Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

---This was made on my third year high school as a requirement to the English subject - we are required to make a book review. The paper is fortunate enough to be saved from the typhoon Ondoy... ---



Thomas Hardy's creation, Tess of the D'Urbervilles is a great novel, pleased the readers and awakened them into realization.

Tess Durbeyfield, a great woman, a victim of sexual desire and intense deceit, destined to have lack of fortune, faced the challenges regarding their dying rural society. Their only source of living lost, so the Durbeyfields sent Tess to the D'Urberfields to seek for help. There she met Alec D'Urberville, a man of not a good character. He raped her and she becomes pregnant. So, Tess decided to forget the past and look for a new life where no on knows of her. There, she ends up in Talbothay's dairy as a milkmaid. She met Marian, Izzy, Retty, and Angel Clare, who soon became her husband.

Angel Clare discovered Tess' past and left her. In Tess' loneliness, Alec returned and told Tess he still loves her. Then, she lived with him for a while before Angel comes back to express his devoting love for her. With this devotion, she has to leave Alec. She murdered him and decided to go with Angel.

This is one of Hardy's fictitious novels in autobiographical form. Hardy used traditional English language to reflect the events from the past years. Each part of the novel made the reader: think of what happened next, reflect the traditional cultures to the modern world, feel the excitement on each and every romantic event, and made them realize what women can do to stand out for themselves.

A story of character, a great heroine amidst the miserable background of a dying rural society. There are struggles between triumphs and immerse failure. A picture of harsh realism and great tragedy with a blending of social injustice and incredible dramatic beauty.

The novel tell us what men can do, women can do also. A feministic reflection of life. A great philosophy, which can help the world to change, and form equality and peace. This is also a struggle of compassion and violence, a battle between love and hate. Hardy expressed that love is what matters most against hardships and fear.

Some quotations are included in the novel, and some scenes are being described by 'wordy phrases' which are difficult to understand by ordinary readers. the author is also found in describing places and landscapes, or even a simple residence of Durbeyfields in the novel.

Hardy likes to reflect the scenes and landscapes in his own worlds. The greatest landmark he ever described is the D'Urberville Mansion, which reflects his birthplace, Dorset, England.

Thomas Hardy, a man fond of writing, was born on June 2, 1840 in Dorset, England and died on January 11, 1928 at the age of 88. He was engaged in architecture, but devoted in writing at the age of 16. In 1896, he published the two great masterpieces, first the Tess of the D'Urbervilles, the Jude the Obscure, wherein he dedicated the novels chronologically to his two wives. These two novels were his greatest works. Unfortunately, the novels caused him not to write another fictitious novel again. There he continued to write narrative poems, which is dedicated to his family.

A story of life, a masterpiece of a great heroine, and a picture of emotional challenges - Tess of the D'Urbervilles is a great book to read for its realistic features, great struggles, and true dramatic philosophies. I recommend this to all women out there, and to all men (either of good character or not) and also to the directors and scriptwriters of plays and cinemas...so if they liked it, they will show it!

Side note: My English teacher (Mary Jane Nuguid) was considerate to give me a high remark on this. With the lack of time to make a thorough analysis, I was not able to explain the representation of Angel Clare and what are the factors that stirred Mr. Hardy to write about the realism of being betrayed and the art of lie and the truth.

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