2007: In many works of literature, past events and affect, positively or negatively, the present activities, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or play in which a character must contedn with some aspect of the pasem either personal or societal. Then write an essat in which you show how a character's relationship to the pase contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

Through out literature, authors often use events in the protagonists past to affect, positively or negatively, their decisions, actions or decisions and actions made about that person in their future. Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles is an excellent novel that provides immaculate evidence on this point. The story is about the life of a young girl in the English country side in the 1890’s named Tess Durbeyfield. One unfortunate event when she was 16 leads to her death only five years later.

The story starts out at a May-Day dance, where Tess is first introduced to Angel. Tess later marries Angel, but he doesn’t realize it is the girl he met at the dance that he didn’t dance. Some could argue that this is the event that affects all others, but I believe that this event is not significant enough in the beginning to be the direct cause of the ending. If Tess and Angel were to have danced that day it was a possibility that they could have fallen in love then and there and married; but some of the adverse situations that Tess and Angel are subjected to in the next few years changes their personalities and perspective on life.

The major hindrance in Tess’s life was when she is raped. After her father finds out that he is a decendant of an ancient noble line called D’Urbervilles, Tess ends up killing the horse that the family needed for income. So she has to claim kin to a nearby D’Urberville family in order to hopefully gain a new horse or, her mothers wish, a husband. She meets Alec D’Urbervilles, who is really a Stoke whose family bought the D’Urberville name in order to hide in the country, who is really not related to her. He wants her, and after multiple refusals to his advances, he takes what he wants from Tess; leaving her pregnant and a life of hard ship. Multiple parties are to blame for this. Alec, obviously, because he raped her; but Tess’s mother and father are to blame as well. If her mother had educated Tess about the dangers of men and what the advances by Alec meant, Tess would have had a better chance of fending off Alec; and if her father hadn’t been a drunk and a horrible provider, Tess would have never had to go to the ‘D’Urbervilles” for aid in the first place. After this point in Tess’s life, it is always a continuous struggle.

Alec’s illegitimate child dies about a week after it is born, Angel leaves Tess after she confesses that she carried another mans child, and then she ends up back in the clutches of Alec. This is another moment when the past affects the future. If Angel hadn’t overacted to Tess forcible carrying another mans child and left, then Tess wouldn’t have ended up back with Alec so she can give her family some money after Tess’s father dies. Then she stabs Alec in the heart, for lying that Angel will never come back, so she can escape his clutches. Because of this the police chase after her and Angel. They are finally caught up to at Stonehenge and Tess is executed.

It seems that one event in Tess’s past just caused the next, only more extreme. This poor girl can never get a break; and nothing in her life is really truly her own fault. Not even her beauty that attracts men to her through out the novel. Any time the author would bring in a new man into Tess’s life, be it Alec, Angel , Farmer Groby or Tess’s father, something always goes terribly wrong.

A really cool looking book cover!

the final scene ....before her execution:(

Tess Part Two.... OMG an even BIGGER MESS

WOW... what a jerk!!!! He leaves her! Are you kidding me?!?!?! Angel just went way down on my list of good boyfriends in literature history, like almost to the bottom. The point of loving and marrying someone is because you want to spend your life with that person, not spend your life together only if the other person is the quintessence of human beings and has no faults. And Brazil; Angel, really??? Are you sure you couldn't find a more disease ridden part of the, then, third world colonies of England? I would be glad that you got sick there if it hadn't of kept you from getting to Tess in time to save her from Alec, which you didn't. Running from your problems is isn't going to change them. Tess at least has the kahunas to stand up and face her problems and handles them without a selfish care. Angle running was probably one of the most selfish things I have ever heard of. He couldn't handle that she had been with another man, forcibly, but she forgave him for his previous actions. And Angel coming back only after she begged him twice doesn't make up for that either.



It makes me so angry that no man can do anything for her at all, they only hinder or hurt her. Alec was right in calling her "Ms. Independent" in the beginning. She has been on her own with out much help from men since the day she was born. Her father was a drunk who couldn't provide for his family. Alec raped her and gave her a child that she had no help with from him; especially when it died. Angel left her when she needed him most, and came back when it was really too late. by the time they meet at the train station she had already killed Alec, after she had to go back to him when Angel left her and had to care for her family when her father died and left them nothing, and the police were already after her. No matter how hard she tried, Tess just couldn't get her life to work out.

The final part if Tess's story is probably the saddest thing I have ever read. Angel finally realizes what he did in losing Tess and they finally get some time together...on the run from the coppers. That's what i always wanted for a honeymoon, a year and a half late and in a rundown house; a real Bonnie and Clyde.

