IB English A1

What have I learned from writing the WL1 Draft? How to spell Aeschylus and Euripides, right off the bat.
I’ve thought about Medea so much that killing your kids doesn’t sound like such a bad thing anymore.

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This phase of the novel brought happiness to me and then quickly turned it into sadness. When Angel starts hunting for Tess to win her back, I felt happiness because he is now trying and showing that he can be a worthy husband of her. I also felt happiness because I knew that Tess would take him back because of her undying love for him. With these in mind, I thought that the novel couldn’t be a tragedy like everyone said that it was. But then that idea quickly changed when Angel was going to find Tess in expensive apartments; I immediately knew that he would find her with Alec and I found my heart beating faster and my stomach have a sinking feeling. When my suspicions were proved correct my stomach dropped that much further. Alec’s murder should have brought more sadness to me, but it didn’t. Instead, I felt relief that the antagonist was finally dead and that he could no more harm unto Tess. Even though murdering Alec brought Tess’s death upon her self, I feel that her death is undeserved because of her life story.

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Through the whole novel, Hardy has criticized religion and society; this phase is no exception. During this phase, Alec turns from being a fiery preacher to giving up preaching all together for Tess. Women were Alec’s weakness from the start; with Hardy’s use of coincidences, Alec once again falls prey to a woman, Tess. This part of the novel shows the weaknesses of religion and how easily a person can believe and disbelieve in it. By Alec preaching and then giving up his new profession for Tess (who believes whatever her husband believes; this also shows the superiority of men) in order to win her heart shows that religion is not high up on the priority list for Alec. While a religion requires the god (or whatever the religion’s main belief is) to be the first priority. With it not first on either of there lists (in fact, through the novel we met one family who believed strongly, Angel Clare’s family, minus Angel) it shows that religion is dying.

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From the beginning of this phase we can already tell that this is Tess’s fresh beginning after the dramatic scenes in The Chase and the death of her baby. As she travels to Trantridge Hardy describes the scenery with words like dazzling and cheering, adding to the effect that this new place will be a joyous one. He describes Tess to being ‘akin to the landscape’ even though she had never been there before. Perhaps this is a hint that the novel is taking a turn for the better now? “Her hopes were mingled with the sunshine in an ideal photosphere which surrounded her as she bounded along against the soft south wind. She heard a pleasant voice in ever breeze, and in every bird’s note seemed to lurk with joy (81). As she gets nearer to the farm Hardy relates all of these aspects of nature to Tess’s happiness.
The phase as a whole has a different attitude compared to the previous two. As Tess spends more time on the farm she begins to notice Angel Clare and they eventually fall in love with each other. During the time that I read this phase of the novel I thought that Angel Clare was a nice gentleman who was obviously different from the country men since he was a parson’s son. However now that I have finished reading the novel I can’t say that I find him charming. Hardy describes him (at this point of the novel) to be a hardworking man who wants to learn more about farming to set up his own business soon. It is quite romantic that he is going against his parent’s wishes of wanting him to marry a lady since his love for Tess is so strong. However I find it to be a huge contradiction later on in the novel since he leaves Tess for many months.

The phase as a whole is a warm summery scene full of firsts for the couple and the first flames of love spark. I personally think this is one of the best times in Tess’s life so far since everything from here will soon be torn apart to pieces. Every character that is introduced in this phase plays some role later on in the novel. This is also one of the only phases where Alex D’urberville does not appear. Alec seems to be a bad omen for Tess since every time he appears something seems to go wrong for her.

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(Mr Macknight: I decided to post this while my memory is still fresh. Don’t worry I will update the rest of the PRs in time.. after the exams )

SO… I finished TESS!

This personal response is not focused on any one ‘phase’ of the novel, but the story as a whole. Upon finishing the novel, I felt so incredibly sad. Sad for Alec, sad for Angel, and sad for Tess. It is amazing how Hardy can so swiftly manipulate our sympathies toward all three characters.

First, Hardy rejects our assumption that Alec is a ‘pure villain’. He does this by scrupulously describing the ‘change’ in this character. Alec’s ‘christian’ phase presents a whole different side of him. Although temporary, readers are compelled, by the ‘goodness’ of this man, to delve deep into the more complicated and contradicting elements of his character. These elements include his honesty and integrity, as he tells Tess, upon their encounter: “But will helped me through it– though perhaps you think me a humbug for saying it– and immediately afterwards I felt that. of all persons in the world whom it was my duty and desire to save from the wrath to come– sneer if you like– the woman whom I had so grievously wronged was that person. I have come with that sole purpose in view– nothing more” (p.241). From this, it feels as though Alec has changed entirely, his values seem to show that he is in fact ‘good-natured’, and that christianity brings out his inner and better self. Hardy, being rather cynical about christianity (which can be seen throughout the novel, such as in Angel’s justification of not believing in God), immediately abandons this ‘righteous’ change in Alec. I was confused, not knowing his true ‘character’ and intensions. On one hand, I feel that his repentance is rather sincere as he asks to marry Tess; on the other hand, I feel that no matter how influencing the environment may be, either for good or for bad, there will always be a part of Alec who is irascible and arrogant. This is shown when Hardy describes that “There was the same handsome unpleasantness of mien; but now he wore neatly trimmed, old fashioned whiskers, the sable mustache having disappeared; and his dress was half-clerical, a modification which had changed his expression sufficiently to abstract the dandyism from this features, and to hinder for a second her belief of his identity” (p. 239). These descriptions give me an impression that his change is superficial– what he wear and how he look have changed, however, the ‘unpleasantness of mien’ preserved. This, again, is contradicted when Hardy describes Alec’s reform as more of a ‘transfiguration’. Again, I do not know how to feel towards Alec, as his change is supposedly positive, but also ephemeral. My sympathy for Alec is greatly caused by his sincerity towards Tess, and his true desire to help her. Her constant rejections seem rather cruel, and Alec’s display of undying determination touches me. Unlike before, although he rejected Christianity and religion, he matured by facing his faults and taking responsibility for Tess’s conditions. His persistence towards chasing Tess is also admirable. He cares for her, so much that he engages himself with care for her entire family. In this respect, his fondness towards Tess override that of Angel’s. Through Hardy’s detailed and heartfelt descriptions of Alec’s change in character, I feel that he is the man who truly loves Tess, not Angel.

