How does Thomas Hardy portray a) Tess, b) Alec in Phase the First?

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How does Thomas Hardy portray a) Tess, b) Alec in Phase the First?

In the first part of the novel Tess is portrayed in a very innocent light. She is full of virtue and incredibly child like in all other aspects except her home life. At home Tess takes on the responsibility of taking care of her brothers and sisters due to the frequent absence of her mother and father, therefore taking on the role of a second mother instead of an older sister.

Tess spends most of her time in the first phase feeling guilty about something. This starts at the begging, when she feels guilty about enjoying her self as she got her dress dirty. This technique is used to enforce the theme of fate in the story. Usually Tess feels obliged to help out the family due to her own actions. This is how she ends up going to the D’Urberville estate to claim kin, as she felt guilty, since she blames herself for killing Prince.

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Throughout the first phase many connections are made between Tess and nature. This gives the idea that she is a pure earth child, at one with nature. Many descriptions compare her to the natural world or environment. This enforces the idea of her innocence and quality.

The first phase lays down the original ideas of her personality that are later built upon in the book. One of the most important ideas portrayed is that Tess is physically a woman. However she is naïve and generally inexperienced, especially about the world outside of her hometown.

The only point in the first ...

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