“…and you hear people say that lovers are seeking for their other half; but I say that they are seeking neither for the half of themselves, nor for the whole, unless the half or the whole be also a good; men will cut off their own hands and feet and cast them away; if they think them evil. They do not, I imagine, each cling to what is his own, unless perchance there be someone who calls what belongs to him the good, and what belongs to another the evil; for there is nothing which men love but the good. Is there anything?” – Diotima, Symposium by Plato

The above quotation contains within it the underlying rational that can be used to explain the seemingly complex behavior for Thomas Hardy’s protagonist, Tess, of Tess of the D’ubervilles. First published in 1891 in a bowdlerized serial version and welcomed with a storm of controversy for its treatment of marriage and religion, after it was restored to the author’s (Thomas Hardy) intended novel form, this story presents the reader with the author’s perspective on fate, love and desire. Thomas Hardy sets forth a story packaged in classic Greek irony of these fundamental human forces. Tess truly becomes a victim of her fate, love and desire, making the above quotation a plausible explanation for Tess’ conduct in this novel. The first phase of the novel sets up the fate of Tess, while the remainder of the novel shows us what Tess finds to be “good”, thereby desirable and deserving of her love.

      In setting up the reader for Tess’ fate, which is to become the embodiment of original sin, Hardy hearkens back to Sophocles’ well known play, Oedipus the King. In this play, Oedipus was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. However, all of Oedipus’ attempts to avoid this fate only facilitate it occurrence. The instance that seals Oedipus’ fate takes place at a crossroad, where he unknowingly confronts his own father and kills him through rage. Likewise, Tess’ fate is met at a crossroad where the family’s horse, Prince, is killed in an accident at a crossroad, thereby sealing her fate. We learn as readers Tess’ refusal to accept what her parents plan for her future, through a dialogue between her and her younger brother, Abraham. In setting up the reader for Tess’ fate, which is to become the embodiment of original sin, Hardy hearkens back to Sophocles’ well known play, Oedipus the King. In this play, Oedipus was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. However, all of Oedipus’ attempts to avoid this fate only facilitate it occurrence. The instance that seals Oedipus’ fate takes place at a crossroad, where he unknowingly confronts his own father and kills him through rage. Likewise, Tess’ fate is met at a crossroad where the family’s horse, Prince, is killed in an accident at a crossroad, thereby sealing her fate. We learn as readers Tess’ refusal to accept what her parents plan for her future, through a dialogue between her and her younger brother, Abraham:

“Tess!” he said in a preparatory tone, after a silence.

“Yes, Abraham.”

“Bain’t you glad that we’ve become gentlefolk?”

“Not particular glad.”

“But you be glad that you ‘m going to marry a gentleman.”

“What?” said Tess, lifting her face.

“That our great relation will help ‘ee to marry a gentleman?”

“What?” said Tess, lifting her face.

“That our great relation will help ‘ee to marry a gentleman.”

“I? Our great relation? We have no such relation. What has put that into your head?”

“I heard ‘em talking about it up at Rolliver’s when I went to find father. There’s a rich lady of our family out at Trantridge, and mother said that if you claimed kin with the lady, she’d put ‘ee in the way of marrying a gentleman.”

The above conversation illustrates Tess’ new found knowledge of her parents’ plan. As we read on, we realize Tess is willing to dismiss this thought. Abraham questions why the entire family is now living in poverty. Tess compares the stars of the sky, which are like worlds, to a stubbard-tree. She says:

“…I don’t know, but I think so, they sometimes seem to be like the apples on our stubbard-tree. most of them splendid and sound – a few blighted.”

“Which do we live on – a splendid one or a blighted one?”

“A blighted one.”

“Tis very unlucky that we didn’t pitch on a sound one, when there were so many more of ‘em!”

“Yes.”

“Is it like that really, Tess?” said Abraham, turning to her much impressed, on reconsideration of This rare information. “How would it have been if we had pitched on a sound one?”

“Well father wouldn’t have coughed and creeped about as he does, and wouldn’t have got too Tipsy to go his journey; and mother wouldn’t have been always washing, and never getting finished.”

“And you would have been a rich lady ready-made, and not have had to be made rich by Marrying a gentleman?”

“O Aby, don’t – don’t talk of that any more!”

Here, Tess clearly refuses to acknowledge and wants no part in what her parents plan for her. However, Her refusal is futile. The killing of Prince, was also the death of the families primary source of income. This weighs heavily in arguments levied against Tess to go and meet her wealthy “kinsfolk”.

