Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy [PDF]
by InfoBooks
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy is one of those novels that gets under your skin and stays there. Published in 1891, it was considered so scandalous that Hardy had to cut entire sections before any magazine would serialize it. The story follows Tess Durbeyfield, a young woman whose life is shaped by forces beyond her control, from predatory men to rigid social codes that offer no mercy to those who need it most.
You can download this book in PDF format for free and read it on any device. Hardy's writing rewards close attention, with landscapes that mirror emotions and dialogue that reveals character in just a few words. This is a novel best read without rushing.
Few people know that Hardy was so discouraged by the backlash against this novel and Jude the Obscure that he abandoned fiction entirely and spent his remaining decades writing poetry. Tess was the book that pushed him over the edge, and reading it, you understand why it provoked such strong reactions.
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
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Information: Tess of the D'Urbervilles
- Author: Thomas Hardy
- Publication Date: 1891
- Main Characters:
- Tess Durbeyfield: A beautiful, hardworking young woman from a poor family whose life is destroyed by the double standards of Victorian society.
- Alec D'Urberville: A wealthy, predatory man who seduces Tess and later tries to reclaim her through a false religious conversion.
- Angel Clare: An idealistic clergyman's son who loves Tess but cannot forgive her past, revealing the limits of his progressive beliefs.
- John Durbeyfield: Tess's lazy, alcoholic father whose discovery of the family's noble ancestry sets the tragedy in motion.
- Joan Durbeyfield: Tess's pragmatic mother who pushes her daughter toward the D'Urbervilles, hoping for financial gain.
- Brief Summary: Tess Durbeyfield, a poor country girl, is sent by her parents to claim kinship with the wealthy D'Urberville family. There, she is seduced and ruined by Alec D'Urberville. She later falls in love with Angel Clare, a clergyman's son, but when she confesses her past on their wedding night, he abandons her. Tess endures poverty and hardship, eventually returning to Alec out of desperation. When Angel comes back repentant, Tess's world collapses into tragedy.
- Thematic Analysis: The novel is built around the tension between natural innocence and social morality. Hardy argues that Tess is pure despite what happens to her, directly challenging Victorian ideas that equated a woman's worth with her sexual history. The book also examines how class and economic vulnerability trap people in cycles they cannot escape.
- Historical Context: Published in 1891, the novel appeared during a period of intense debate about women's rights, sexual morality, and the decline of rural England. Hardy drew on real locations in Dorset, which he fictionalized as "Wessex." The book's controversial reception, especially its subtitle "A Pure Woman," reflected deep anxieties in late-Victorian society about who deserved sympathy and who deserved punishment.