Hardy’s descriptions of Angel, in my opinion, is not as deep as his descriptions of Alec. However, the importance of such a character is significant, as it raises many fundamental questions about human nature. His name– Angel Clare, is evidently trying to convey the sense of justice and perfection in ‘Angel’, and purity in ‘Clare’. Hardy’s contradiction on this name, then, is ironic. First, I feel that Hardy presents Angel Clare in a sarcastic manner as ‘Angel’ is one of the many symbols of Christianity– A religion that is supposedly ‘merciful’ and ‘forgiving’. Angel’s attitude towards Tess’s faults is then ironic, as it is in no way ‘forgiving’. Interestingly, Hardy is still able to manipulate our sympathy for Angel by describing his account with Izzy, which is one that is seemingly detestable. I say ‘seemingly’ as his action of asking Izzy to travel with him in Tess’s absence is contemptuous, however, his revelation after being informed about Tess’s love for him is rather touching. His immediate rejection of his previous plans (of asking Izzy to travel with him) is relieving, as we vividly see that his false judgement is one of momentary impetuousness. I really start to feel sorry for Angel when he comes back to Tess, only to be rejected. Hardy’s design of melodramatic plots has great influence on me. I feel so extremely frustrated about the many‘missed chances’, ‘wrong people’ and ‘bad timings’ in this story. Angel’s attitude toward’s Tess’s murder of Alec is also interesting, and contradictory towards his previous attitude. This time, “Tenderness was absolutely dominant in Clare at last. He kissed her endlessly with his white lips, and held her hand, and said, “I will not desert you; I will protect you by every means in my power, dearest love, whatever you may have done or not have done!” (p.304). These words seem so contradictory that they do not persuade me. I am not convinced that Angel’s love for Tess is as deep as it may seem. Hardy’s description of Angel and Tess’s last moments together is, again, confusing. “ ‘Let her finish her sleep!’ he implored in a whisper of the men, as they gathered round”(p.312). This tenderness in his character, and his union with Lizzy Lu later on seem rather incongruent. At this point, I feel that he is vulnerable to the utmost– numb and faltering. And due to this, my sympathy for him is amplified.

Tess is no doubt the most vulnerable character in the novel. Hardy’s descriptions of her mental struggles all cause me to feel sad and sorry for her. The ambiguity about her feelings toward Alec is interesting. “The effect upon her old lover was electric, far stronger than the effect of his presence upon her” (p.240). Here, by referring to Alec as her ‘old lover’, Hardy suggests that the incident which happened in the Chase may not be forced, rather, consented. This is a crucial detail in explaining her attitude towards him in the latter part of the novel. Again, Tess consents to Alec due to his support for her and her family. On both accounts, Tess suffers insurmountable pain and consequences. From pregnant to murder, Tess’s fate seem to be fixed from the start. Hardy constantly drop hints that Tess is capable of extreme actions such as murder. The incident with Prince, with her killing birds, and the story of her ancestors are all sufficient hints that Tess will exercise murder. It is her innocence and kind heart, under such cruel circumstances, which makes me feel her death undeserving. Her pride and values is an important aspect of her character. These values, however, seem to be greatly influenced by Angel, for good or for bad. She is able to swallow her pride and ask to be his ‘maid’, his ‘slave’. On the other hand, she is still too proud to ask for help from Mr. Clare. All these contradictions exemplifies her vulnerability. Towards the end of the novel, I get a vibe that she has ‘lost’ it. “A pitiful white smile lit her face as she spoke” (p.303), this detail draws a line between ‘love’ and ‘crazy love’, or otherwise I call ‘obsession’. Hardy describes this as “the strangeness of its quality, which had apparently extinguished her moral sense altogether” (p.304). Her wish of Alec marrying Lizzy Lu after her death is another detail which is unnatural. “She has the best of me without the bad of me; and if she were to become yours it would almost seem as if death had not divided us…” (p.311), Hardy’s descriptions here reveals Tess’s desperation. It is not ‘normal’ for a person to ‘share’ his/her love with others, let alone feeling ‘connected’ in any way through this twisted idea. What touches me, however, is the fact that she goes to great extents to be true to herself. Her murder of Alec, is on one hand crazy, but on the other an act of honesty, integrity, and love.

“It was quite true: within was affection, union, error forgiven: outside was the inexorable.” (p.308), and due to that, the story overall creates an overwhelming sentiment which I can hardly describe. It seems as though there is a clear line, or a clear distinction between love and reality. This distinction is caused by the superficiality of mankind, the corruption of society, and the hypocrisy of religion. Altogether, I felt immense sadness upon finishing ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’; it moved me so much as to make me cry.

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The title of Phase the Fifth fits perfectly, ‘The Woman Pays’. I say this because when Angel separated from Tess all she encountered was hardships, one after the other. Even though the couple has separated, it is evident that Angel does still love and have feelings for Tess even though he says that he loves the other Tess. Angel’s sleep walking proves this point because he thought that she was dead, he kissed her twice, carried her across the water (reliving the memory of carrying her across the water for church), and snuggled beside her on the bank. I think what someone does in their subconscious is how they really feel because when someone is conscious they can put on a ‘front’ and hide what they want to say or feel. But in sub consciousness, a person can’t do that. This is one reason why I feel that Angel still loves her, no matter what he says to her.

