| The Durbeyfields find out that they are of an ancient but extinct royal lineage of the D'Urbervilles. In an attempt to "claim kin", they send Tess to the Tantridge mansion where she meets Alec D'Urberville. Because Tess has was the cause the death of her family's horse, she feels obligated to earn money to buy a new on. She works at Tantridge but after only a few months there Alec leads her into the Chase, an ancient forest, and rapes her.
Tess returns home and bares a child which dies after a week. She lives at home for a few years in a silent attempt to reconstruct her life. She still feels that she does not belong so goes to work at a dairy farm far from home. Here she meets Angel Clare, the son of a famous parson, where she falls in love with him and he with her. Because of Tess's past, she struggles to keep the distance between them. Finally, she succombs to Angel's pleas for marriage. Several tries to inform him of her past fail. Finally, on the wedding night, Tess reveals it and everything that had happened. In a rage, Angel leaves her to start a farm in Brazil, with a promise of maybe returning someday. Tess's life gets even worse after this. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book? - thoughtful Time/era of story - 1600-1899 - Romance/Romance Problems Yes Kind of romance: Poverty, surviving Yes Kind of living: - farm poverty Internal struggle/realization? Yes Struggle over Kind of sex: - rape Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Taboo sex story? Yes Love problems? - Obession with uninterested person Lover is Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 20's-30's Profession/status: How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 8 () Europe Yes European country: - England/UK Writing Style Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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