The Victorians

In Tess of the d'Urberville, Thomas Hardy targets the Victorian values of nobility right from the title of his novel. In contrast to the safe and innocent Tess Durbeyfield, Tess d'Urbervilles is never at peace, even though she has been sent to become a d'Urbervilles in the hopes of finding a fortune.

The seeds of tragedy are sown when Tess's father, Jack, is told by a parson that he is the descendant of a family of knights. Hardy comments upon the hypocritical standards in masculine concepts of purity. Angel Clare's forsakes his wife, Tess, in a classic instance of the rift between belief and practice. Given Angel's religious background and his allegedly humanistic views, his indifference to Tess produces a striking contrast of character with Tess who persists in her love — against all odds.

In "Tess of the d'Urbervilles," Thomas Hardy has directly satirized nature. In the third chapter of "Phase the First," for example, he targets both nature and its exaltation by poets and philosophers: whence the poet whose philosophy is in these days deemed as profound and trustworthy... gets his authority for speaking of "Nature's holy plan."

In the fifth chapter of the same phase, Hardy ironically comments on Nature's role in guiding humans. Nature does not often say "See!" to her poor creature at a time when seeing could lead to happy doing; or reply "Here" to a body's cry of "Where?" till the hide-and-seek has become an irksome, outworn game.

Themes and Issues

"Tess of the d'Urbervilles" is rich in its involvement with several themes and issues, and there are many quotes from the book that synthesize these themes. Like most other Hardy novels, rural life is a prominent issue in the story. The hardships and drudgery of rustic lifestyle are explored fully through the travel and work experiences of Tess. Religious orthodoxy and social values are questioned in the novel. The issue of fate versus freedom of action is another important aspect of "Tess of the d'Urbervilles". While the main storyline may sound fatalistic, Hardy does not miss the opportunity to point out that the darkest of tragedies could be prevented by human action and consideration: Humanity.

The Victorian Period revolves around the political career of Queen Victoria. She was crowned in 1837 and died in 1901 (which put a definite end to her political career). A great deal of change took place during this period--brought about because of the Industrial Revolution; so it's not surprising that the literature of the period is often concerned with social reform.