Another reason why I feel that Angel still loves Tess is because when he said that he was moving to Brazil he offered Izz a chance to live in Brazil with him for a few years. But when she says that she could never love him more than Tess does, Clare takes back the offer of taking her to Brazil. Why would a husband take back an offer to another woman unless he felt guilty to his wife? And why would a husband feel guilty to his wife if he was separated from her if he didn’t care for?

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Phase 4 is an emotional phase in the book. This phase goes from Angel proposing to Tess several times, Tess rejecting Angel every time but the last, Tess trying to tell Angel about her past and failing, getting married, and then confessions from both. To sum up this phase, it was a roller coaster of emotions.

At first, I thought that this phase was going to be a happy one, with Angel going back to his parents to tell them that he was going to propose to a dairymaid. The way that he stood his ground and supported his arguments proved to me that even though she was the dairymaid and beneath him, that he was worthy enough to be her husband. I think that Tess had no idea that he was thinking of marrying her, I think that she thought that they were ‘in like’ but Clare would end up marrying a girl in his social class. This is evident when he proposes to Tess. It is understandable that Tess feels that she isn’t worthy enough to be Angel’s wife because of her past, but everyone does have a past, including Angel.

If Tess did tell Angel about her past before the wedding day they would be happily married without a care in the world. But, since the author is Thomas Hardy this story will have a twist somewhere in it. Since the couple is separated because of the principle Angel feels was broken, somewhere down the road it will be either fixed or destroyed completely (but not without seeing each other first in a coincidental way).

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PHASE 2

Personal Response to Tess of the d’Ubervilles

Honestly, I must admit that I like this novel. I’m not saying that just for the sake of saying it, nor is it to make my personal response 10 words longer. Mr. Macknight asked me today: “How would you rate this novel?” I gave it an 8. That’s pretty high for my standards. I mean, come on, I gave Anna Karenina a 2.

The debate as to whether or not Tess was raped or it was a mutual consent still rages on in this phase, and we are provided with more information about it. For instance, one of the women had mentioned that there was a rumor going around that someone had heard sobbing in The Chase a year ago. I seem to be more in favor to the argument that, she couldn’t fight back as she was young, naïve and innocent. This was mentioned towards the beginning of this phase, whereby she blames her mother for not teaching her the dangers of men.

There is another debate going on, as to whether Tess was selfish for leaving Alec d’Urberville. One point is that she isn’t selfish – why would she be? She is just trying to get away from her rapist, the one whom she does not love. If she had stayed, life for the child may be difficult as Tess and Alec may fight a lot. The rebuttal states that she is selfish as there is a higher chance of her baby dying out in the country, however, if she had stayed with Alec, her baby’s death might not have happened. Personally, I’m torn between the two arguments. On one hand, I don’t want Tess to spend the rest of her life unhappily, with someone she doesn’t love. On the other hand, the baby hasn’t done anything remotely wrong to deserve death. Would you rather have the baby have a shot at life and live through a few fights, or would you rather the baby die?

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Throughout the second phase, especially after class discussions, I realized how significant it is that Hardy makes us judge the characters. Following all of Tess’s reactions to the night in The Chase, we form our own opinion of what she should have done, maybe based on what we imagine would have done. I think everyone perceives the events differently because of this and this shows in class when we discuss the novel. Personally, in phase two I didn’t feel any resentment towards Tess, and I felt proud of her for acting according to her principles because I couldn’t imagine her life if she hadn’t. I imagine it would have shattered Tess if she had gone against her honor, pride and principles. When Tess’s baby was dying she once again took responsibility to ensure her baby would be baptized, and I felt pity for her because once again this shouldn’t be something a 16 (ish) year old has to do, on top of losing a child.

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Phase the first of ‘Tess’ seems rather surreal to me. Throughout this part of the novel, Hardy constantly drop hints that the story will not turn out well. He does this by portraying Tess as innocent and vulnerable. When Tess is first introduced in the novel, she is described as ‘pure’ and ‘simple’. This quality is indicated by her white gown and fair skin. She is young at heart, but rather mature mentally. From Tess’s interactions with her parents, I feel that her maturity is rather unnatural. At the age of 16, she is forced to carry on her family’s financial burdens and expected to take care of not just the kids, but her parents as well. As much as I sympathize with her, I feel that she does not have a particularly strong character, and that she is easily shaken. Tess is a rather conflicting character in many respects. Hardy portrays her as young, naive and mature all simultaneously. This causes her physical appearances and mental processes to seem incongruous– her rather developed feminine features do not coincide with her confused state of mind. Further, her strict set of values and pride seem to be easily shaken under stressful circumstances, such as the unfortunate incident with Alec d’Urberville. Although Alec’s intention is the cause of this catastrophe, I believe that Tess’s submission to him shows her weak disposition. Moreover, I feel that all her familial burdens have sucked all energy out of her and drained her of joy. Her comment on living on a ‘blighted star’ conveys a sense of hopelessness, and suggests that she has no dreams or ambitions in life. It seems as though Tess is so absorbed in feeling pessimistic about the world that she just despondently submits to what she thought would be a ‘bleak’ future. I feel mixed feelings about this vulnerable character. On one hand, I sympathize with her due to her ill-fate, while on the other, I am annoyed that she does not stand up for herself.

Hardy also drop hints of bad omen through detailed descriptions of Alec d’Urberville. In contrast with Tess, his physical illustrations are ‘dark’ as opposed to ‘white’, which signifies signs of vile. It is interesting, however, to see that he is not much different from Tess herself! He is childish, confused, and troubled. Alec is rash and disrespectful, he is spoilt and childish in the respect that he takes everything for granted. Tess’s reluctant attitude towards his signs of affection ticks him off, which shows his need to be in control. I feel that his constant changes in attitudes, or his bi-polar qualities, is a sign that he is confused and unsure of how to feel or behave.

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Sorry, I forgot we had to post a response!

