out in the end; virtue would be
rewarded and wrongdoers are suitably punished. They tended to be
of an improving nature with a central moral lesson at heart.

Plot summary:
Tess is a girl of the working class with a family that hates to work, so when they learn that her father is the descendant of the
noble family, the d'Urbervilles, they send Tess to a rich "relative" in nearby Tantridge to get money or marry well so that her parents
will be taken care of. Tess goes because her parents make her feel she must although she thinks it's wrong of them to ask for money.
This meeting with Alec d'Urberville, one of the "relatives" seals her dreadful fate. He is attracted to Tess and takes advantage of her
when she comes to Tantridge to work at d'Urberville manor and she returns home ruined. Alec promises to take care of her if she ever
needs anything, but she dislikes him so much that she'd rather suffer than have any contact with him.
Soon Tess bears a child she names, Sorrow, and the child dies only days after it is born. Tess, without the support of her
shiftless family, leaves home to try at independence again knowing now to be wary of men. She goes to Talbothay's dairy and falls in
love with Angel Clare, the son of a pastor who is learning about farming at the dairy. Although she thinks herself unworthy of such a
sweet man because of what happened to her, Tess and Angel fall in love and decide to get married. She refused his proposals for quite
a while trying to find a way to tell him about her past with Alec d'Urberville, but she couldn't do it. It is important to her that he knows
everything about her so that she knows he loves her for herself and not for who he thinks she is, so shortly before they are supposed to
be married, she writes him a letter and slips it under the door of his room. He never gets the letter because it is stuck under the edge of
the carpet. Tess realizes this mistake on the morning of their marriage, and she is not given an opportunity to tell him before they are
married.
That night he confesses that he's had one sexual encounter that he couldn't bring himself to tell her about and she forgives
him, knowing that he'll forgive her what happened with Alec. But when she tells Angel about it, the way he feels about her changes
completely. He feels betrayed and tricked, so they agree to separate, although Tess loves him greatly.
He goes to Brazil to try his hand at farming there, and Tess works at hard job after hard job rather than asking his family for money as
he'd instructed her when he left. While she's working herself to the bone, she encounters Alec d'Urberville again and he begins visiting
her, relentlessly trying to convince her to marry him. She finally gives in when her family is evicted from their home after her father's
death and they have nowhere to go. Alec provides them a home, and Tess agrees to be his wife.
Angel then returns from Brazil and comes to find her, knowing that he has treated her unfairly. When he finds her, she is
distraught that the only man she ever loved has come back, and once again, Alec d'Urberville is standing in her way. She stabs Alec
with a carving knife, and she and Angel spend a week together hiding out and being as they were before they were married. Then Tess
is captured and executed. After she met Alec d'Urberville, there was nothing Tess could do to change fate. All that happened to her was
meant to be.
Major Works Data Sheet
Describe the author’s style: His writing reflects his tragic
view of life, as well as his belief that to live is to suffer. As
Hardy himself stated, the province of the artist is “to find
the beauty in ugliness.” He channels this paradoxical
belief, matching beauty to ugliness through cruelty, deceit,
and betrayal. Hardy manages this by speaking in two
narrative vioces. One is objective and observing in which
he speaks of the beauty of suffering. The second is
empathic, evaluative, and speaks of the shame and
injustice of that sufferring. The division of the narration
creates a dual perspective that reconciles beauty with
sufferring.
Page 2
An example that demonstrates the style: Tess’s
beauty plays a fundamental role in her sufferring,
as if the beauty that is in and about her cannot
manifest itself except in the company of what
tortures her. This beauty in ugliness is found in
her patient and forgiving responses to pain. She
trusts a man who violates her, loves a child who
brings her disgrace, and devotes herself to a man
who abandons her.

Memorable Quotes
Quote Significance

"Thus, the thing began. Had she
perceived this meeting's import she
might have asked why she was doomed
to be seen and coveted that day by the
wrong man, and not by some other man,
the right and desired one in all respects”
(64).
This quote represents a significant turning point in the play. It is the
point where Tess sets off from home and embarks on the tragic
journey ahead of her. It shows that Tess has no idea what awaits
her, and that she is inevitably doomed by this unfortunate meeting
with Alec. This quote forshadows later incidents in the book.

"’That it would always be summer and
autumn, and you always courting me,
and always thinking as much of me as
you have done through the past
summertime!’" (209).
It is immediately after Tess says this that she impulsively agrees to
marry Angel, although he does not know about her past with Alec.
The quote essentially is predicting the inevitable end of Tess and
Angel’s relationship. Their summer love was not fated to last.

