Last week I spoke on the virtues of reading classic books. But let's be honest now, some of those older books really are not worth reading. One good example of this is Tess of the d'Urbervilles (Tess) by Thomas Hardy. I think the first mistake of this book was that it was written by a man. Why a man tries to write about a woman and how she responds to womanly experiences is beyond me.
Basically this book follows the life of Tess Durbeyfield, a sweet village girl of lowly parentage. The book opens with a quiet village scene where Tess and some other village girls are dancing. She happens to make eye contact with a random young boy passing through.
Switch to Tess's drunken father finding out that they are remotely related to an old family by the name of d'Urberville. Her father gets the idea to send young Tess out meet Mrs. d'Urberville and present herself as a long lost relative. Tess, feeling guilty over some events agrees to this. She makes the journey by wagon and walking and ends up meeting Alec d'Urberville (the son) who offers her the job of watching the poultry on the rather run down estate. Basically to sum up her time here we find out that the d'Urbervilles are just frauds who borrowed the name to sound more refined and Alec rapes Tess.
Tess returns home pregnant, and her family takes her in. The baby is born but dies at a young age, his mother believing it because of her sin. After this Tess decides she needs to leave because she can't deal with being judged by everyone. So she takes off and ends up finding work at a dairy farm as a milkmaid. Who should she meet there by the boy she made eye contact with at the beginning of the book, Angel Clare. Angel is resisting his family's urging to become a preacher because he wants to be a farmer. While working at the farm Tess and Angel fall in a love and take forever to admit it to each other. But then Angel proposes to her and she agrees to marry him. Now she's in a bind as she feels guilty because she isn't a virgin but she can't find time to tell him. So, they get married and the night of she finally admits to him what happens. He responds poorly (even though he had had a sight affair with an older lady before he met Tess) and the next few days are extremely awkward. Tess suggests they separate and he agrees. Angel gives her some money than takes off for Brazil saying he will write to her if he can forgive her and wants her to join him. On his way out of town he runs into Izz, another milkmaid he worked with and asks her to be his mistress and come to Brazil with him. She agrees, but then tells him no one will love him like Tess and she can't. So he continues on his own.
Meanwhile Tess, who had told Angel she'd go back to her parents but decides she can't stay there and goes to work on another farm. The labor is hard and the boss is a creep who keeps trying to get in with Tess. She once attempts to go see Angel's parents and ask for help but decides not to after over hearing his brother discussing her. On the back to the farm she meets a wandering preacher who turns out to be Alec d'Urberville who apparently got religion.
Alec starts to pursue Tess, following her to the farm and asking her to marry him. She tells him she is married and to leave her alone. He returns periodically to convince her to marry him. Then Tess gets notice her family is sick and returns home. Her father dies and she and the rest of the family are evicted. So they leave and take refuge at the church dedicated to the real d'Urberville family. Alec shows up again and convinces Tess that Angel will never return. So she agrees to marry him in return for helping her mom and siblings.
Meanwhile, Angel returns home because he got sick and his farms failed. Someone that he told his problems to tells him he was stupid and should never have left his wife. He finds two letters at home, an angry one from Tess, and an anonymous note saying to save Tess from a 'friend' (Alec). Angel finds Tess's mom who tells him where to find her. She is at an Inn with her new husband. Understandably upset as seeing Angel, who she had convinced herself would never come back, she asks him to leave her.
Angel leaves, and Tess goes upstairs and gets in a fight with Alec. She ends up killing him and then running after Angel. She tells him what happens and they run. They spend a few magical days together and then the law catches up with Tess. Tess tells Angel she hopes that he will marry Liza-lu her little sister after she is dead. Tess is executed and the book ends as Angel and Liza-lu leave the execution holding hands.
Where to start. Truly, after reading that I felt like I had wasted a couple days of my life. What is anyone supposed to learn? Rape doesn't pay? Truth isn't the best policy?
Try to fathom where Thomas Hardy was going with this. This book was published in the 1890's and was probably a scandalous read. So what was he warning of? The danger of letting your young daughter out on her own? Or was he trying to make some sort of analogy? Maybe the traditions and values of the day - embodied by Tess - were being ruined by the changes of the day and age?
Either way it is not a book I would read again nor would I recommend you read it.
Just use judgement.. if you haven't heard of it before maybe do some research before reading it.
Just my two cents.
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