“…The children, who had made use of the this idea of Tess being taken up by their wealthy Kinsfolk (which thy imagined the other family to be) as a species of dolorifuge after the death of the horse, began to cry at Tess’ reluctance, and teased and reproached her for hesitating.”

“Tess won’t go – o – o and be mad a la – a – dy of! – no, she says she wo – o – on’t!” they wailed with square mouths. “And we shan’t have a nice new horse, and lots o’ golden money to buy fairlings! And Tess won’t look pretty in her best cloze no mo – o – ore!”

“…I will go,” said Tess at last.

Tess concedes and fulfills her fate to go and meet Alec despite her attempts to avoid this fate. She now searches her kinsfolk.

In search of her kinsfolk, Tess meets Alec d’Ubervilles, who lives with his mother. His surname is misleading, as it is in fact barrowed from the true d’Ubervilles. He is not truly of the d’Ubervilles bloodline, rather his true lineage is of the Stokes family. The modification of his surname can also be viewed as an additional character mask. That is, Alec appears to the reader as a duplicitous character, someone with more than one face. Throughout the novel, Alec can be seen a devilish character, comparable to the serpent who seduced Eve. During his early encounters with Tess, Alec attempts to seduce her, but fails. She rebuffs his approaches, all which are diabolic in nature. We know that Tess sees him neither as good nor desirable. In fact, during at least one instance early on in the novel, Tess is required by Alec’s mom to sing to birds. The author describes Tess’ feelings towards Alec’s presence when she is singing:

“She soon found that whistling to the bullfinches in Mrs. D’Uberville’s room was no such onerous business when she had regained the art, for she had caught from her musical mother numerous airs that suited those songsters admirably. A far more satisfactory time than when she practiced in the garden was this whistling by the cages each morning. Unrestrained by the young man’s presence she threw up her mouth, put her lips near the bars, and piped away in easeful grace to the attentitive listeners..”

Here we see that Alec’s presence is not desirable, as she is much more comfortable in his absence. Her discomfort around him and reproaches, however, did not prevent Alec from manipulating Tess as the serpent manipulated Eve. As they are in The Chase, Tess becomes tired and Alec takes advantage of her:

“Tess!” said d’Uberville.

“There was no answer. The obscurity was now so great that he could see absolutely nothing but a pale nebulousness at his feet, which represented the white muslin figure he had left upon the dead leaves. Everything else was blackness alike. D’Uberville stooped; and heard a gentle regular breathing. He knelt and bent lower, till her breath warmed his face, and in a moment his cheek was in contact with hers. She was sleeping soundly, and upon her eyelashes there lingered tears.”

This scene amounts to a rape of Tess, as there is no sign of consent on her part. Through this act, Tess bears a child, who dies in infancy, and her fate is fulfilled. She is now the embodiment of original sin. She will now live in a degraded human state, for which she cannot fully take responsibility, nor from which she cannot escape. The child she bears brings her no closer to Alec, despite all his tries. He remains someone, who fails to be “good”, therefore she will not seek him as an object of love. Tess instead is attracted to Angel, who readers do view as “good”.

     As the name implies, Angel to reader may be someone of the celestial world, in stark contrast to Alec, who is portrayed as someone of the underworld. Angel is a freethinking, non-conforming individual, who sets out to confidently to help all of humanity. It is this virtuous independent nature that gives Angel the aura of “good”. It attracts all the milkmaids he works with including Tess. Conversely, it is her fresh and virginal aura that attracts Angel to Tess:

“What a fresh and virginal daughter of Nature that milkmaid is!” he said to himself.

The above statement is in direct reference to Tess. Unbeknownst to her past, he sees her as pure fresh and virginal young women. To him this is “good”. The quotation provided at the very beginning of this essay is fitting. They both possess what is “good” and so each desires the other. This culminates into an initial marriage proposal:

“I wish to ask you something of a very practical nature, which I have been thinking of ever since that day last week in the meads. I shall soon want to marry, and, being a farmer, you see I shall require for a wife a woman who knows all about the management of farms. Will you be that woman, Tessy?”

The offer is initially refused, because Tess feels unworthy to become his wife. She nonetheless, accepts his proposals and becomes his wife. The novel goes on to chronicle what occurs after Angel finds out she isn’t as “pure” as he thought. Her final act of her love for him, however, proves that an individual will sacrifice even themselves because they will love nothing but the “good”.

-O. James

© Orin James 2014