Tess's Love

Tess begins to lose herself more and more the deeper she falls in love with Angel. His love for her becomes overwhelming and she becomes like a “plant in too burning a sun.” He is more frequently referred to as a God-like figure rather than as a regular person, which is illustrated when she “tried to pray to God, but it was her husband who really had her supplication.” At this point she realizes that “her idolatry of this man was such that she herself almost feared it to be ill-omened.” She feels that her love for him is the only thing keeping her protected from the suffering of her past, and this leads her to lose some of the independence that was such a part of her before.

Double meaning

On page 164, Hardy states that Tess "is an unimpeachable Christian, I am sure; perhaps of the very tribe, genus, and species you desire to propagate." Angel used this reference to demonstrate the legitimacy of Tess's Christian faith. Genus and species is part of the binomial nomenclature developed by Linaeus in his taxonomy system. This system was based on the physical traits of the organisms he was classifying. I thought there may have been a pun here because this system of classifying organisms is different than the phylogeny system developed by Carl Woese which is based on molecular and rRNA evidence for classifying organisms. I thought that there may have been a pun because Tess only seems to be a "good" christian at first glance. However if you dig deeper into her past you can see that it is not the case, at least in the eyes of the conservative christians prevalent at the time .  

Blood and Sense (posted for Ashley Albright)

The question I have concerning phase 3 of the novel is why it is that Tess finally admits to herself that she has as much as her mother's blood in her as she does her father, as if such an affirmation comforted her in her new surroundings. What I find intriguing however, is the fact that while she may blame her father's blood for being the cause of her despair and recent illegitmate child, she does not acknowledge it as a fault of her mother's blood, when in actuality that is from whom she has recieved her looks, as is repeated throughout the novel. This relationship between blood and sense of place is obviously dominate during the times in which Tess lived, yet it is always an astonishing reminder of how one's ancestry can comfort one in a strange land with strange people whom they have never met. For Tess it also seems to be that the fact that she does have her mother's blood in her means she also has the possibility of forming for herself a new destiny, that the failure of her efforts (in the name of her father's blood) does not mean that she must resign herself to that lifestyle, but rather has another option. (Ashley Albright)

Bothersome

I don't have much to say about this reading except for this: I feel that for some sense of equilibrium, good and bad things both need to happen.  The problem with Tess of D'urbervilles is that her "bad things" may not out number the good, but they certainly over power the good.  We know that there is no way that the marriage between Tess and Angel will lead to anything good.  So despite the fact that she is happy at the dairy farm, she will leave and have some unhappy experience with Angel.  I find it very bothersome that nothing truly good and every lasting seems to happen to her.  Poor Tess.

The jewels

Once Tess and Clare finally unit a package arrives containing Angel’s grandmother’s heirloom jewels. Angel is anxious for Tess to put the jewels on as he shrieks, “put them on – put them on!” Like an overly excited child, Angel waits for Tess to frost herself with diamonds that were sent. Yet, when Tess does put the jewels on Clare says, “The gown isn’t right.” The jewels do not fit Tess because she is a simple maiden. She will never really be quite perfect because of her past. The jewels reveal that something is not right with Tess and her union with Angel. Angel has Tess alter her dress so the neckline matches the cut of the necklace and only then does he say that she looks beautiful. Angel admires her as he says, “As everybody knows, fine feathers make fine birds.” Angel is changing Tess’ true identity by hiding her real self with these “feathers.” The jewels continue to reveal the uneasiness of Tess’ and Clare’s relationship. When Tess begins to tell her past to Angel concerning Alec the diamonds begin to change from something wonderful and beautiful to something “sinister.” For example, Hardy describes “ each diamond on (Tess’) neck as giv(ing )a sinister wink.”

Tess's baby

In the second phase Tess finds herself a mother to a nameless baby, something that she struggles with mightily, as is reflected in her short relationship with it. She struggles between two very strong polar emotions; a distain for the baby and what it represents, and a need to care for and protect it from possible eternal suffering. She sees the baby as a reminder of the painful loss of her innocence; a reminder that is displayed for the rest of society to observe. She handles the baby with “indifference that was almost dislike” and views it as an “intrusive creature,” yet when the baby must be saved from damnation she does everything in her power to help it. At one point she even cries, “O merciful God…heap as much anger as you want upon me, and welcome; but pity the child.” Although she may have never grown to love, or even become fond of the child, she does not want anyone else to suffer for her “sins”, as she shows time and time again throughout the novel.

Tess's Roommates

It was refreshing to get some comic relief in Phase the Third, which I found in the lovestruck milkmaids Marian, Izz, and Retty. The way Hardy described the three of them at the window sighing over Angel made the whole scene very easy to imagine. Even the way he differentiates them physically brings the stylized characters of a Disney cartoon to mind: "All were watching somebody in the garden with deep interest, their three faces close together: a jovial and round one, a pale one with dark hair, and a fair one whose tresses were auburn." One plump, one tall, one small. The mention of Izz kissing Angel's shadow also served to get in a few much-appreciated laughs.

This trio also made the scene at the puddle a memorable one. I could just imagine each of them inwardly swooning as they were carried across, and Hardy's summation of the experience was especially enjoyable: "Marian had been like a sack of meal, a dead weight of plumpness under which he had literally staggered. Izz had ridden sensibly and calmly. Retty was a bunch of hysterics." I was glad that no jealousy existed between them when they acknowledged Angel's preference for Tess, as this preserved the three's status as comical characters.