In the very beginning of the novel theres Mr. Durbeyfield walking along after hitting the pub. He’s not too concerned about his image and he doesn’t really think about the way he acts and how others might think of him. Then theres his daughter, Tess. When we’re first introduced to her she is embarrassed of the way her father is acting and it hurts her pride. We almost immediately know that Tess probably isn’t like the rest of her family. Later, learning that Tess is the one who takes responsibility at home I felt pity for Tess because of the role she had to take on at such a young age. She doesn’t have anybody looking out for her and taking care of her, instead she is the one taking care of everybody. Although I feel sorry for Tess I am also happy for her. Even considering the circumstances in which she was brought up, she developed into a person far better than those around her that we can assume are also those influencing her. Instead of influencing her to be like them I think they influenced her to be everything they couldn’t be and I’m glad Tess turned out that way. However, as the novel progresses we see that despite Tess’s good nature bad things happen to her. I think this seems like one of the things Hardy has most interest in, the idea that bad things happen to good people. Tess’s explanation for this is that they live on a blighted star. In a way I think Hardy has used Tess to portray his ideas on the matter. Her explanation shows that Tess has accepted that bad things happen, just because of the planet they happen to live on. She doesn’t spend a lot of time trying to understand why bad things happen to her. When I think of Tess I feel sad because she doesn’t seem to really know happiness, but at the same time I also feel proud of her.

I think Hardy has touched upon a very sensitive topic and it makes it easy for us to sympathize with Tess. We all know that bad things happen to good people, and we all have different ways of dealing with this knowledge. Some people seek explanation in the form of religion, some in the form of karma and others may not believe there is an explanation. Hardy has demonstrated in Tess of the D’Urbervilles a great example of a girl who grew up to be the best she could be, despite all odds against her. Yet despite this, her innocence is slowly dissolved as one bad thing after another happens to her. I hope that despite all these obstacles that Tess faces, she continues to have that sense of pride that I think inspired her to be a better person, and I can only hope that at some point things turn around for Tess.

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Within this part of the novel I believe it is right to say that this is a time in Tess D’Urberville’s life where she was forced to grow up. After the incident with Alec, Tess goes back to her family and tries to go back to the way things were. I find it strange when Tess told her mother about what had happened, she took it to be some small unfortunate event that wasn’t too much of a big deal. The whole chapter in my opinion was a time for Tess to get over what had happened with Alec and move on. The birth and death of the baby went with this. I know from reading ahead in the book that this particular event had a definite impact on her life. This time back at home seems to be a time for Tess to deal with what has happened and get over it so that she can get on with her life.
The whole baby situation was very upsetting and somewhat bizarre. When we were introduced to Sorrow everyone must have accepted this new passenger in the Durbeyfield ship and thought nothing of it when Tess sat down to breastfeed her baby. The time before the baby’s death and shortly after it was uncomfortable to read as well. Tess slowly became more anxious as the baby came closer to death and it was upsetting to read Sorrow’s funeral. Although Tess is upset by this event later on in the novel she does not think of her baby often and seems to have moved on from the horrible event that once haunted her.

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When I first started reading Tess, I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy it. However after I started reading the first few pages I was hooked. I found Hardy’s familiar writing style comforting and read through the first phase easily. The background and personalities of the characters are similar to those in Far From The Madding Crowd, but I find myself far more infatuated with this book. I sympathize with Tess and her misunderstanding of men but at the same time find her to be quite a strange girl. The word ‘pride’ is scattered throughout the novel when describing Tess and yet she seems to be so unhappy with herself and even shy at times. Even though I do not understand Tess and her odd personality, I’m ‘on her side’ so to say and do not agree with the thoughts her mother has for her daughter. So far I think Tess is a girl who was born into the wrong family and could have had a better, brighter future if she had not grown up in the world she did live in.

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Phase 3 is for all the romantic-hearted people out in the world. This part of the novel is the love story of Angel and Tess; the coincidence that they met, how they snuck around talking to each other, becoming good friends, not admitting to each other that they liked each other but showing to everyone that they did, and then Angel ‘s confession of love to Tess. This part of the novel brings together the beginning of phase 1 when Tess and Angel meet each other from across the dance floor (grass) and the end of phase 2 where Tess is trying to make something of herself.

The way a female’s mind works is shown in this novel in phase 1 when Angel didn’t dance with Tess and regretted it for an instance by forgot about it soon afterwards, while Tess remained out of the group for a while because he did not dance with her. The same thing happens in chapter 17 of this novel when Tess recognized Angel right away but Angel recognized her as a face he had seen before but didn’t know where he saw the face.

In chapter 18 of this novel, the readers finally get to know more about Angel than just the guy who danced with the country girls. In this chapter we realize that he didn’t want to become a minister like his brothers and father (his father was willing to put him through Cambridge college), but he wanted to become active in the agriculture field. This is important in the story because this gives Tess and him an actual chance (especially because he realized who she was FINALLY), since he debates within himself whether marrying a high class girl would suit him better or a woman who knew how to manage a farm (another coincidence). This is compared to if he became a minister, there would be no chance he would have married Tess because he wouldn’t have run into her again (but maybe he could have because Thomas Hardy does love coincidences), and she wasn’t of a high enough class, she was a country girl. Even though she is a country girl (something that Clare is debating of marrying) she has an old family name: d’Urbervilles.  This is important because Angel Clare feels that the old families had work in them before but now has no work left in them (the dairy farmer feels that Clare has strange ideas). Because of Tess’s old family name and Clare’s opinion about old families, Tess decides not to tell Clare about her old family.

During the time that Tess and Angel are becoming closer and sneaking around to talk to each other in the early morning is around the same time that Marian, Retty, and Izz tell Tess of their love for Angel. Because of this, Tess backs off from Angel and starts pointing out good features of the three milkmaids to Clare so that maybe one of them could grab his attention. It is obvious that the other three could never grab the attention of Clare because when he carried them across the water on their way to church, he said that he carried the first three in order to carry the fourth (the fourth being Tess). All his flirting and her flirting are confirmed when Tess realizes that she loves Clare and when Clare tells her that he loves her.

