Skip to Content

Tess of the D'Ubervilles: Review

Thomas Hardy probably wasn't the life of party, if his writing is any indication. Still, he is one of my favorite authors.

Tess of the D'Ubervilles is filled with vivid descriptions of the diary lands of England and the melodramas of a few inhabitants. Tess Durbeyfield is a naive 16 year old girl, the only sensible member of a poor family. After an accident which takes their livelihood from them, her parents send her to a wealthy family whom they believe are distant relatives. Instead of the answer to their prayers, they push her into the lecherous arms of Alec D'Uberville. Tess returns home changed and scandalized.

Tess realizes she can't stay with her parents but must go out into the world alone. She finds work as a diarymaid in a nearby town and falls in love with the son of a minister, Angel Clare. Knowing nothing of her past, Angel begs her to marry him. Tess, so close to happiness, avoids telling Angel her secret until it is too late. Things go from bad to worse...

I think the main message of Hardy's novel is that, at this time, it sucks to be a woman, especially a poor woman. Especially telling is the title of Phase 5: The Woman Pays. And she pays, and pays, and pays... What Tess pays for mostly is what nature gives her: a pretty face and a sexy body. At sixteen, Tess is a child with a woman's body. Tess could use her body to get what she needs, but she knows that in this society 'purity' is a big deal. When she loses it anyway, she has little left to which to bargain. No money, no property, and no great family connections. She's damaged goods, no matter how pretty. Women she meets are a little more willing to accept her, it could easily be themselves in her position, but the men who know her story feel inclined to make her feel like dirt. Angel is the worst for withdrawing his love.

I was often frustrated with the guilt Tess carried. She punished herself unnecessarily. After all, there were plenty of other people willing to do that. Towards the end she finally started standing up for herself. However, Hardy just won't let us have a happy ending. I found the melodramatic ending overkill. I don't have a problem with happy or sad endings if they fit the story, but this ending went over the top.

Although I enjoyed the story, the descriptions and the writing, the end takes a full point off my rating:

3.5/5

Similar entries
  • What You Wish For: On Christmas Eve by Ann M. Martin

    It's almost Christmas of 1958, and her sister Evvie tells Tess that it's time for her to give up her belief in Santa. Still, as the holidays near, Tess feels the old magical pull of Christmas Eve and Santa's coming. Surrounded by the comforting mid-century rhythms of the season--fashioning homemade ornaments, cutting a Christmas tree, hanging the old string of golden lights, and watching her big sister portraying the angel Gabriel in the church pageant--Tess's anticipation is saddened by the serious illness of her best friend Sarah's father.

  • BTT: Heroine

    Booking Through Thursday

    Who is your favorite female lead character? And why? (And yes, of course, you can name more than one . . . I always have trouble narrowing down these things to one name, why should I force you to?)


    Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

  • Medical Mystery Madness Challenge


    For this challenge, I just need to read 3 medical mysteries or thrillers between June 1 and November 1/08

    I have 8 picked out already for the 888 challenge so as long as I read three of them during that period.

    So, At least 3 of:
    Isolation Ward by Joshua Spangole
    Manner of Death by Stephen White
    Fatal by Michael Palmer
    Life Support by Tess Gerritson
    With a Vengence by Eileen Dreyer
    Instensive Scare Unit by J.S. Borthwick
    Critical Conditions by Stephen White

  • Reaching Deep, Aiming High: Summer Ball by Mike Lupica

    Danny Walker should be on top of the world. His travel team has just won the championship, school's out, and he and two teammates are off to a top basketball camp with some of the best junior players in the country. But Danny has reason to feel a bit low--he's thirteen years old and the size of a ten-year-old. In a sport whose currency is height, Danny is just praying he'll make the 5'10" his dad claimed as an NBA player. But no growth spurt is in sight, and Danny sees his girlfriend Tess begin to tower over him and spending a lot of time on the courts with a tall tennis ace.

  • The Stone Angel

    For the longest time I had been postponing my reading of Margaret Laurence.
    Then I picked up her novel from 1964, The Stone Angel.
    Recently, I have also read A Jest of God [excellent book] and I do plan to continue on and read the other Manawaka books in the series.

  • Dear Reader...


    Happy Valentine's Day!!

