Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Phase the Fifth - Multifunctional Quotations

The Woman Pays

The title has connotations of Tess, the 'woman', experiencing the consequences of something that wasn't her fault.

Tess's voice throughout had hardly risen higher than its opening tone; there had been no exculpatory phrase of any kind, and she had not wept.

Ch 35, pg 227

Phase the Fifth opens with the end of Tess' 'narrative' to Angel about her past ending. Hardy says that Tess' voice had 'hardly risen higher than its opening tone' and she had not expressed any emotion throughout the whole story: 'she had not wept'. There is a sense that Tess isn't trying to excuse herself, as she is cold and distant when telling her story; it is as if she is simply laying down facts rather than making an emotional plea to Angel. She doesn't cry, but it is clear that she is full of regret and sadness, which has caused her to be cold and distant, and Angel doesn't know her well enough to realise this.

The fire in the grate looked impish - demonically funny, as if it did not care in the least about her strait.

Ch 35, pg 227

Hardy personifies the fire here, giving it a gothic and sinister appearance. By saying it is 'impish' he is suggesting it is small and evil, and this adjective also has connotations of mythology, as an imp is a mythological being, thus tying the fire to superstition but also the natural world. The devil is once again alluded to, as Hardy calls the fire 'demonically funny', as if it is laughing at Tess' plight. The idea that the fire 'did not care in the least' about Tess' situation implies an indifference to nature, as fire is a part of the natural world. In this case, the surroundings do not care about Tess at all.

"Forgiveness does not apply to the case. You were one person; now you are another. How can forgiveness meet such a gross prestidgitation as that?"

Ch 35, pg 228

Angel is clearly being very hypocritical here; he says that he can't forgive Tess for what she's done even though she has forgiven him for sleeping with a woman out of wedlock, even when it is practically the same as what has happened to Tess. Hardy purposely makes Angel sound pompous here, using words such as 'prestidgitation' (conjuring tricks), to highlight his hypocrisy. Hardy clearly has a proto-feminist agenda here: he is showing how Angel is looking down on a woman according to social convention even though he has committed a very similar 'sin' to her, just because she is a woman. Additionally, the idea that Tess was playing a 'trick' on Angel is a distortion of the truth; Tess tried many times to tell Angel what had happened, but he prevented here, thus he is really to blame for his own being 'tricked'. Hardy also reuses the idea that Tess is now 'another person', as she said she was 'not [her] real self' in Phase the Fourth (Ch 33, pg 214). This is shaping the idea that Tess' loss of virginity makes her a 'different person' and somehow changes her totally; an idea which Hardy is condemning as a made-up law of society which is not aligned with nature's laws. There is clearly a proto-feminist agenda here.

A guilty woman in the guise of an innocent one.

Ch 35, pg 229

This is what Angel sees now when he looks at Tess. It is very much in contrast to the 'daughter of the soil' and 'pure' woman he saw before. It suggests that Angel thinks Tess seduced Alec and lied to him, making Tess the 'guilty' one in the situation. This can be used in the argument that Tess is not a 'pure woman', as Angel sees her as a 'guilty woman' and a liar.

She asked helplessly

"Am I too wicked for you and me to live together?"

"I shan't ask you to let me live with you"

"I shan't do anything, unless you order me to"

"I will obey you like your wretched slave"

Ch 35, pg 229-230

Tess straight away accepts what Angel is saying, that she is not innocent and can't be with him. She then tries to pursue him, but is very self-pitying and realises that Angel won't let her be with him anymore. Tess appears very passive and as if she is the property of Angel - hence her labelling of herself as his 'wretched slave'. There is a proto-feminist agenda here; Hardy is highlighting the clear unfairness of the 'ownership' which men had over their wives.

"It is in your own mind what you are angry at, Angel; it is not me...I am not the deceitful woman you think me!"

Ch 35, pg 231

This is a very perceptive comment from Tess. It is a change of tone from her telling him she is 'wretched' and 'wicked'; it appears slightly more assertive. She asks Angel what she 'has done' that is so wrong, and tells Angel that he is constructing her guilt; she does not deserve the treatment she is getting. She is also emphasising how she tried to tell him about her past but she stopped him when she says she is not the 'deceitful woman' he believes she is. This comment alludes to Tess' fundamental innocence, particularly in the eyes of nature, and suggests that society has condemned her for something which, in the natural world, is normal yet irrelevant.