This phase in the novel shows that even though Tess did mature in phase 2, she still has some more growing up to do. I say this because Tess just had a drastic experience with Alec and just lost a child and yet she has fallen in love.

All in all: TESS AND ANGEL ARE THE CUTEST WANNA BE COUPLE EVER.

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Phase 2 of Tess Of The d’Urbervilles does not have that many events as Phase 1 has. I say this because in this phase of the book Tess returns home and is found pregnant. The main plot in this part of the novel is the life and death of Tess’s baby. Also taken into consideration of this part is the way that Tess is treated by the community and the way she still manages to make something of herself (her personality trait of hard working and mature show up here) despite her situation.

This phase starts off with Tess leaving her job and walking back to her home. What surprises me about this part in the novel is that Alec chases after her and they have a conversation. I don’t see how when someone takes something precious of someone by force and ruins there chance in the world of finding a good husband how the victim could have a conversation with the person. Nonetheless, Tess does have a conversation with Alec but does not let him drive her home. On Tess’s way home, she meets a painter who writes:

THY, DAMNATION, SLUMBERETH, NOT.

2 PET. ii. 3 (page 62).

This brings the question of “…suppose your sin was not of your own seeking” (page 62)? Is it then considered a sin still? No matter the answer, Tess still found offense to the quote and continued on her journey home.

When Tess reaches home, her mother is annoyed with her for not returning home married and even more annoyed when Tess tells her mother what Alec did to her in the woods. But what kind of mother would be annoyed at her own daughter’s sadness and choices, when she was the one who threw her daughter in the situation head first without a helmet? After this ordeal with her mother, Tess stopped going out during the day and even to church because of the whispers people were saying about her. It got so drastic that her father didn’t open the doors to his house to anyone. This all comes down to the pride that both Tess and her father have; Tess only leaving the house at night when no one can see her, and her father not opening his doors to anyone.

After the birth of her son, Tess went to work in the field. But she wasn’t the same Tess that she was before she left for the Stoke-d’Urbervilles’ house. When working the field, she kept to herself and on breaks she breast-fed her son.

“Tess Durbeyfield had been one of the last to suspend her labours” (page 70).

Even when Tess had a baby (which has enough difficulties itself) she still proved to others that she was a hard worker (one of her many personality traits) and she will push herself. Unlike her father, Tess has ambition to work and get what she wants in life no matter the setbacks.

Soon after Tess starts getting her life back on track (getting a job in the field) her baby falls sick and Tess knows that the baby will not live much longer. Even though the baby did not come into the world holy, Tess was going to make sure that the baby would leave the world holy. In her efforts to do this, Tess baptized the baby herself and then buried the baby also. From the time of her child’s death to the time that Tess decided to leave home to become a milkmaid, Tess went from being a child herself to having experienced enough in the world to finally becoming complex.

This phase of the book is the period in Tess’s life that she finally grows up herself and knows what she wants in life and how she is going to obtain her goals. It also shows Tess’s and her father’s personality more and more. As Tess is getting to know herself and grow up, the reader’s are also getting to know Tess more and more.

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The story of Tess Durbyfield’s life starts with her father finding out that he is of noble blood. Even though her father is always drunk, he has enough sense to realize that the parson always calls Jack Durbeyfield ‘Sir John”. Without the family ever realizing that they had noble blood, Tess’s life would be an entirely different story. But, knowing how Thomas Hardy writes, the reader knows that one coincidence happens after the other. This is shown with Jack Durbeyfield finding out he is from noble blood, Angel Clare dancing with the country girls, the family horse, Prince, is killed by the mail cart, and then her new job.

Angel Clare’s presence in the beginning of the novel sets the stage for when he shows up again later on. In the beginning, it is shown that Angel and his two brothers are hiking in the country when they come across country girls celebrating May Day by dancing.

“As he fell out of the dance his eyes lighted on Tess Durbeyfield, who own large orbs wore, to tell the truth, the faintest aspect of reproach that he had not chosen her” (page 10).

Even though Angel did not dance with Tess, he saw her and she saw him. This lets the reader know ahead of time that Angel Clare will be in the novel later on; another one of Hardy’s coincidences.

This leads into Prince’s death that is significant because not only was Prince the family horse that brought the income in for the family (without Prince the family would have no income) but this leads into how Tess’s personality worked as a disadvantage to her. Because Tess has pride, is hard working, and is more mature and intelligent than her parents, Tess takes the responsibility of earning enough money to pay for a new horse. This leads Tess into the job of working for the ‘d’Urbervilles’. Not only did Prince’s death show more of Tess’s personality, but it also showed her father’s. Even though the family could have sold the horse meat for money (which was needed very badly), Jack Durbeyfield would not sell the horse because it was part of the family; in other words, because they were of noble blood they didn’t need to sell the horse for money (this shows that Sir John has the same pride that his daughter has).

Finding out the nobleness in the generations before them and Prince’s death determined the path Tess was going to take in life at the moment. The page long explanation of the old d’Urbervilles’ house (page 26) gave a slight warning to Tess that something wasn’t quite right.

“I thought we were an old family; but this is all new!” she said in her artlessness. She wished that she had not fallen in so readily with her mother” plans for “claiming kin”, and had endeavoured to get assistance nearer home (page 27).

If the house didn’t give enough of a clue to her that she shouldn’t be there, the introduction of Alec Stoke-d’Urbervilles should have been a major warning with his curled mustache, creepy body language, and words. Even though Tess didn’t feel comfortable around Alec, she couldn’t tell her family that she wasn’t going to get a job with him because she felt uncomfortable (once again, Tess is holding onto her pride). It is obvious that Alec Stoke-d’Urbervilles is a bad guy in this novel from:

“He had an almost swarthy complexion, with full lips, badly moulded, though read and smooth, above which was a well-groomed black moustache with curled points, though his age could not be more than three-or four-and-twenty. Despite the touches of barbarism in his contours there was a singular force in the gentleman’s face, and in his bold rolling eye” (page 28).

