Customer Reviews

Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Penguin Classics)

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Despite its seemingly needless tragedy, its persistently downbeat tone, and its relentlessly persecuted heroine, Thomas Hardy's 1891 novel, "Tess of the D'Urbervilles," is without doubt one of the greatest novels I have ever read. And I have read a few. Tess is the only truly well-developed character in the novel, which, coupled with the fact that Hardy renders the landscape of Wessex as to make it a character itself, gives one the sense of a real struggle between humanity and nature. This, for me, is one of the great themes of the novel - the tension between nature and the artifices with which we fill our relations with other people. The beauty of Hardy's pastoral setting is never idyllic - Hardy keeps us always aware that human society, with its false moral standards and technological advancements, is ever encroaching upon the already vanished past.

As the novel begins, Tess Durbeyfield's irresponsible wastrel of a father is casually and jokingly informed by the local minister that he is a descendant of a long-degenerated and disenfranchised noble family, the D'Urbervilles, whose influence stretches back to the Norman invasion. This simple, careless act, nothing more than a name, wreaks such havoc upon everyone in the novel, that I'm actually having a hard time right now even looking at the title - the name itself, now having read the novel, is such a powerful condemnation of status, of privilege, of reputation, of all the injustices of English society from the eighteenth century through the time of this novel, almost the dawn of the twentieth. Sent by her nearly indigent parents, whose heads have swelled with the possibilities of lineage, Tess leaves her home in Marlott, going to claim kinship with the last apparently wealthy D'Urberville, in the village of Trantridge. There she meets Alec D'Urberville, who seduces her. The rest of this powerful novel shows Tess Durbeyfield attempting to piece together a reputable life out of a situation and a condition in which respectability is fundamentally denied her.

"Tess" is a novel steeped, perhaps even choked, with tradition - history, literature, theology, philosphy, economics - Hardy's frame of reference calls all of these to account through the course of the novel. Tess, ostensibly a simple country girl, is forced to reckon with the accumulated weight of human knowledge and thought, no small burden for a girl with only the kind of basic education available in a small rural town. As readers, we are asked to measure the applicability, the efficacy, of the Bible next to Shakespeare, next to Greek mythology next to art - to determine if any of these are capable of fathoming what it means to be human, to endure the myriad experiences of human life, both good and ill.

In her dealings with the changeable Alec D'Urberville, the almost-modern Angel Clare, the farm-hands Izz Huett and Marian, her poor, practically minded mother, Joan, Tess experiences so much of life, mostly of the harshest kind. For me, this is the key facet of the novel. Tess endures. Despite all of her hardships, which are hard indeed, and in the face of the worst kinds of scrutiny and deprecation, both from others and from herself, Tess exhibits a kind of composure, threshold for pain, and strength that are all quite amazing. Daniel Defoe's eighteenth-century "Moll Flanders" is the first character that immediately comes to mind, just in terms of comparable pluck in the face of such overweaning odds.

Though many may disagree with me, I think that Tess, more than simply being the protagonist of the novel, is a real heroine. She is so insistently admirable, so determined to live despite all the forces and pressures arrayed against her from the very outset of the novel, when as a 15 year old girl, she is asked to restore the family's fortunes - it is really just astounding. I regret that I had never read "Tess" before, but I am supremely glad that I have had the chance to do so now. A novel cannot get a higher recommendation from me.

What I have written below is the assignment of my homework. (I'm a 9th grade student)

Tess's life was destroyed by men who loved her. But the right man hesitated, and the wrong man found her first. This was how her life was ruined and how miserable she was. If you want more derails, it is better for you to read the book yourself.

This book is a perfect demonstration that bad things happened to good people. But I have to admitt that it is quite difficult to struggle through the beginning. But after a few chapters, enjoyment continued filling my heart and eventually I could not stop reading untill i have finished it.

Alec d'Urbervill was the man who destroyed Tess's life. Tess met with lots of knotty difficulties in her life. It is fallacious to say that ir was her fault.

Tess is really a complex character. Her life was full of love , hate, depression and misery. Fortunately, she met Angel Clare who filled her heart with happiness.

Good writing do not often go hand in hand. But Hardy did it. THis is a tragic story. Why is the world so unfair?

Hardy used a magical way to write this book. Once you start, you can't stop. As you travel through this book, you will find yourself lost in admiration for the strong, honest woman.

Hardy showed me the true colours of depreesion and hapiness. He did a nice job and i did appreciate it.

It is definitely the most beautifully crafted book i have ever read. This book is truly worth reading and I hope you are not going to miss it.

I will admit to being intrigued by Hardy's plot in "Tess of the D'Urbervilles." The concept behind the novel (a Victorian woman's fate and misfortunes) has been done before, but the basic storyline is still something worth paying attention to. Also, some of the book's insights into Victorian society were fascinating, such as the views on religious conflicts in the Church of England. Finally, a great deal of credit goes out to the editors of this particular edition for providing excellent footnotes on language and customs. However...

