all my doing—all mine!”
So, Tess feels it is her duty to help her poor family. When her family tells her to go to the nearby d’Urberville family to seek help, she feels compelled. She meets Alec there. If the horse had not died, Tess would never have gone there. Alec would never have ruined her life.
The d’Urbervilles Family Name: Tess’s misfortune began even before the death of the horse. It all started when Tess’s father, John Derbyfield, learned that they were part of the ancient noble family d’Urbervilles. This is why Tess’s parents send her to the nearby d’Urberville family to seek help. There, Tess meets Alec d’Urberville. Alec is a lustful man. He takes advantage of her innocence and rapes her. This ruins Tess’s whole life.
The Letter: Later in the story, Tess works at Talbothays Dairy. There, Angel Clare falls in love with Tess. Tess also loves him deeply. When Angel proposes to marry Tess, she refuses. Tess thinks she is not worthy of him because of her past. So, she tries to confess before the wedding by writing a letter. She writes a letter and pushes it under his door. But by bad luck, the letter slips under the carpet. Angel never reads it. If he had read it, things might have changed. On the wedding night, Tess tells him everything. Angel leaves her because he cannot accept her past. He says:
“O Tess, forgiveness does not apply to the case!”
This rejection is not her fault. It is just another cruel trick of fate.
Alec’s Return: Tess becomes lonely and poor. She writes many letters to Angel, but he does not reply. At this point, fate brings Alec back into her life. Tess tries to stay away from him. She tells him:
“O, will you go away—for the sake of me and my husband…”
But after her father dies, her family becomes homeless. They are starving. To save them, Tess agrees to go with Alec, though she does not love him. This is again a sad twist of fate. When Angel finally returns, it is too late. In a moment of pain and anger, she kills Alec and runs away with Angel.
Tess’s End: Tess and Angel spend a few happy days together. But soon, the police find her. Tess accepts her death calmly. She is hanged by the law. Hardy writes:
“‘Justice’ was done.”
But this is not real justice. Tess dies not because she was bad, but because fate was cruel to her from the beginning.
In conclusion, fate and chance control everything in “Tess of the d’Urbervilles.” Tess is a good and pure woman, but her life becomes full of sorrow because of events she cannot control. Hardy uses Tess’s story to show that, sometimes, the worst things happen to the best people.
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