And is proved further more when Tess gets into a fight with Car the Queen of Spades. Car gets particularly mad at Tess when she laughs with the group because Car has been sleeping with Alec and wanted him to marry her, but instead, Alec now has his eye on Tess and Car has no chance of marriage with him now. When Alec came to the rescue for Tess (otherwise Tess would have surely been beaten up) Car’s mother says:

“Out of the frying-pan into the fire” (page 53)!

This implies that the ‘frying-pan’ was Car trying to fight Tess but the “fire” is Alec coming to save Tess. The next chapter shows that the word ‘fire’ was an appropriate word for what happens. When Alec saves Tess, he wanders off into the woods (not the way to his house) when Tess falls asleep. He lays Tess down in the dead leaves to sleep while he finds the way home, little does Tess know that wasn’t the plan of Alec at all. This phase ends with Tess being taken advantage of by Alec; this being led on by all the coincidences in the novel this far, as Thomas Hardy likes to write. Maybe if human beings had landed on a sound star this would have never happened.

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Reading another of Hardy’s works seems to be akin to returning to a world in which we are so familiar with. Extremely long narrative and passages that describes “how the corner of the house – which rose like a geranium bloom against the subdued colors around (Page 26)” (which a single sentence, “the house was new as compared to the surroundings” would be enough to meet the demands of that passage) and hidden meanings that forces us to read between the lines. Ah, Hardy’s world sure does take away time from the real world.

However, despite the initial pessimism that I’ve encountered while flipping through the first few pages of the book, I DO admit that “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” is an interesting read so far (yes, those long descriptive passages are helpful in understanding the story better). In the first chapter, Hardy has already quickly established our protagonist, Tess, and our antagonist, Alec d’Urberville. Through Hardy’s description of Tess with innocent eyes and peony lips, where she was officially regarded as a woman by her looks but not by her age, Tess is immediately portrayed to be vulnerable to those lecherous men (most notably, Alec d’Urberville). Alec d’Urberville, on the other hand, is the biggest creeper I have EVER read in a book. With his “swarthy complexion, with full lips, badly molded, though red and smooth, above which was a well-groomed black moustache with curled points (Page 28)”, he is portrayed with a sinister look, probably to highlight his character further on in the story. Throughout the first chapter, we read that Alec is always “conveniently” nearby when Tess is around. In the final passage of Chapter 1, we finally come to the first major talking point of the story: Alec taking advantage of Tess. Through this passage, Hardy describes Tess as having an “immeasurable social chasm dividing her from that previous self who stepped from her mother’s door to try her fortune at Trantridge poultry-farm (Page 58)”. The words “immeasurable social chasm” that Hardy uses seems to imply that Tess has been forced to shed that “innocent and naïve” image of hers, and that she will never be the same again.

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In Part 8 of “Anna Karenina”, the story seems to be winding down with Tolstoy attempting to tie up some loose ends. Vronsky’s apparent sacrifice for the country as well as Levin’s internal sufferings on whether God truly exist allows the readers to revisit these unanswered thoughts that surfaced after Anna’s death and Kitty’s birth respectively. However, what surprised me was that Tolstoy seems to focus more on Levin’s internal sufferings rather than Vronsky’s sacrifice.

Vronsky, devastated by Anna’s death, volunteers to help the Serbians fight the Turks as an act of final sacrifice to the country. Vronsky believes that “I do not value my life at all and that I have physical energy enough to hack my way into a square and slay or fall – that I am sure of. I am glad that there is something for which I can lay down the life which I not only do not want, but of which I am sick! It will be of use to somebody.” (Part VIII, Chapter VI, Page 706). This by itself shows that Vronsky is suicidal, devoid of any love of life after Anna’s death. Previously in class, we discussed that Tolstoy seems to use religion as a solution to life’s problems. In Vronsky’s case, Vronsky seems to giving up his own external body as a service to the country, but in Levin’s case, Levin ponders about his own religious spirituality. Could this be the reason why Tolstoy seems to focus so much on Levin? If it’s not the case, why would the book be called Anna Karenina? We discussed that a story about a Society woman that fallen from grace due to an adulterous affair would be much more interesting than a countryside story that talks about a guy’s emotional and spiritual struggles. Therefore, up at this point in time, this is the only reason why i believe that Tolstoy focuses more on Levin rather than Vronsky.

Personally, I feel that through Levin, Tolstoy is trying to hint to the reader of his own beliefs as well. Troubled throughout the entire course of the story; first with Nicholas’s apparent death, then of Kitty’s childbirth before finally finding God and in the process inner peace, Tolstoy seems to imply that only be embracing the Church can there be solutions to life’s problems. Carrying on with this thought, I believe that through the thoughts of Koznyshev that the war was over-exaggerated Tolstoy also similarly condemns war. He “admitted that the papers published much that was unnecessary and exaggerated with the sole aim of drawing attention to themselves, each out crying the other.” (Part VIII, Chapter II, Page 698) Thus, I feel that through Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, he is conveying his own thoughts through the different characters, which in turn gives them a human touch and therefore allow it to become one of the most interesting books I have ever read.

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Part 8 of Anna Karenina is hard to understand. Levin’s moral and philosophical questions about life seem to diverse itself from the main story. In other words, part 8 seems a bit ‘detached’ from the rest of the novel. It is interesting that after Anna’s death, Tolstoy mentions little about people’s reaction towards it, with an exception of dedicating a page to the descriptions of Vronsky’s evident sufferings. Tolstoy’s focus on Levin in part 8, however, smartly reflects the effect of Anna’s death. He does not write about people’s immediate reaction towards her death, nor does he describe the thoughts of different characters in the novel, instead, he focuses on Levin and his philosophical mind.