“’Justice’ was done, and the President of
the Immortals (in Aeschylean phrase)
had ended his sport with Tess. And the
d’Urberville knights and dames slept on
in their tombs unknowing. The two
speechless gazers bent themselves down
to the earth, as if in prayer, and remained
there a long time, absolutely motionless:
the flag continued to wave silently. As
soon as they had strength they arose,
joined hands again, and went on” (384).
This quote displays the final lines of the novel. From these last
lines, the reader feels that Tess’s suffering seems simply to be a
game or “sport.” She was fated to suffer and her life made a
minimal impact on the world. She lived and died in pain, yet led a
relatively unimportant role in society as a whole. The reader also
questions the meaning of justice. Tess was wholly undeserving of
the pain that befell her and did not deserve that version of justice.
Major Works Data Sheet Page 3
Characters
Name Role in the story Significance Adjectives

Tess Durbeyfield Protagonist Daughter of John and Joan Durbeyfield, she Conscientious, hard-
is the mother-figure for her parents and working, dutiful.
siblings The family sends her to ask the
d'Urberville and she is seduced by Alec
d'Urberville. Her life is one long series of
near-misses after that. She ends up
murdering d'Urberville after he takes her
away from Angel Clare, her true love, and
she is executed for it.

Angel Clare Love Interest Son of a minister, he falls in love with Tess hypocritical
only to abandon her days after they are
married. Years pass and he finally realizes
that he was wrong, but when he returns to
find her, she is married to Alec d'Urberville.
He and Tess reconcile after she murders
d'Urberville and they are together until she
is executed.

Alec d’Urberville Antagonist Son of a merchant who took the name, Womanizer,
d'Urberville, so that no one would know
that their wealthy came from industry. Alec
takes advantage of Tess and then reappears
later in her life trying to marry her. Tess
stabs him with a carving knife when Angel
Clare comes back. He is the catalyst for all
the negative things that happen to Tess.

Mr. John Father He finds out that he's the only descendent of Lazy, prideful, greedy
Durbeyfield the ancient and noble d'Urberville family
and thinks it's a way to get money so that he
doesn't have to work to provide for his
family. He takes great pride in his name,
although it never brings him anything of
value.

Mrs. Joan Mother Joan uses her daughter as a way to get Selfish
Durbeyfield money and encourages her daughter to find
a wealthy husband. She is disappointed in
Tess when her daughter refuses to marry
Alec d'Urberville and when she tells Angel
Clare about her past.

Eliza Louisa Tess's younger sister Liza Lou is very much like Tess. Tess Paragon of vitutue
Durbeyfield considers Liza Lu a purer version of herself
and asks Angel Clare to marry Liza Lu after
Tess is executed.

Sorrow Tess’s child Sorrow was the child Tess bore and buried
after she was seduced by Alec d'Urberville.
Tess cared for the child although it was
shameful to her as well.
Major Works Data Sheet
Setting
Tess of the d'Urbervilles takes place in Wessex, a region
encompassing the southern English county of Dorset and
relies heavily on farming. This area has its own distinct
customs, rituals, beliefs, and culture, and its inhabitants
speak with a noticeable rural accent. Setting is particularly
important in Tess of the d’Urbervilles because the
characters and the setting mirror one another. The setting
at Talbothays, where Tess experiences her greatest
happiness, is lush, green, and fertile. Flintcomb-Ash, on
the other hand, is a barren region, reflecting the harshness
of the work and the desolation of Tess' life. The story ends
in the equally mysterious Stonehenge region.
Symbols
The Durbeyfield’s horse Prince, acts as a symbol for the
misfortune that will befall Tess. She falls asleep while
driving Prince and this causes his death. It is this incident
that sets all of the others in motion. Colors are also used as
symbols. Tess wears white, which symbolizes her purity.
Red is used to symbolize sexuality and sin (ex. The Scarlet
Letter). Tess’s purity is slowly depleted throughout the
novel.
Possible Themes
1. It is impossible to thwart fate.
2. The past will always come back to haunt you.
3. Suffering is not reserved for those that deserve it.
Page 4
Significance of the opening scene
The first scene introduces the reader to the
Durbeyfield family. The novel begins on the day the
Durbeyfield’s discover their distant aristocratic
legacy. When Mr. Durbeyfield learns of his heritage
he instantly feels free of his low social class and
poverty. However, his social and fiancial situations
do not change with this revelation. The novel begins
on this positive note, with a sense of hope for the
future. Hardy begins on a positive note, because it
makes Tess’s potential to fall greater. This discovery
ultimately only leads to the horrible set of events that
await Tess.
Significance of the ending/closing scene
In the final scene Tess is put to death for killing Alec
d’Urberville. Tess's life has reached its fated end, and
no one outside of her family and Angel are any the
wiser or at all affected. Her small life, so tangled and
tortured, is over and the world remains unchanged.
Her story was only a small one, significant on a small
scale, and she was a plaything for God, and nothing
more really. Even Angel and Liza Lu will go on
without her. So Tess and her d'Urberville heritage
lived her life for very little purpose in the grand
scheme of things.
Old AP Questions
1982, 1991, 2003, 2006, 2007