TESS OF THE d'URBERVILLES

“On an evening in the latter part of May a middle aged man was walking house ward from Shaston to the village of Marlotte, in the adjoining Vale of Blakemore or Blackmoor. The pair of legs that carried him wee rickety, and there was a bias in his gait which inclined him somewhat on the left of a straight line”.
That is how the Tess of the d’Urbervilles, one of the famous novels of Thomas Hardy begins. The sub title of the novel ‘A Pure Woman’ enraged his country men steeped in the Victorian moral values. Although Hardy stood firm, the reaction of the people did hurt him very much.
Tess is a simple country girl born to Jack Durbyfield and Joan Durbyfield. She has a young brother. Her father Jack is a haggler. One day the clergy man tells him that he could be the descendents of the great d’Urbervilles
Jack begins to build castles in the air and refuses to work any more. Young Tess takes up the responsibility of her family upon her. Joan, her mother urges her to visit the d’Urbervilles and seek help. Half heartedly Tess agrees and visits them. Though Tess does not like the people there she joins them as a maid. Alec the wayward son of her mistress makes advances towards her. However, Tess manages to evade him. Not for long. One day when Tess is exhausted Alec forces himself upon her. Innocent Tess does not realize the seriousness of what has happened until she finds out that she is pregnant. An avalanche of incidents follows the discovery that ruins Tess and her family.
Hardy believed that a person was to be judged according to the person’s intentions not by actions. From that point of view Tess could not be accused of any wrong doing.
The book is full of coincidences. However, the reader does not find them unbelievable though he is often tempted to think that Hardy makes much of the coincidences. That life entirely depends on chance happenings irrespective of the intention of the person is difficult to accept. Whether Hardy holds such a view is to be debated. Hardy holds Tess’s parents responsible for her sufferings.
Tess tells her mother that if she had warned her about the dangers in men in time, she would not have been deceived by Alec. Of course we could also say that if her father had not been negligent and if her mother had not sent Tess to Alec’s place Tess’s life would have taken a different course
The heroin of the story Tess, is based on a girl Hardy had seen in his village. She was driving a horse cart when hardy saw her. It was first published in the form of a series in The Graphic. One of the great tragic novels of the world Tess of the d’Urbervilles was published in the book form in 1891.