Ever since Nicholas’s death, Levin starts to engage himself in a philosophical search for  the meanings of death, life and truth. He raises a lot of ‘big’ questions, such as the meaning of life. “ ‘Without knowing what I am, and why I am here, it is impossible to live. Yet I cannot know that, and therefore I can’t live,’ he said to himself”(p.714), here, Levin is so bothered and strained by these uncertainties that he was “several times so near to suicide that he hid a cord he hand lest he should hang himself, and he feared to cary a gun lest e should shoot himself.” (p.714) It is also interesting that “When Levin thought about what he was and why he lived, he could find no answer and was driven to despair; but when he left off asking himself those questions, he seemed to know what he was and why he lived, for he acted and lived unfalteringly and definitely– recently even more unfalteringly than before” (p. 714-715) This suggests that ‘ignorance is bliss’, and to not consider the ‘big’ questions in life may be a way of emotionally and morally escaping from reality. Here I see an interesting contrast between Levin and Anna. Both characters are often absorbed in questions. Anna spends her day thinking about her difficult situation, whereas Levin spends his day thinking about life. Their doubts and skeptical attitudes toward life and love causes them much pain. By questioning life, both characters go against God and fail to fulfill their duty to God. Anna, driven by the idea that her affair with Vronsky is a sin, is punished while Levin is lucky, and finds the answer to his question. By devoting himself to God and Christianity, he is awarded a ‘happy ending’, which contrasts with Anna’s tragic one.

An interesting section of Part 8 is when Dolly tells her children that “ if they broke cups they would not have anything to drink tea out of, and if they spilt milk they would not have anything to eat and would die of hunger.” (p.722) Levin clearly sees that the two children do not believe in what their mother says, and are sad only because “their amusing game had been ended” (p. 722). This incident is branched out to explain the behavior of all men in the novel. Levin feels that “they could not conceive that what they were destroying was the very thing they lived on.”( p.723), which means that all men are like children: they can not live and destroy or love without the conception of a ‘creator’, an ‘origin’, or a ‘law’ to follow by. Men are absorbed and engaged in their ‘intellectual’ games because they take God for granted. Levin believes that without Him, there will be no existence, and nothing to live by: “By nothing!–The devil and sin?–And how do I explain evil?…A saviour?…”(p.724).

I feel that the whole of Part 8 is focused on the revelation that God is the truth. Levin, at one point, realizes that he has been with God all along. He also expresses that God does not appeal to his reason, but rather emotions. “ My reason will still not understand why I pray, but I shall still pray, and my life, my whole life, independently of anything that may happen to me, is every moment of it no longer meaningless as it was before, but has an unquestionable meaning of goodness which I have the power to invest it.” (p. 740) Levin believes that the ‘meaning of goodness’ is in itself a ‘service to god’. All this ‘spiritual enlightenment’ reminds me of the epigraph: “Vengeance is mine; I will repay” (p.1). People are punished by God for their sins, and Anna, believing that she has sinned, suffers a tragic death. If it is Anna’s conscience of guilt which caused her death, could she have escaped it supposing she felt otherwise? “But Plato is an upright old man. He lives for his soul and remembers God.” (p.719) Fyodor’s words here ties in with Anna’s attitude towards life. If living for goodness and for oneself is a duty to God, then her critical attitude towards love is essentially the cause of her punishment. By feeling sinful for pursuing love, she makes it unnatural, perjured and corrupt. This act of going against what life has to offer (love) is in itself a sin, which the God ‘repay’s. M.S. GROMEKA states in his/her article that “ The author has proved to us that in this area, unconditional freedom does not exist; laws exist there. It is up to man’s will to agree with them and to be happy, or to transgress against them and to be unhappy.” (p. 168), people have to abide by the ‘laws’ of christianity and God to avoid destruction, as to transgress such laws and boundaries will lead them to unhappiness, as have with Anna Karenina.

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I believe that Anna’s death in Part 7 is, instead of a closure to the story, an opportunity for Tolstoy to further craft her character and portray human nature. Tolstoy uses stream of consciousness and change of perspectives to explicitly show the readers how social pressures and human nature can drive a person to insanity, and eventually death.

Anna’s increasing jealousy and insecurity is described in detail in Part 7. Her change in attitudes is depicted through the contrast between her words and Vronsky’s. “ You see no sense in it because you don’t care at all about me. You don’t want to understand what my life is. … I should like to know what sort of life can be natural for me here!” (p. 672) Her sudden outburst towards Vronsky is the first hint and evidence ( in Part 7) of Anna’s instability. “ ‘I never boast and never tell untruths, ‘ he said softly, restraining his rising anger. ‘It is a great pity if you don’t respect…’” (p. 673) Tolstoy uses the change of perspectives here to show readers the attitudes on both sides. Vronsky, by trying to ‘restrain’ his anger, shows effort in preventing a fight, whereas Anna disregard Vronsky’s feelings and blames him for her unhappiness. This automatically causes the readers to side with Vronsky, and thus feel sympathy for him. “ ‘What do you mean by that?’ she cried, glancing with terror at the definite expression of hatred on his whole face, and especially in the cruel, menacing eyes.” (p.673) Here, the story changes to Anna’s perspective, and Vronsky’s eyes were seen as cruel and menacing. This may cause the readers to sympathize with Anna, as it puts her in an extremely vulnerable and helpless situation. Tolstoy uses the change of perspectives in Part 7 to show human nature and its limits; Anna is consumed by jealousy, while Vronsky is filled with  annoyance. The two put together gives the readers an insight to how Anna is eventually driven to death.

