How is important is Chapter 34 to Thomas Hardys Tess of the DUrbervilles?

by gregblu (student)

How is important is Chapter 34 to Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles’?

Thomas Hardy’s ‘’Tess of the D’Urbervilles: a pure woman’’, published in 1890, is a novel which roused much controversy and dissension as it disputed many of the principles and beliefs held by Victorian society. The unfolding events and the which run through the book parody and highlight the way in which the system and organisation of the social structure were resolutely orientated upon class and ones social standing. The dominance of men and their influence in society is one aspect which too is touched upon and challenged by Hardy through the manner in which he shows his main protagonist falling prey to the nature of the patriarchal society, her fate and opportunities constantly determined by men. One of Hardy’s most potent and polemical attacks lies the uncaring nature of the Church and the role it played in society, its grandiose piousness often leaving it and so God with a seeming predisposition to an almost phlegmatic lack of concern to the fate of the individual.

Chapter 34 is significant within the overall scheme of the book in many ways; one being it shows the development of the relationship between and personalities of Angel and Tess. The hypocrisy and naivety of Angel’s character becomes increasingly apparent as this chapter progresses, his often cerebral approach to his love of Tess, where he has an inclination to view her more as an intellectual puzzle than a real being is demonstrated when he compares Tess to a Fellowship which his brother received at collage:

‘’ ‘My brother’s fellowship was won at his collage, mine at Talbothays dairy.’ ‘’

This demonstrates the way in which he does not love the essence of her but the ideal of her. His ideas of Tess come to affect how he reacts to the news of her past and dealings with Alec D’Urberville. It could be supposed that Angel would readily forgive Tess after her confession so alike to his but it is partly for the reason that Angel does not wholly love the reality of Tess that he is able to abandon her; as it was upon his own idyllic version of her which he based his affections, when this image of her was shattered he no longer recognised her as the woman he married:

‘’ ‘I repeat the woman whom I have been loving is not you .’ But who?’ ‘Another woman in your shape.’ ’’

This is demonstrative of how his naivety and inability to see beyond his own wants and place them in an imperfect world, hinder him from living in accordance with his own philosophies. We can infer from his actions that to him Tess is more of an idea with which he is infatuated and so toys; on occasion his attitude towards her becomes patronizing, for instance as Tess receives and tries on the heirlooms from Angels godmother he says:

‘’ ‘if only you were to appear in a ballroom!’ he said ‘But no – no dearest; I think I love you best in the wing-bonnet and cotton-frock’ ’’

This gives the impression of Angel fleeting between his various likes of Tess regardless of her feelings till he finds one which suits him and his romantic ideologies best. These indications of the manner of Angel’s love of Tess are portentous of their relationship soon being rejected by Angel. ...

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‘’ ‘if only you were to appear in a ballroom!’ he said ‘But no – no dearest; I think I love you best in the wing-bonnet and cotton-frock’ ’’

‘ ‘‘I admire spotlessness even though I could lay no claim to it, and hated impurity, as I hope I do now. ’ ’’

This helps develop a sense of tension as hardy uses dramatic irony; the readers know that in the eyes of the time and the eyes of Angel Tess would’ve been regarded as impure. This then makes a clear allusion to the way Angel comes to feel he hates Tess when she no longer fits with his thoughts of a ‘pure’ country wife. In this chapter Hardy displays his expert use of imagery to relate back to and depict ideas in the text, on one occasion when Tess and Angel are in the D’Urberville mansion Hardy subtlety portrays the idea of Tess not being spotless or pure but marked, a premise which flows throughout the novel:

‘‘the sun was so low on that short last afternoon of the year that it shone in through a small opening and formed a golden staff which stretched across to her skirt, where it made a spot like paint – mark set upon her.’’

This gives an impression of her being set apart for some type of doom, the fact Hardy describes the beam of light as a staff is ironic as the object could be seen as having biblical connotations this again carries on the ideas of God being indifferent to or even the cause of human plight and suffering. This is congruent with Tess’s previous contacts with the church and possibly God, such as the instance when her innocent baby as it is born as a result of pre-marital relations and is not baptised is refused a proper burial. In addition at the end of phase the first in the transition period between The Maiden and Maiden No More when Tess is taken advantage of by Alec; the incident which seems to be her downfall Hardy ominously narrates:

Where was the providence of her simple faith? Perhaps, like that other god of whom the ironical Tishbite spoke, he was talking, or he was pursuing, or he was in a journey, or he was sleeping not to ba awake.

Here Hardy has adopted a highly disparaging tone as a supposedly benevolent, omnipotent God allows an innocent and vulnerable person to be misused by a stronger character, where he might be expected in accordance with Christian beliefs to protect the innocent. This is an idea which coincides with another significant and controversial text published around the time; Darwin’s theory of natural selection and survival of the fittest. ‘’Origins of Species’’, challenged the ideas of creation stated in Genesis and showed how only those who where the strongest and best suited to their environments survived; this seems to have influenced Hardy much, Tess being poor and a woman in Victorian society had very limited options from the start of her life and so was preyed upon by those stronger and wealthier than she and ultimately did not survive.

The staff too however could be perceived as sceptre like this denotes the monarchy and ruling classes of which Tess is directly descended this is ironic as it was due to the fact that she was of D’Urberville line that she was fated to meet Alec and so fall victim to him.

Other clues notable to the reader is the symbolism which Hardy uses for instance the jewels which Tess wears just before she chooses to relate her past to angle, place in the mind the idea of one being dressed up for sacrifice, such imagery has appeared at earlier points in the book one being Tess having to be dressed up by Joan just as she is about to seek out Alec D’Urberville for the purpose of ‘claiming kin. This is of course the start of the point in the book where Tess again meets the charter who brings about her downfall she is made to wear all white by Joan this could be representative of a sacrificial lamb and makes Tess seem almost Christ like, this links back to the imagery and themes of betrayal which become especially evident in chapter 34. The dinner which Angel and Tess eat upon there arrival at the former mansions of the D’Urbervilles seems ominously like the last supper even the point when they share bread or pass between them one cup or else when Angel washes his hands in the basin could be likened to Pontius Pilate washing his hands of Christ before his betrayal, she is then in turn betrayed by Angel.

