Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Tess of the D'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Thomas Hardy,
Publisher: Picador
ISBN: 0330344706
DDC: 813
Edition: Paperback; 1995-11
Summary:
Hardy's novel tells the story of how John and Joan Durbeyfield became
convinced that they are descended from the ancient family of
d'Ubervilles. They encourage their daughter Tess to cement a
connection with the Stoke-d'Uberville family of local gentry (who it
turns out are themselves not entitled to the illustrious name) and
she is raped by their son, the unprincipled Alec. It is a connection
that returns to haunt her after she has married the pure parson's son
Angel Clare. Tess first appeared in a serialized—and bowdlerized—form
in The Graphic in 1891. A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented, as Hardy
subtitled the work, represented a direct challenge to conventional
notions of sexuality and femininity—and, though conventions have
radically changed in the past century, the character of Tess has
remained a challenging one. In her introduction Maier argues that we
should not see Tess merely as a passive victim; she suggests that a
combination of sexual vigour and moral rigour makes Tess not just one
of the greatest but also one of the strongest women in the canon of
English literature.
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