One of the characteristics of 19th century English writing (for instance, "Wuthering Heights") is extremely wordy syntax. Hardy takes this idea to its extreme, never settling for five words when he can use fifty. This is not only distracting, it makes the novel crawl at a snail's pace. Hardy also throws editorial asides into the novel far too often, making his point with a sledgehammer. (I was surprised that Hardy didn't outright end the book with a chapter explaining his views on everything.) Another flaw in the writing is Hardy's tendency to tell us something, rather than show us. His character's actions are insufficient, so he writes sentences describing exactly what a character thinks about another. The writing, frankly, could have used a lot of editing.

I still maintain that "Tess" has an excellent plot, and this is why the book isn't entirely panned. However, it's simply too much trouble to wade through the muck passed off as writing to bother. If you want a story that's similar to "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" conceptually, buy Kate Chopin's "The Awakening."

If you are a fan of the Romance genre, particularly if you are a fan of the historical Romance genre, and most especially if you are a fan of the tragic, historical Romance genre, you'll doubtless enjoy this book. What's more, if you like lush, flowery descriptions of pastoral settings, you'll doubtless love this book.

Since I'm not overly fond of any of these things, it's main interest for me was as a period piece, a reminder of just WHY we don't want to go back to the "good old days" of Victorian sexuality. (Not that I really need much reminding.) It is certainly true, however, that given the limitations put on it by the time period of its writing, its genre, and the author's prediliction for flowery language, it was a far more interesting read than I expected; its characters were surprisingly sympathetic, and its plot more interesting than a cursory summary would make it seem.

When an author has a definite idea of what course of action he deems the correct one, there are two ways for him to make his point: either he can have a character that resonates with the reader take that action, and show the positive outcome, or he can have his characters take the opposite action, and show what disasters follow. Hardy invariably takes the latter course in this book. Bank on it; if his characters are faced with a choice, they'll make the WRONG choice. And as a result of their choices, tragedy follows. This is generally considered to be "having realistic characters"; I've never entirely understood why. (Is it REALLY more realistic to be dumb as a box of rocks, rather than having at least as much sense as the average five year old?) Still, the technique is a perfectly acceptable literary device, and Hardy uses it well; the fact that I have a preference for the opposite technique is rather beside the point.

This is certainly a more interesting and accessible read than many of its contemporaries, and many readers will be far more impressed with it than I was.

I recently read Tess of the D'Urbervilles and I must say that it has had a large impact opon me. I really love Thomas Hardy's work. Especially Far From the Madding Crowd. But, to be honest with you, I think that everyone should read Tess because it shows you a side of an unfortunate girl's life. It also depicts many harsh realities that form that thing we call life.

Although Hardy claimed that 'The Woodlanders' was his favourite work, 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' was his masterpiece. Only in this intense tale of a 'pure woman' did he unveil his tragic view of the world, conveying his feeling of the injustice of his society. He tells of a young girl taken advantage of by a wealthier man whose actions leave such a stain on her life that, when she seems to be on the path towards happiness following her marriage to Angel, they return to haunt her and, ultimately, effect her destruction. The book was condemned as immoral and pessimistic by contemporary critics, and was indeed written by a deeply unhappy man, but 'Tess' is a novel that should be read by every generation. It is beautifully written; though Hardy had a harsh view of life, his images of an idealistic 1840s Wessex are truly magnificent. Tess' journeys across the ancient tracks of a rustic, simple Southwest England remain within the mind of the reader eternally unforgetable; the contrast with her life at Flitcombe Ash, too, is deeply moving. Although his critics were harsh, the writer of 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' was, and remains, unrivalled in evocation of tragic emotion.

What a wonderful piece of literature, and quite a liberal (read: feminist) story for the time period it comes from! Not only are the characters well-drawn and utterly flawed (just like real humans) but the main plot reads as timeless.

The heroine (Tess) takes most of her life as it is thrown at her. When she finally decides to take some small measure of control of her fate, it is her very womanhood - and the lack of choice accompanying it - that is slapped back in her face.

A great love story in many respects, in the end the true love here is Tess' love of herself (and the reader's love for her), and her unwillingness to be a victim her entire life.

Thankfully, you'll find no happy endings in this book. What you will find is a story written by an early feminist, and characters that will stay with you forever.

This book was well-written and deserves respect. If people don't like Hardy's style of writing, that's one thing, but this book is a tragic story that deserves praise one way or another.

I have to be honest. Though a great lover of all of Hardy's fiction, I wasn't a big fan of Eleanor Bron's. (Perhaps I remember too vidily her sneering character in Ken Russell's 'Women in Love'.)

But Bron's sensitive reading of this tragedy is a revelation which had me totally enveloped. Tess comes across as a pitiful, humbly righteous creature whose destiny seems inevitably gloomy almost from the first minute. The male parts (mainly D'Urbeville and Angel Clare) are equally well read and clearly differentiated.

Tess's silent suffering is the antithesis of today's modern, assertive woman, but is no less noble.

This reading lasts six full CDs, but I wished it were even longer. (I have previously bought a two-CD version, but that necessarily eliminates much of the subtlety of the book.)

If you're studying this novel for an exam, this is the ideal version to get well acquainted with the story.

After reading many of the reviews, I find that all the readers who absolutely abhorred this book HAD to read it due to some assignment by an instructor. This is too funny. I was not assigned it, therefore I loved it. I am trying to catch up on my classics and am happy to say that this book is one of my favorites. Is Tess an insult to women? (A comment from another reviewer.) Absolutely not. I am Tess.