Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Author: (British) Hardy (Hardy T.)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-11-01
Features: On a late evening in late May, a clergyman who was researching the local family histories for a new county history told John Durbeyfield that he was a descendant of the ancient warrior family of the Durbeyfields. This sudden news made the poor country merchant so delighted that he danced for joy. He whimsically wanted his 17-year-old eldest daughter, Tess, to go to a wealthy old Durbeyfield nearby to recognize her "real family," hoping to get out of the financial difficulties. In fact, the old Durbeyfield had no connection with this ancient warrior family. Her family was a nouveau riche who made a fortune by lending money at high interest rates and moved from the north. The surname was also found in a museum. After Tess went to her house, the son of the eldest Durbeyfield, Ale, seeing that the girl was beautiful, pretended to be full of good intentions and let Tess raise chickens in his house. Three months later, Ale raped her. After Tess lost her innocence, she despised and abhorred Ale extremely. She returned to her parents with both spiritual and physical wounds and found that she was pregnant. Her humiliation did not receive sympathy from society but instead ridicule and condemnation. The baby died soon after birth, and the agonized Tess decided to change her environment and went to work at a dairy farm in the south. At the dairy farm, she met Angel Clare, who was 26 years old. He came from a wealthy clergyman's family but refused to follow his father's and brother's wishes to inherit the ministry. He willingly gave up the opportunity to go to university and came here to learn the skills of raising cattle in order to be self-reliant. In the labor, Tess and Angel fell in love with each other. When Angel's parents proposed that he marry a wealthy girl of equal status, he refused outright. However, Tess's thoughts were full of contradictions. She was attracted to Angel's upright character, his will for self-reliance, and his care for her, but she also felt that she was unworthy to be his wife because she had lost her innocence. But strong love finally overcame her regret for the past, and she married Angel. On their wedding night, Tess resolved to tell Angel everything about her "sin" truthfully. But as soon as she finished telling Angel about her past with Ale, the seemingly open-minded Angel Clare not only did not forgive her but turned against her cruelly, traveling alone across the ocean to Brazil, although he himself had once lived wildly with a stranger. The abandoned Tess's heart broke. She was lonely, regretful, indignant, and desperate, but for the sake of her family, she had to endure humiliation and suffering. At the same time, she still held a sliver of hope that her husband would change his mind and return to her side. One day, on her way back from Angel's house after inquiring about the news, Tess discovered that Ale, who had ruined her innocence, had become a clergyman and was preaching with a mouth full of moral righteousness. Ale also harassed Tess, shamelessly trying to live with her. Tess was both angry and afraid and immediately wrote a long letter to her husband, begging Angel to return quickly to protect her. Angel, poor and sick in Brazil, had also endured many hardships. He regretted his reckless behavior in abandoning Tess and decided to return to England to make amends with her. But at this time, a new misfortune befell Tess's family: her father suddenly died, and the landlord repossessed their home, leaving the family homeless and destitute. At this critical moment, Ale took advantage of the situation, coercing Tess with money to live with him. Angel's return was like a sharp knife, piercing Tess out of her numb and oblivious state. In despair, she killed Ale with her own hands and caught up with Angel. They spent a few days of joyful escape together in the wilderness of the desert. At the end, on a quiet dawn, Tess was arrested and then hanged. Angel, following Tess's last wish, began a new life with her sister, filled with remorse.