Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy: it’s all HER fault.

I just finished listening to the book and it upset me greatly. Before I start, allow me to say that yes, this book was written in a different time. But gee.

So here’s the low down. The local preacher tells Tess’s dad that they are descended from a wealthy line of people. Tess’s branch has changed the spelling of their last name. Her mother talks her into going to introduce herself to the wealthy side of the family. Instead of meeting the mother, she meets the son. The son ends up raping Tess. She has a child. And this is all her fault. When the child gets sick, her dad will not let the preacher be called. It would expose HER sin.

The wealthy son falls in love with Tess. But she wants nothing to do with him. She falls for a different man and they get married. On the wedding night, he’s confessing his sins to her. He’s messed around in his youth. She forgives him. So she confesses about her past. He will not forgive her. She ends up going back to her mother’s.

Enter wealthy son. He convinces Tess that her husband has abandoned her so they have an affair. Husband comes back. Forgives her. She kills wealthy son. Runs. They get caught. She talks her husband into marrying her younger sister.

In the end, Tess gets hung for murder. Her widowed husband is running through a field with her younger sister.

Is this supposed to be a Victorian romance? Did Hardy just get his heart broken and poured out his hate on Tess? There are some scenes in this book that are romantic and touching. But overall; IT’S NOT HER FAULT. Yes, she should have been more vigilant. Oh my stars and garters! It’s not all her fault. Rich son should have kept his loins in his pants. This is for sure how you tell a girl that you love her, rape her! NO!

“Oh Tess, I love you so much I could never marry your sister.” BULL!

If the mark of a good writer is that they invoke emotion in the reader, well done. This book sure invoked one.

Shakespeare would be proud.