Tess
of the D'Urbervilles- Reading Questions
Some reading questions:
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Is Tess a "pure woman," as the title of the novel asserts? Why or
why not? How does Hardy represent Tess's body and soul? Do
their respective conditions correspond -- or conflict -- with each other?
-
How does Hardy place Tess (her body and her mind) in relation to the natural
world? in relation to the 'modern' world (of railways, machinery, urbanism,
and anxieties surrounding the end of the century)?
-
I'd like you to concentrate on two passages in particular:
-
The last four paragraphs at the end of the "First Phase" (p. 118-199),
describing the loss of Tess's virginity. How does Hardy represent Tess's
experience here? Make sure to pay close attention not only to metaphor
and imagery, but also to the visual perspective(s) that we, as readers,
assume? Does Hardy portray this event as something entirely fated
-- or are Tess and Alec accountable for their actions? Does Hardy
treat this event as the usual outcome of circumstances in which an unprincipled
man finds himself alone in an isolated place with an innocent sleeping
girl? What is Tess's (and our) relation to her body? And why
the religious allusions?
-
The ninth paragraph into chapter 19 (pages 178-181). What does Angel mean
by the "ache of modernism"? What sorts of feelings does Tess describe?
What is her relationship to the landscape, to suffering, and to her own
remarkably 'fertile' body?
-
Finally, what was your reaction to the ending of the novel? As we
conclude this course, I'd like us to think a bit about how Tess resonates
with the historical moment in which it was written: the waning moments
of the Victorian age. How is it similar -- and different -- from
other novels we have read?