Hardy skilfully creates a sense of foreboding as chapter 34 progresses; there are many indications in the text which are suggestive of how Angel will respond to Tess’s confession:

‘’ ‘And shall I ever neglect her, or hurt her, or even forget to consider her? God forbid such a crime’ ‘’

Angel’s statement is deeply ironic as despite what he says this is exactly what he will do to Tess, the fact that Angel swears by God could be considered a further indication left by Hardy as Angel is one who so ardently questions God.

As both Angel and Tess wash there hands in the basin Angel asks:

‘’ ‘Which are my fingers and which are yours?’ ‘’

To which Tess replies:

‘’ ‘they are all yours.’ ‘’

Again this is ironic as 19th century England was a patriarchal society so a man’s wife would have been seen as belonging to him, further saying both hands belong to Angel implies their actions must also very much linked this is definite dramatic irony regarding their joint pasts which they both make allusions to without knowing the full history of the other. Another quote caring the same idea is when Angel says:

‘ ‘’What I become, she must become. What I cannot be, she cannot be.’’ ‘

Tess stating all fingers are Angels foreshadows her feelings in relation to events that come in the following chapters when she resigns her self almost totally to the decisions he makes. Amongst the many themes in the novel time and the way it brings about change is one of the most prominent. There are numerous examples of this in the chapter. The house Angel and Tess go to was once ‘‘a fine manorial residence’’ being part of the large amounts of land owned by the D’Urbervilles, has now become a simple farm house as time as allowed the wealth to dissipate, this is satirical of Tess’s ancestry; her family just like the estates which they once owned have much diminished from their past grandeur. This is acknowledged by Angel when he makes the condescending remark:

‘’welcome to your ancestral mansions!’’

This shows how much changed Tess and her family are from their ancestors as well as Angels insensitivity and need to mature.

Further to time bringing about change Hardy shows how promptly the world adjusts it self to it and the manner in which nothing in nature changes because as result of problems no matter how dramatic that occur within the life of the individual. He demonstrates in this chapter and many others in the book that the cycles of the world and continuing circles of nature will remain undisrupted, recurring and in a sense uncaring. In fact the structure of the book as a whole mirrors the idea of the unchanging of the world and nature. Hardy uses seasons to show times passage this makes the years seem more like recurrences with variations rather than things entirely new. This is the way in which Tess seems to perceive time, this can be seen as she notes dates to herself as the years pass such as the death and birth of her child, her birth day as well as the night she was taken advantage of by Alec. Whilst speaking with Angel in phase the second Tess says:

‘’ ‘And you seem to see numbers of tomorrow just all in a line, the first of them the biggest and clearest, the others getting smaller and smaller as they stand farther away’ ‘’

The fact that Hardy depicts the world to make it seem indifferent toward human suffering carries on the idea of God either being uncaring or not present. As Tess’s mood and state change Hardy uses pathetic fallacy to show the changes within her subsequently the environments and seasons she is in reflect her; whilst she was in Marlot she was young and innocent yet to fully blossom and mature, when she turns to Talbothays she has become fully grown and blossomed the chosen season for this period of time is for that reason mid summer after she has been left by Angel she travels to Flitcomb & Ash and seems to wilt in the winter. Tess moves from varying place finding no real refuge the time which she spends at Talbothays is superficially a time of great happiness she is pursued by Angel whom she loves and struggles internally with society and nature the latter succeeds. This illustrates Tess’s favour toward natural impulses which surface at many points in the book such the opening scenes when we first see Tess; she is dancing around a May pole which stems from a pagan fertility ritual, this is ironic as it is due to falling pregnant that Tess is fated to faces so many hardships.

Fate and chance are two concepts which are evident throughout the book the consequences of which are especially apparent in chapter thirty four. Crucial instances in deciding and shaping Tess’s destiny seem to be determined upon whims and with out reason, actions that later come to affect course of many lives. Whilst Tess is dancing in the opening scenes of the book she sees Angel but dose not dance with him, Angel later reflects to himself:

‘’I should have danced with that girl.’’

If he had their lives may have taken a vey different path but his decision not to closed the opportunity without him even being aware. Other such chance happenings are notable from the beginning of the novel: episodes like Alec’s casual selection of the name D’Urberville as he leafs through an old history, finding and choosing it from amongst many other names which would have changed his life utterly and perhaps prevented him from meeting a woman who was to kill him. The notions of fate also link in with hardy’s ideas of nature or nurture and the question whether the route and events within a person’s life are predestined or fleeting and variable.

This is seen angle says:

‘’Fine feathers make fine birds; a peasant girl but very moderately prepossessing to the casual observer in her simple condition and attire, will bloom as an amazing beauty if clothed as a woman of fashion with the aids that art can render; while the beauty of the midnight crush would often cut but a sorry figure if placed inside the field woman’s wrapper’’

This confirms how little a person’s character or doings affect the life that they have and how rather it is the chance event of the class of the family into which they are born that is the deciding factor.

To conclude Chapter thirty four is of great significance to the novel as a whole as it draws together many of the ideas and themes which run through the initial sections of the book as well as setting the stage for the events that follow, showing the sad consequences of earlier occurrences whilst developing a sense of foreboding for what is yet to happen. It too demonstrates Hardy’s use of writing techniques such as irony and symbolism to help indicate the coming events and build tension and suspense.