Tolstoy’s use of stream of consciousness allows readers to see how the society plays a role in Anna’s mental struggles. “ ‘He hates me, that is clear,’ thought she, and silently, without looking round and with faltering steps, she left the room, ‘He loves another woman, that is clearer still,’ she said to herself as she entered her own room. ‘I want love, and it is lacking. So everything is finished!’ she repeated her own words, ‘and it must be finished.’ “(p. 673) All these perceptions are built upon the pressures of the society. Anna automatically concludes that Vronsky is in love with another woman, and that everything is finished. These impressions are the product of a strained society, and Tolstoy portrays Anna as the victim who is bound up with all the expectations and rules of life. “but I cannot and do not want o be anything else. And this desire awakens disgust in him, and that arouses anger in me, and it cannot be otherwise.” (p. 690) Anna’s realization about the faults of her relationship allows readers to see how she progresses from logical thinking into emotional insanity: “ ‘there, into the very middle, and I shall punish him and escape form everybody and from myself!’ “(p.695)

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To be completely honest, I didn’t pay as much attention to this final part of the book as I did to the rest of it. Usually that’s not the case, the ending is always the easiest but I guess as Mr. MacKnight said; under the circumstances, a lot of the “norm” doesn’t apply to us. However, despite the circumstances I did pick up on one thing that interested me… This would be Levin’s attempt and “success” at discovering the meaning of life. Throughout the 740 page novel, Levin has constantly been deep in thought about agriculture, happiness, love and whatever else there is to ponder about. He rarely took a break from thinking and analyzing everything, but despite this I really liked Levin. A lot of the time I wanted to urge him to simply take a break and enjoy life, and to remember what he’d previously said about his ambitions in life. First it was to have a loving wife with whom he could enjoy all his experiences in the country with. Then when this seemed out of reach it was to make an impact of the agricultural situation in Russia and to communicate his ideas. When he got the first wish, he went back to feeling that something was missing. He constantly seemed a little lost when he tried to think too much, but on the other hand side when he didn’t he was happy and content and couldn’t ask for more. In this final part of the novel, Levin finally comes to a conclusion it seems like. He hasn’t found his true “reason” for being on this earth, but perhaps he just accepted there may not be a true “reason”. I think Tolstoy touched upon a topic which is easy to relate to for many readers, as the question of the purpose of one’s existence is probably not an uncommon one. As you read this novel, you also develop your own ideas and strengthen your previous points of view and possibly even change your mind about something. I think it’s great that a novel can do this, and I DID enjoy the 740 pages of Anna Karenina. I felt myself grow on Levin as the novel progressed, and I felt myself sympathize for Karenin despite this being out of the norm. I also felt sympathy for Anna and I wished she’d had some sort of help that could have prevented such an ending, despite thinking badly of her at times. All in all, I’m glad Levin seems content with his life as this will probably make Kitty happy. I’m glad Anna isn’t suffering, I’m upset I don’t know more about the real Karenin and his fate…and I hope Vronsky doesn’t die in war.

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In Part 7 of “Anna Karenina”, what struck out at me from this part of the novel was how Tolstoy seems to describe the similarities and differences of life and death. Kitty, after a long and difficult labor, finally gives birth to a baby boy. On the other hand, Anna ponders the meaning of life without Vronsky, before ultimately throwing herself in the path of a train, effectively ending her life. While on first glance they seem starkly different, there seems to be similarities as well.

Levin’s wife, Kitty, after a long ordeal, finally gives birth to a baby boy. However, the anxiety Levin feels creates in him a bipolar personality. “One day, when not in her presence: when with the doctor … Levin suddenly quite forgot for an instant what was happening and just felt as if he was waking up; and the other was in her presence, by her pillow, where his heart was ready to burst with pity and yet did not burst, and there he prayed unceasingly to God. “ (Page 646) In this short passage, Levin evidently experiences a sense of dread, praying to God to keep Kitty safe, and yet even totally neglects the thought of her. When Kitty finally gives birth to the baby boy, Levin is overcome by “a sense of repulsion and pity, and not at all the feelings he had expected.” (Page 650) He felt that “there was nothing merry or joyful in it; on the contrary, there was a new and distressing sense of fear. It was the consciousness of another vulnerable region. And this consciousness was at first so painful, the fear lest that helpless being should suffer was so strong, that it quite hid the strange feeling of unreasoning joy and even pride which he experienced when the baby sneezed”. Personally, I feel that this short description of Levin’s feelings is very similar to what Anna feels later on in the story as she contemplates death as salvation. This short description seems to evoke a sense of helplessness in Levin; that he cannot actually protect the baby from harm, and that by fathering to him, Levin is indirectly exposing the baby to the unforeseen dangers of the world. In this sense, this helplessness is similar to Death, in that one cannot prevent death, but can only await it.

In Anna’s case however, I feel that she seemed to have fallen from a high position in Society to a miserable lady. Once respected in her Society, she is now shunned by her previous friends; and only lives on because of her love for Vronsky. However, towards the end of this part of the novel, Anna slowly becomes jealous of Vronsky, “not because she was jealous of any women, but of the diminution of her love” (Page 669). Anna’s jealousy finally results in a massive argument with Vronsky, which was actually never resolved. Further on in the train station, Anna starts to recall all her past memories with Vronsky; but one thought that she said struck out at me the most. “Are we not all flung into the world only to hate each other, and therefore to torment ourselves and others?” (Page 691) This seems to be what Levin was thinking previously: “Why do we enter this world to torture ourselves?” This ties back to life, as our births can never be arranged, and thus by coming into this world, we are “flung to hate and torment ourselves and others”. Evidently, Tolstoy seems to create a foil for Levin through Anna’s situation. Anna, disillusioned, finally decides to commit suicide to “punish him and escape from everybody and myself” (Page 695).Through the phrase “escape from everybody and myself”, we can see that Anna is simply trying to escape from her life and in the process, escape from her torments. Through her last thought “God forgive me everything!” (Page 695), Tolstoy seems to imply that Anna is giving herself up to death, and by truly embracing it as salvation, she is releasing herself from her troubles.

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