Tess of d'Urbervilles
{{Tess of d'Urbervilles}}
Basic Info
- Author: Thomas Hardy
- Year: 1891
- Type: #primary1
Summary (brief)
-Critique of moral hypocrisy of 19th century society. Double standards regarding female sexuality, class structure, and religious dogmatism. Tess's poor dad discovers their family descended from the ancient, noble, lineage #fate Tess is sent to go work for the wealthy family; there she is trapped, and assaulted by Alec d'Urberville. She has a baby and it dies. Society ostracizes her. She moves to a dairy farm to start over. Even tho Alec has his own sexual indiscretions, he is blinded by Victorian double-standards, judges her as "impure" and abandons her. After her dad dies, Tess is desperate and goes back to Alec. When Angel returns years later, Tess kills Alec and she is then arrested and executed.
Major Themes
Key Passages / Quotes
Quote 1
quote:: “I am no bird.”
page:: 197
themes:: freedom, identity
Genre Notes
Characters / Concepts (if relevant)
-Alec (monster)
-Tess (victim turned to monster)
Theory Connections
Related Texts
My Argument / Interpretation
Dissertation Relevance
How could this matter to my project?
-Criticism of institutional hypocrisy, class exploitation, and gendered double standards; victim blaming