Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy (Book Analysis)

This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. It provides a thorough exploration of the novel’s plot, characters and main themes, including fate, emotion and the cyclical nature of existence. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.

This clear and detailed 48-page reading guide is structured as follows:

• Biography of Thomas Hardy
• Presentation of Tess of the d’Urbervilles
• Summary of Tess of the d’Urbervilles
• Character study
  • Tess Durbeyfield
  • Alec d’Urberville
  • Angel Clare
• Analysis of Tess of the d’Urbervilles
  • Ordering the world: fate and inevitability
  • The role of textual references
  • The role of emotions (Romantics and Modernism)

About Tess of the d’Urbervilles

Tess of the d’Urbervilles follows the eponymous protagonist Tess Durbeyfield, who is descended from the aristocratic d’Urberville family on her father’s side, through her turbulent life and eventual death. She meets the overly presumptuous Alec d’Urberville, who eventually takes advantage of her when they become lost in the woods, leaving her pregnant and destitute. Although she escapes him, her past comes back to haunt her when her future husband, Angel Clare, abandons her upon learning of this incident. The novel culminates with Tess stabbing her rapist through the heart and being arrested for murder the next day.

About Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy was an English writer who was initially best known for his novels, including Far from the Madding Crowd (1874) and Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891), although he generally preferred the medium of poetry and also garnered acclaim for the poems he published later in life. Hardy frequently explored the theme of rural life and its challenges in his work, and was a vocal critic of many aspects of Victorian society. His work is generally categorized within the currents of Realism and Romanticism. He died in 1928 aged 87.