by Thomas Hardy, 1891
Tess, beautiful beyond belief, eyes and lips especially, long dark hair. Her mom sends her to the D’urbervilles (fake ones) to maybe make them rich. Instead, she is raped by Alec D’urberville. She goes home, has a baby, which dies at age 1. She goes to work on a dairy farm. Falls in love w/Angel Clare. He begs her to marry him. She refuses for a long time. Finally gives in. She tells him on the first night of their honeymoon that she was raped.
She becomes a different woman to Angel. He leaves her, goes to Brazil. She finds work at the most severe farm in England. Runs into Alec D’urberville who had become a “born again (not the term in the book) Christian.” He sees Tess and falls in love with her. He begs her to marry him. She is waiting for Angel to return. Circumstances push her to marry Alec. Then Angel shows up. She kills Alec. Runs after Angel. They hotfoot around England for @2 weeks, wind up at Stonehenge. She falls asleep on a slab. They come for her as she awakens. Tess is taken to prison and put to death. The end.
Angel and Liza-Lu, Tess’s little sister, are in the town at the end. See the black flag raised, bow down to the earth, “as if in prayer”…”As soon as they had strength they arose, joined hands again, and went on.” That is the last sentence.
Note: The Introduction gives away the ending – Don’t read the intros!! I had not got that far and didn’t read it all until after I’d finished the book. I would have been very upset had I read it before the book, though.
Here’s what the Intro says, “The novel famously ends with Tess’s execution…”
Thomas Hardy shows what Victorian morals can do to an innocent victim. Totally ruined her life. TRAGEDY. He is great at describing nature, though.