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A review by ink__and__page
Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
It’s hard to review a book such as this that is so defined by social constructs of the day which are so vastly different from our world view today both culturally and societally. At first glance, this novel seems to be blaming a victim for all the misdeeds that befall her throughout the story. While I still hold that view to some degree and question some of the events of the story, such as the past abuser returning to the victim years later, using social status and money to manipulate her into needing his provisions for her and her family and a husband who abandons her and shames her for a crime she did not commit (and was a victim of!)...I can at the very least have a tad bit of understanding of the author’s intent behind this book from some information I found on spark note’s website. While it doesn’t undo the wrongs done to this character throughout the story, it perhaps sheds some light as to the reasoning behind the way the story was written.
Sharing in case anyone else is interested (following is an excerpt from sparknotes.com and not my personal writing):
Soon after Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891) was published, its sales assured Hardy’s financial future. But the novel also aroused a substantial amount of controversy. In Tess of the d’Urbervilles and other novels, Hardy demonstrates his deep sense of moral sympathy for England’s lower classes, particularly for rural women. He became famous for his compassionate, often controversial portrayal of young women victimized by the self-righteous rigidity of English social morality. Perhaps his most famous depiction of such a young woman is in Tess of the d’Urbervilles. This novel and the one that followed it, Jude the Obscure (1895), engendered widespread public scandal with their comparatively frank look at the sexual hypocrisy of English society.
Source: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/tess/context/
While this doesn’t make the wrongdoings of the story any easier to accept, it provides a bit of insight and understanding as to why the events of the story take place like they do. Perhaps the author is trying to elevate the consideration and understanding of the elite of the day in society by creating empathy for the common folk, particularly for women, who were much less thought of in the late 1800s when the book was originally published.
Still not my all time favorite story but glad I at least got to find out what the story was all about 🤷🏻♀️
Sharing in case anyone else is interested (following is an excerpt from sparknotes.com and not my personal writing):
Soon after Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891) was published, its sales assured Hardy’s financial future. But the novel also aroused a substantial amount of controversy. In Tess of the d’Urbervilles and other novels, Hardy demonstrates his deep sense of moral sympathy for England’s lower classes, particularly for rural women. He became famous for his compassionate, often controversial portrayal of young women victimized by the self-righteous rigidity of English social morality. Perhaps his most famous depiction of such a young woman is in Tess of the d’Urbervilles. This novel and the one that followed it, Jude the Obscure (1895), engendered widespread public scandal with their comparatively frank look at the sexual hypocrisy of English society.
Source: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/tess/context/
While this doesn’t make the wrongdoings of the story any easier to accept, it provides a bit of insight and understanding as to why the events of the story take place like they do. Perhaps the author is trying to elevate the consideration and understanding of the elite of the day in society by creating empathy for the common folk, particularly for women, who were much less thought of in the late 1800s when the book was originally published.
Still not my all time favorite story but glad I at least got to find out what the story was all about 🤷🏻♀️
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault