Tess of the D'Urbervilles: Authoritative Text (A Norton Critical Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Haunting...
Review: I was reading this book for an assignment in English, and the images that it left in my mind will remain there for a long time. The story of Tess, a truly Pure woman, facing adversities that scare the soul out of me, is a thoughtful and saddening one.

The Norton Critical edition is particularily good, containing reviews and poems of and about Thomas Hardy, a major advantage when trying to understand the atmosphere that produced this novel.

Though the novel is heavy in description, the description is not out of place. In fact, it is essential to the storyline.

All in all, I enjoyed this book, and it made me think and reflect on the values that I believe are truly important.

Rating:
Summary: Not quite queen of the world.
Review: Morality is subject to some rolling blackouts in this book. At the end, the law stepped in and made sure that the destruction was mutual. Law seems to be particularly inept in situations where a book is this hard on the reader, and those critics in the Norton Critical Edition who consider this novel almost a crime against literature have a point. If all the characters were being put on trial, instead of merely trying to live, the law would allow each of them to be tried separately because of the doctrine of mutually antagonistic defenses. There were parts of this book I enjoyed: Angel Clare sorting the cows for milking made a lovely theme. Hardy kept referring to the barnyard as a "barton," but I'm sure he wasn't directing that jibe at me, personally, because this book was written long before I was born. I've been to barnyards that were as full of "mulch" as the "barton" described in this book, and Hardy is putting things mildly. I liked the part when Alec had been reformed and Tess discovered him preaching to the Methodists without thinking that he was any better for all the things he was trying to say. Somehow Alec getting on the other side of things was still Alec, and he would have preferred to be happy than to preach all the time. For me, the plot revolved around Angel Clare's need to find a place where he could get money without shame. Alec had as much money as Tess would ever need, and he wanted to give it to her in his own way. There is an early baby problem that Tess didn't tell Alec about until they had more problems than any novelist could make disappear. D. H. Lawrence tried to understand this book in unfulfilled male and female principles, and aristocratic principles which isolated Tess and Alec d'Uberville. I'm glad this book has been appreciated so long that I finally read it. It was an involvement that went further than just feeling like a barnyard.

Rating:
Summary: The incredible strength of one woman
Review: Thomas Hardy's novel makes a heroine out of a simple girl. Tess Durbeyfield, the daughter of a nearly extinct noble line, leads a life of heavy responsibility where her impoverished family is concerned. At the behest of her parents, she seeks assistance from the D'Urbervilles who are, supposedly, relatives. This assistance yields disastrous results and Tess feels compelled to find work as a milkmaid where she meets Angel Clare, the son of an evangelical pastor, who is gathering experience in order to become a farmer.

Hardy does a splendid job of illustrating Tess's strength as she goes from innocent girl to pure woman. Though she is not as educated as Angel, in terms of theory, her experience with Alec Stokes D'Urberville has given her a deeper knowledge of life and acceptance. Ironically, it is this experience which captivates and, predictably enough, repulses Angel.

Hardy's narrative is a powerful one in this particular tale. It is clear that this is Tess's story and we, as readers, witness her painful journey. Through his subtle and understated use of irony, we come to realize the hypocrisy of Angel and wonder about the diabolical nature of Alec.

What Hardy does emphasize in this novel is the unwavering hand of Justice which allows the novel to come to a bittersweet end and lets no one escape its strong, yet objective, sense of judgement.