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A review by lrb0135
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Throughout the novel, my stomach was doing flips waiting for the other shoe to drop on Tess. I didn't know the specifics, but I knew it wasn't going to be good for her. I found myself pleased with her actions in the end.
Hardy's treatment of women based on Tess is a mixed bag-- the women in the novel who aren't Tess are all basket cases, or in Mrs. Clare's case, an extension of her husband. I understand the time in which Tess was written may have warranted it, but in the first act, the narrator tries so hard to get us to sympathize with Tess that I'm not sure who Hardy was trying to convince. Us or himself?
Much of the language surrounding Tess and her actions made it seem like Tess was a passive actor in her own life with very little agency or independent thought. The book is a progressive for its time, but I wouldn't go in expecting a flattering portrait of women. Even Hardy's narrator's progressivism is a specimen of its time.
With that, I'm stoked that Tess got hers in toward the end before she peaced out. Worth the read.
Hardy's treatment of women based on Tess is a mixed bag-- the women in the novel who aren't Tess are all basket cases, or in Mrs. Clare's case, an extension of her husband. I understand the time in which Tess was written may have warranted it, but in the first act, the narrator tries so hard to get us to sympathize with Tess that I'm not sure who Hardy was trying to convince. Us or himself?
Much of the language surrounding Tess and her actions made it seem like Tess was a passive actor in her own life with very little agency or independent thought. The book is a progressive for its time, but I wouldn't go in expecting a flattering portrait of women. Even Hardy's narrator's progressivism is a specimen of its time.
With that, I'm stoked that Tess got hers in toward the end before she peaced out. Worth the read.