Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Tess of the d'Urbervilles is Thomas Hardy's novel following Tess Durbeyfield through agricultural work, family responsibility and relationships that profoundly restrict her choices. Her parents' hopes of an aristocratic connection lead her toward Alec d'Urberville, while love for Angel Clare brings another form of judgment and disappointment. Hardy places the beauty of rural landscapes beside exhausting labor and social vulnerability. The novel challenges the unequal standards by which Tess and the men around her are judged. Its tragic movement draws attention to the consequences of exploitation, idealization and the failure to respond compassionately to another person's history.