  • Anne of Windy Poplars (#4): Review

    In the fourth of the Anne of Green Gables series, Anne of Windy Poplars, our heroine Anne Shirley graduated university and gained a position as principal of Summerside High School. Anne's on her own. She has to make new friends in a new town. Not much of a problem for Anne, you might think, but she finds herself in hostile territory. The town is run by a family named Pringle and Summerside is lousy with Pringles. The Pringles are a clannish group who have a passive aggressive way of running people they don't like out of town. Poor Anne unknowingly took the post of principal from...a Pringle. Somehow (I won't say how) Anne gets the Pringles on her side just when she's about to give it all up. Anne goes on to make friends of nearly every odd character she runs across, until her three years are up and she heads back to Avonlea.

  • Robbie Burns Day & The Bookish Buzz


    For a family with a Scottish last name, we have very little Scottish paraphernalia. My husband doesn't even drink Scotch! These items are Scotland related in some way. I'll let you guess how. Leave your guesses in the comments.

  • Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult


    Title: Picture Perfect
    Author: Jodi Picoult
    ISBN: 9780425185508
    Publisher: Berkley Books/1995
    Pages: 369

  • Guest Blogger: Karen E Olson


  • Pollyanna by Eleanor H Porter


    Title: Pollyanna
    Author: Eleanor H Porter
    ISBN: 1853261459
    Publisher: Wordsworth Classics/1913
    Genre: Children’s Fiction
    Pages: 188

  • Marie-Thérèse, Child of Terror: Review

    The full title of this book is Marie-Thérèse, Child of Terrror: The Fate of Marie Antoinette's Daughter by Susan Nagel.

    Marie-Thérèse was born into the world already a celebrity. The first born child of the vivacious Marie Antoinette and the very reserved King of France, Louis XVI, all eyes were on her. Louis wasn't disappointed that she was a girl. She became the apple of his eye. She always spoke of her parents as loving and kind. They taught her about duty and charity even though they would be accused by enemies as being greedy and cold hearted. The Reign of Louis XVI was doomed from the start. Years of opulent living by previous rulers angered the masses who also hated the foreign Queen. By 1789, it was all over for the Bourbons.

  • The About Us Meme

    I stole yet another Meme from the Literary Feline!! Thanks again, this one is fun!!

    The basic facts:
    Who is your significant other? Paul
    How long have you been together? 6.5 years (married 3.5)
    Dating/Engaged/Married? Married
    How old is your Significant Other? He is 7 months older than I am. And he never lets me forget it!
    Which one:
    Who eats more? I do right now because I'm pregnant and he's on a diet lol
    Who said "I love you" first? I can't remember, but I'm pretty sure it was him
    Who sings better? I do.
    Who's older? He is.

  • New Poem → Blackwing

    Blackwing

    Poison lies in wait, not about
    To fill three trumpets with spit
    While someone beats a drum. Not
    Quite. It knows to tread softly up

  • 'There's Work Out There, But It Pays Less'

    From the Modesto Bee: This time last year, Ernesto Dias, 31, of Modesto was framing houses in Merced. By autumn, he and his co-workers realized that work was slowing and it wasn't just a seasonal shift. "The supervisors weren't talking about the next job because there wasn't a next job," Dias said.

    He hasn't swung a hammer in eight months. After being out of work for two months, he started looking for nonconstruction work. A friend helped him get a part-time job washing dishes at night. His family was barely making it on his minimum-wage salary, so he took a second part-time job with a landscaping company. "I still don't make as much as I did in construction," Dias said. "My friends are going through the same thing. There's work out there, but it pays less, so you have to work more."

  • The Last Single Woman in America by Cindy Guidry

    Title: The Last Single Woman in America
    Author: Cindy Guidry
    ISBN-13: 978-0525950523
    Publisher: Dutton Adults/Jan 2008
    Pages: 290/Hardcover

    As I mentioned in my previous post, I got this book via Dewey's post. This is a collection of essays, which are written in dry humour. Cindy Guidry has written about the most serious things with a wit that is wry and makes us love the book instantly. She is outrageously funny, has the ability to laugh at herself and draws vivid pictures of people and places she comes in contact with, idiosyncrasies and all.

  • Twelve Read Herrings by Jeffrey Archer

    Title: Twelve Read Herrings
    Author: Jeffrey Archer
    ISBN: 0006490484
    Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers/1994
    Pages: 324

    At one time, I used to read Jeffrey Archer like crazy. I do like the way he writes. I won't call those masterpieces, nonetheless, his books hold interest.