It is kind of frustrating that none of the real pivotal, tragic events aren't explained further; but i understand that in those times, such an explanation would really raise some eyebrows. This would include, specifically, the rape scene (at least make it a little clearer what happened) and the execution scene. The only way we know she was killed was the ominous black flag raised above the town. And the complete lack of emotion from Angel and Liza-Lu mad me really mad. All they did was kneel down like in prayer, and walk off holding hands. Really? That's the only feeling you can muster after your beloved wife and older sister is hung? The ending was a real downer, but overall I liked the book.

The cover of the 1998 film.

A picture of Tess and Angle's weddingin the 1979 Polanski film.

A still picture from the 1913 movie.

Tess and Alec from the 2008 minisearies.

The First Half of Tess's Story - Giant Mess

So trying to get into this book was like trying to get into any book writen in this time period, or about this time period; it was extremely BOREING and simple. At the same time it was also hard to understand because it would bring in characters and not explain them untill way later. We hear about Angle in the second chapter for all of four or five paragraphs and he is not mentioned again untill chapter seventeen, and by then you have forgotten him; or bring in events and not clarify on what they ment. For example, the "rape" scene; it is understood from many different sources that she was forced, or raped, by Alec but it is never said directly, or even indirectly.

This is one of those turning points in the book that is not a good one. eventhough it was not her fault, Tess, not Alec is punished through out her life for this thing; and that is terribly wrong. He even has the nerve to blame her for "tempting" him, when she did no such thing. I think it is really her parents falt to beging with. If her father hadnt been a drunk, Tess would have never ended up killing the horse doing work for her father; and if her mother had not practicaly forced Tess to go meet the U'Urbervilles, Alec would have never felt the urge to have control over Tess in th first place. If Alec hadn't been , as the narrator and Alec himself said, "born bad" he would have never taken advantage of Tess. it just seems that Tess is always in the wrong place at the wrong instance.

Her mother never educated Tess in the ways of male needs and desires when it comes to women either. If Tess had realized the dangers of being alone with Alec and had realixed what his advances ment, she might have never gotten raped. it is odd that Joan never explained even the slightest bit about sex to Tess, since everything happed at a much earlier age back then, due to a low life expectance and high infant mortality rates; especially in the poor country side where the novel is based. im thinking that Hardy is trying to make a point on how the uneducated poverty in England at this time was treated, women in particular, and how easily that effects people in a very adverse way.

I still dont understand how so many people could be so judgemental of Tess for something that was entirely out of her hands. Then again, it is these adversities that make the story interesting. The towns people all make fun and gossip about her, like it was her fault she got raped bu her imposter cousin.Her mother was judgemental about her when she came home after she was raped, and said Tess should have been welcoming the advances so she could marry Alec and not fighting him off. Her mom ovbously doesnt understand what happened to Tess, and any negative that comes out of all of this was Tesses fault, as far as her mother was concerned. Angel is the worst culprit of them all. He confesses that he had an affair with an older woman, willingly, when he was young and stupid; and Tess frogives him before he even tells her what he did.But when Tess tells Angel about her being raped and carrying Alec's child, Angel cant forgive her; though she was forced into this position and Angel willingly entered his. And Tess even tried to tell him before they were married, but he wouldn't listen to her. If Tess can forgive Angel for his past discressions, why cant he seem to return the favor.

Tess can just never get a break, can she? Im kinda scare to see what happens to her in the second half!!!

Movie???

Tess of the D'Urbervilles has been made into multiple movies and T.V. series through out the years. This is very surprising to me because of the graphic adult content of this story. The earliest production was in 1913 under the direction of J. Searle Dawley as a black and white silent film. The most recent production was a miniseries aired on PBS in January of 2008. I watched a few clips on youtube and reall think this is one of the better productions. I really like Gemma Arterton as Tess, she did a really good job compared to the Tess in the 1998 film.


Other productions include : Tess of the D'Urbervilles - 1924 directed by Marshall Neilan; Tess of the D'Urbervilles - 1952 directed by Michael Henderson - UK; Tess - 1979 directed by Roman Polanski & Gerard Brach; Tess of the D'Urbervilles - 1998 directed by Ian Sharp.

ArthOr/bOok Bio bLurB

Tess of the D'Urbervilles was written by Thomas Hardey. Born on June 2, 1840 in Southwest England, Hardy began writing at an early age. Though his first passion was with poetry, he was a great novelist; famous in the sense of, say, and author like Dickens. Some of his work was very popular, like Under the Green Wood Tree and Far from the Madding Crowd,but some was seen to be very offensive and shocking for its content, like Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure. Tess of the D'Urbervilles was written in 1891. Its the story of a small town girl from a poor part of England. Her family finds out they are kin to a rich, old, noble family and try to get Tess to claim kin so they can get money and Tess can marry well; and the story follows her crazy life after that.