Because of its sexual frankness and indictment of Victorian hypocrisy, Hardy's novel was considered shocking when it was published in 1891. It is the tale of Tess Durbeyfield, a young country girl whose rape by Alec D'Urberville, a distant aristocratic relative, leads to pregnancy. Tess's baby dies, and she finds work as a dairymaid at a farm where no one knows her story. From that point, her life, which includes marriage with a man, Angel Clare, who fails to realize her worth, enters a downward spiral, culminating in the sensational tragedy that is at the heart of the book. The cynical and sophisticated Alec's seduction of a country girl, and the self-righteous Angel's destructive idealization of her, can be seen as symbols of the city's ruthless exploitation of the English countryside--a common theme in Hardy's fiction. His compassionate portrait of a young countrywoman was also characteristic of his writing, which never failed to champion the cause of rural lives and values against those of the corrupting city.
This book was a little hard to get into. The language Hardy used was so different than modern day and I had a hard time understanding some parts of the book for that reason. Does anyone know what is a "vlee"? It took me 150 pages to get into the book (about halfway through). After Angel and Tess confess their love for each other I was hooked. I was so eager to learn what their future would be. Of course, that doesn't quite make up for the first 150 pages of so-so.
Rating: 3.5/5
1 comment:
Well, you liked it more than I did, so that's nice! :)
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