Tess of the D`Urbervilles

Because of its sexual frankness and indictment of Victorian hypocrisy, Hardy`s novel was considered shocking when it was published in 1891. It is the tale of Tess Durbeyfield, a young country girl whose rape by Alec D`Urberville, a distant aristocratic relative, leads to pregnancy. Tess`s baby dies, and she finds work as a dairymaid at a farm where no one knows her story. From that point, her life, which includes marriage with a man, Angel Clare, who fails to realize her worth, enters a downward spiral, culminating in the sensational tragedy that is at the heart of the book. The cynical and sophisticated Alec`s seduction of a country girl, and the self-righteous Angel`s destructive idealization of her, can be seen as symbols of the city`s ruthless exploitation of the English countryside--a common theme in Hardy`s fiction. His compassionate portrait of a young countrywoman was also characteristic of his writing, which never failed to champion the cause of rural lives and values against those of the corrupting city.

Author:

Hardy, Thomas

ISBN:

9780679405863

Format:

Hardcover

Publish Date:

11/01/1991

Publisher:

Everyman`s Library

Language:

English

Portions copyright 2005 Muze Inc. All rights reserved.