Tess is the best (Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy)

Member Name: mattconnect

Product:	Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
Date:	08/06/09 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A great meaningful and deep novel

Disadvantages: Perhaps difficult to understand at first

Tess of the D'urbervilles is an extremely great novel, especially for the time it was written during the Victorian Period, but is still relevant to us today, with some of the key themes which are dealt with.

First of all, the novel centres on a young girl called Tess Durbeyfield, who finds out she is of a greater lineage, the descendant in the line of the D'urbervilles. As she goes on a voyage to discover her lineage, she meets Alec D'urbervilles, who bought his title. An event between them in the chase kickstart the rollercoaster ride of tragedy and misfortune for Tess.

Even as she attempts to escape him, she is constantly being reminded of him, and throughout the novel, his reappearance indicates a doom she cannot escape, and eventually causes her unfortunate demise, after a life of ruin and hurt.

Tess isn't without her flaws. Her simple nature and her beauty, along with her arguable vanity and pride, contributed to her downfall. Yet this story isn't just about the demise of any woman. Tess symbolises a woman of strength and integrity.

Hardy creates such a likeable character that you cannot fault Tess. She represents the modern day woman with her unique powerful views. She stands for what woman today believe in, and goes against the Victorian view of women- men's objects, housewives, children bearers...

Not only does Hardy challenge the role of women, but the evidence of religion is a key theme. In some places, he challenges religion, and its views, such as child baptism, the place of a raped woman and sin.

Through tragedy, Hardy not only tells a tale worthy of sympathy, but aims to challenge the stubborn views of the past, and to great effect.

I have enjoyed reading this novel, and it is really strong and powerful. Whilst upon first glance, is just a boring classic novel, it has deep meanings and messages that slowly seap through. I believe that it can be purchased for under £5 online, and is really worth the read.

What's more, it has been made into film, and more recently a BBC drama starring Gemma Arterton, which is a great watch, even though it is quite short.

Summary: a really good and fulfilling read.