Rather than provide a huge summary and give my opinion about the book, I will get straight to the point. Tess of the d’Urbervilles is an emotional rollercoaster of a novel. I liked how it raised thought provoking questions. As annoying as it is, I was intrigued by questions in which no answer could be given. Questions like: What motivated the author to write this book? Was it completely fictional? Was it loosely based off of an encounter made by the author or a story told by another individual?
I was rather disturbed with the ideas raised regarding the idea of the human body being “owned” by another human being. Pages 356-357 when Tess writes her letter to Angel is where this theme reaches the pinnacle of its existence. The specific quote from the letter I am referring to is as follows: “People still say that I am rather pretty, Angel (handsome is the word they use, since I wish to be truthful). Perhaps I am what they say. But I do not value my good looks: I only like to have them because they belong to you, my dear…” (pg. 357). The desperation included within this quote is also what provokes me to question the literary motivations of this novel by the author. Where did he get these ideas? Was he using reverse psychology against the readers to portray himself as more progressive about social status, religion, and gender roles, although he believed women were to blame in any sexual temptation situation simply because of their good looks?
I thought the author exposed the desperation present within male and females when it comes to relationships, however his portrayal of the men appeared more realistic. Regardless he does make the male characters such as Angel appear unrealistically forgiving and desperate for relationships when he said he did not care that Tess killed Alex d’Urbervilles. When Tess says: “I would be content, ay glad, to live with you as your servant, if I may not as your wife…”(pg. 357), the author seems to make her unrealistically desperate for a man who left her.