Tess of the D'Urbervilles Part 7
Angel is deeply moved by Tess’s first letter, and paired with the difficulties he was facing in Brazil, he is spurred to return home and reunite with Tess. He finds her second letter cursing him for leaving her to fend for herself upon his arrival at home. Angel feels remorse for his actions and determines to track her down by writing to her mother. He also informs his parents about the truth of her history, the incident which had spurred him to leave her. They are greatly moved by his account and add their voice of support to his notion of finding her, along with Tess’s fellow dairymaids who had written to him. Tess’s mother sends him a short and cold letter informing him that Tess no longer lives with them and that they no longer live in Marlott. Angel decides to begin his search with Marlott despite the letter. In Marlott, he learns of the hardships that the Durbeyfields had faced during their final months of residence in the village. Angel pays for the tombstone of Tess’s father and learns where her mother and siblings are living.
He finds Joan Durbeyfield and Tess’s other siblings, but she is very reluctant to speak to Angel about Tess. He continues to press her and she finally reveals that Tess is living in a nearby town. Angel hurries to the large and expensive town, worried about how Tess was faring in such a foreign place. He begins to make investigations among the townsfolk and learns that someone with the name of D’Urberville was residing at an Inn. He assumes that she is using a name other than her own for reasons of privacy. Angel becomes very confused when he goes to the Inn and discovers it to be an extremely luxurious and expensive establishment. He asks for her and finds her to be dressed in clothes of extreme wealth. Tess does not respond positively to Angel’s apology and his desire for reconciliation. She tells him that Alec had been a husband to her like he had never been and that she was now living with him as his mistress.
The owner of the Inn observes Tess speaking with Angel and becomes curious when Tess’s visitor leaves her in visible emotional distress. She observes Tess returning to her room and decides to eavesdrop on her from outside her door. She hears Tess begin a violent argument with Alec, accusing him of ruining her life by making her believe that Angel would never return to her. The Innkeeper decides to retreat to her place as she fears being caught in the act of spying on them. Sometime later, she observes a dark blood-like stain on the ceiling right where Tess and Alec shared a room. She grows worried and has a workman break open the room door. Alec is discovered lying dead with a knife wound in his chest, and a search is organized for Tess.
Angel is deeply disheartened on his return journey, but Tess catches up to him just a few short minutes after he leaves her. She is extremely excited when she tells him that she had killed Alec for coming between them again and again. Angel does not understand what to believe but he is happy just being with Tess again. They reunite and decide on heading to a port from where they could take a ship to some foreign land. The couple wanders about until they discover an abandoned house, and begin to reside there for a bit, thereby hoping to avoid detection. They are eventually discovered by a housekeeper, who is moved by Tess’s look of innocence and assumes that she is a lady sneaking off for an affair with her lover. Tess and Angel continue wandering the wild, and they end up at the ancient site of the Stonehenge. Tess feels a certain sense of calmness at the site, and they decide to rest there for the night despite Angel’s protests that they would be visible from afar.
Tess asks Angel to marry his sister, Liza-Lu, in case something happens to her. Angel reassures her that they will leave the country soon, and aid detection. They fall asleep there and Angel is awoken much later by the approach of a large group of men. He finally believes that Tess must have been telling him the truth about killing Alec. He begs the men not to wake her immediately, and even they are moved by the pure sight of her sleeping. She eventually wakes up, bids Angel goodbye, and goes willingly to her fate. A few months later, Angel and Liza-Lu observe as a black flag is raised at a prison, which indicates that Tess has been killed.
Analysis
Thomas Hardy wished to depict the belief that human beings were sometimes mere victims of fate, which was contrary to the commonly held Christian belief that spoke of individual agency, and salvation. Hardy faced a lot of criticism for adding the word ‘pure’ in his subtitle for the book as people felt that Tess could not be described in that manner given the sin of pre-marital sex. The author’s viewpoint is evident in the narrative structure, which significantly obscures all events in which Tess would be considered less than virtuous. The first of these instances is the most significant event of the novel, which begins the series of events that lead to Tess being executed. Readers are not given a clear idea about the events of the night Alec and Tess have sex, and we do not receive any information about the aftermath until Tess leaves Alec’s home. Similarly, Hardy does not depict the moment Tess accepts Alec’s help and chooses to become his mistress. Lastly, readers are not allowed to witness the murder of Alec D’Urberville but are only given a passing understanding of the actual events through the limited perspective of the Innkeeper.
Alec D’Urberville perfectly fits into the role of the antagonist with his malicious and lustful treatment of Tess. She later explains to Angel that she had worn the expensive clothes at Alec’s insistence and that she often let him do whatever he pleased with her. Tess’s description of her life with Alec demonstrates that she had begun to become dissociated from her body to tolerate the things Alec did to her. Interestingly, Angel no longer feels betrayed by Tess even though she had returned to Alec in his absence. The reason for his rapid acceptance of her after she has been Alec’s mistress can be discovered in her confession of the murder to him. She tells him that she has killed Alec for coming between them. This suggests that Angel’s initial vehement reaction to Tess’s confession was rooted in his insecurity that she might prefer Alec over him. However, once she kills Alec, Angel can no longer believe that.
