Tess is faced with a major conflict in the novel: does she provide for her poor and struggling family by giving in to Alec? Or does she refuse his offers and pleas in order to retain her self-worth? Sadly, there is really no upside; she loses something either way. Throughout her life, Tess has catered to everyone's neds but her own, and it has taken its toll on her. And near the end of the novel, she is faced with possibly the most important decision of her life... does she continue to put others first, even if it means living an extremely unhappy life with Alec? Readers unfortunately don't get to witness her making that decision; we only see what happens after. Angel finally comes back, but he is too late - Tess has chosen to give in to Alec and provide for her family. Ironically, Tess' greatest strength and most admirable quality leads to her own demise. This tragic ending to her life was shown to be inevitable from the beginning as her life was riddled with troubles and misfortune. On a slightly different note, I'm really not sure of how I feel about Angel's character. He seems to me to be a hypocrite, leaving Tess after she confessed her impurity to him even though he himself had indiscretions. It's hard for me to acknowledge the fact that it was a different time and a woman's purity was one of the most important things to her husband. As I read the novel, I was frustrated that Angel left Tess at the moment she needed him most. Isn't love supposed to transcend everything? If Angel truly loved Tess, he would have accepted her as she was. By the time he finally realized this, however, it was too late.
-Dayna M.
I agree with you completely about Angel's character. Even keeping the time period in mind, he is a total hypocrite. How could he be angry at Tess, especially when she was raped and his indiscretions were intentional? He made the conscious decision, while Tess's decision was made for her. I think Angel thought he loved Tess wholeheartedly, but was too naive to realize there was more to her than her angelic qualities and when the truth was revealed he was to scared to be able to deal with his own emotions. Even when he came back I had a hard time liking him, even though he did at least man up and realize his responsibilities, he was just too late.
ReplyDelete-Elise P.
Angel really confused me, he was very judgemental baout Tess's rape and her pregnancy, but then he talks about how he had sex with a random girl at the bar. His excuse was that he felt dirty after and didn't enjoy it, yet he can still blame Tess? She did not enjoy being forced, and was quite depressed after, and certainly felt unclean, but because she is a woman, and not as holy as he is, she cannot be forgiven.
ReplyDelete-Brianna C.
You made a comment about Angel being hypocritical--although I did not read Tess, from what I understand, this is true of Angel. I feel that this demonstrates the attitude towards women during this time--it was not okay for a woman to be sexual (even if it was in the form of rape), but a man could do whatever he wanted and could get away with it. This truly displays the unfairness females faced during this era.
ReplyDelete- Geena C.
I didn't read Tess, but I think this is a struggle a lot of women had to deal with in that time because of financial issues and the fact that women being independent was frowned upon.
ReplyDelete-Karissa C.
I agree with Brianna C. in saying that Angel Clare was truly a bizarre man in his reaction to rape. I did not see that coming because it didn't seem possible that Angel could see Tess in a bad late but he did. It actually kinda pissed me off. What you said about Tess having a Lose-Lose situation is very true and I believe that the author wanted us to see that catch22 and understand that that's what it felt like to be an independent woman in the 1800's.
ReplyDelete- Jake S.
I didn't read Tess, however I can parallel Jane to what Tess is going through because she had her own problems with men and deciding whether or not she should stay with them. I am just thankful that I do not have to go through what they both faced.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely on your analysis of Angel Clare. At first I liked the character, but when he left Tess after hearing about her past, I began to really dislike him. He claimed to love her so much, but left her for something that wasn't her fault. Your post truly shows the unfairness woman had to deal with in the 18th century, and shows us how lucky we are to live in a world where more social equality exists.
ReplyDelete-Taylor C.