  • The Feudal Lord by Tehmina Durrani


    Title: The Feudal Lord: A Devastating Indictment
    of Women’s Role in Muslim Society
    Author: Tehmina Durrani
    ISBN: 0552142395
    Publisher: Corgi Books/1995
    Pages: 382
    Genre: Non-fiction/Biography

  • Having some trouble..

    dealing with stress. I want a cocktail! No red wine! A goddamn cigarette!!!! ARGHH. I honestly can't tell if my life has recently gotten really bad or if I just can't deal with it without my vices. I've officially turned to food for comfort...having a smoothie right now. Today was really hard. BUT, the good news is that I now have PMS so I actually have an excuse to be a grumpy bitch.

    And now i'll try to use logic to make me happier. I have a job that pays better than anything else I'll ever find in this godforsaken state. If I could learn to get along with my coworkers again (which could be a real challenge now that I know them for the bratty, self-centered egotistical twats that they are) and could just accept the fact that I"ll never get any respect or recognition, I'm sure I could learn to be happy there again. Are you convinced? Yeah, me neither, but what's the option?

  • Love in the Time of Cholera


    My book club recently finished Love in the Time of Cholera by Garbriel Garcia Marquez and quite a few of the members think it's the best thing since sliced bread. So, I wonder what the heck is wrong with me?

  • Friday Fill-in # 49

    Friday Fill-In #49
    1. I love the nostalgia surrounding Christmas.
    2. Blue is/are my favorite color(s) for the Christmas tree lights.
    3. The non-existent candles in the window have non-existent bulbs.
    4. A Christmas Story (You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!) is one of my most favorite Christmas movies.
    5. My favorite Christmas lyric(s) is/are

  • BTT: The Big Red Pen

    Booking Through Thursday

    Suggested by John :

    How about a chance to play editor-in-chief? Fill in the blanks:

    __________ would have been a much better book if ______________________.


    Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

    I'm in a cranky mood, so I hope that doesn't effect my answer.

  • Secondhand Smoke: Review


    It's probably not recommended to read a series last to first, but that's how I'm doing the Annie Seymour series! Secondhand Smoke is the second in Karen Olson's mystery series.

  • Babyproofing your Marriage by Stacie Cockrell, Cathy O'Neill, and Julia Stone

    Title: Babyproofing Your Marriage
    Authors: Stacie Cockrell, Cathy O'Neill, and Julia Stone
    ISBN: 978-0-06-117354-7
    Publisher: Collins-An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublisher/2007
    Pages: 273/Hardcover

    I received this book fron Collins, which is a part of Harper Collins publisher for reading and reviewing.

  • Six Fools by Zora Neale Hurston


    Collected by Zora Neale Hurston, Adapted by Joyce Carol Thomas, Illustrated by Ann Tanksley

    Stars: ***

    This book was read for the Zora Neale Hurston Challenge.

    “During her travels in the Gulf States in the 1930’s, Zora Neale Hurston recorded stories told by the people she met, to preserve their rich oral legacy. The Six Fools is one of the stories collected in Every Tongue Got to Confess, her third volume of folklore. It has been masterfully adapted for children by National Book Award winner Joyce Carol Thomas.”

  • Larry's Party: A Review


    Most of Carol Shields work that I've read can be described as "women's fiction", meaning that the protagonists are women. Larry's Party is a not unpleasant change from the norm.

  • Holiday Meme

    Look what I stole from Moose:

    1. Wrapping paper or gift bag? Gift Bags

    2. Real tree or artificial? I think my parents had a real one for my first Christmas, but ever since we have had artificial. When I got married, I inherited one sad looking tree from my cousin, Kathy. Two years ago, the day after Christmas we bought a new artificial tree, dirty cheap from K-Mart.

    3. When do you put up your tree? Thanksgiving weekend

    4. When do you take down your tree? The weekend of Epiphany

  • Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult


    Title: Salem Falls
    Author: Jodi Picoult
    ISBN-13: 978074318713
    Publisher: Washington Square Press/2001
    Pages: 434

  • Circle of Three by Patricia Gaffney, paint work, evaluation work, Sunday Salon

    There is paint work going on in one part of our house. The air is smelling of fresh paint. I love the smell of paint but it is getting too much lately. 10 more days to go. I am going nuts over it. I keep reading. This time I read a novel from a collection of three by Patricia Gaffney. I had not heard of her before this. I got this book as an advance birthday gift for March 22! (Anyone else interested to send me birthday gifts?! :D)

    Circle of Three is one of the three novels in one FAT volume. I say fat becos, this in itself is 421 pages. I started it on Friday and managed to finish it a while back. It took me a while as I had to evaluate answersheets in the midst of it all, i.e, blogging, writing poetry, reading. You get the gist?

  • The Best of 2007