"Different societies, different manners. You are an unapprehending peasant woman, who have never been initiated into the proportions of social things. You don't know what you say."

Ch 35, pg 232

Angel is very condemning of Tess' attempt to argue against his unfair treatment of her, highlighting the way men controlled their wives. Angel's focus on 'social things' and 'manners' implies that Tess, an 'unapprehending peasant woman', is not fit for educated society. Hardy is clearly making Angel sound pompous here, highlighting the contradictions between the natural, poor world, and the educated world of 'society'. There is also a shift in Angel's perspective: Tess being a 'daughter of the soil' and a 'daughter of Nature' used to be a good thing, but now her being a 'peasant' is a very negative thing. This is showing how Angel has had gross misconceptions of the rural world, communities, and Tess in particular, showing how little he really knew her, and the way in which he idealised her. Hardy is really emphasising the Victorian social structure here, and how engrained and restrictive it is.

Walking very slowly, without converse, one behind the other, as if in a funeral procession...

"The river is down there. I can put an end to myself in it. I am not afraid."

Ch 35, pg 233

Hardy uses a motif of death in Chapter 35 to emphasise how 'anxious and sad' Tess and Angel are, and also as a symbol of the death of their relationship, and (particularly Tess') happiness. The comparison of Tess and Angel to a 'funeral procession' is ironic, as it is their wedding day, not a funeral, or a day of death. It should be a day of celebration and happiness. Tess' suicidal ideation is once again highlighted, and the emphasis on her being 'not afraid' to kill herself suggests she would be welcoming of death, and this ties in with the end of the novel, where she willingly accepts her fate of being hanged.

She looked absolutely pure. Nature, in her fantastic trickery, had set such a seal of maidenhood upon Tess...

Ch 36, pg 237

Hardy is making it clear here that Angel, when looking at Tess, thinks that external presentation can represent someone's internal being, highlighting his ignorance and the way he has idealised Tess. The way 'Nature' has made her look 'pure' and have a 'seal of maidenhood' is a suggestion by Hardy that in the natural world, Tess maybe is a 'pure woman', but it is just by the standards of Angel and society that she is not.

"rustic unsophistication"

"you are too, too - childish - unformed - crude..."

Ch 36, pg 238

Angel is shown to have preconceptions of Tess which are not true - he gave up 'all ambition to win a wife with social standing' for Tess, who is 'rustic' and has 'unsophistication'. At the time, he saw this as a positive thing, but now he is realising he was simply idealising country life, as all he knew of the pastoral world was from Greek pastoral writers, as he mentioned to Tess previously. The way he describes Tess as 'childish - unformed - crude' implies that now he sees rural people as being ignorant, backwards, and unable to be a part of 'educated society'. This highlights ignorance in rural life (Tess suggests getting a divorce, and Angel is explaining how it isn't that easy).

Midnight came and passed silently...

The darkened farm-house once the mansion of the D'Urbervilles.

Ch 37, pg 246

Chapter 37 begins with Gothic elements; the reference to 'midnight' and the 'darkened...mansion' of Tess' ancestors. Hardy is re-emphasising how Tess cannot escape her D'Urberville heritage, and is also creating a sinister atmosphere for a chapter which takes place partly in an old church.

"My poor, poor Tess - my dearest, darling Tess! So sweet, so good, so true!"

He did not let her fall, but too advantage of the support of the handrail to imprint a kiss upon her lips - lips in the daytime scorned.

Ch 37, pg 247

Hardy is using Angel's sleepwalking to demonstrate his true, hidden emotions for Tess. While in the daytime he 'scorned' her, when he is unaware, he is calling her his 'darling' and saying she is 'sweet...good...[and] true', and even kissing her. This implies that Angel only doesn't love Tess because of the social conventions he adheres to, but when asleep, his natural feelings take over.

The gold of the summer picture was now gray, the colours mean, the rich soil mud, and the river cold.

Ch 37, pg 251

Hardy is saying that the pastoral idyll of Tess and Angel's romance is now ruined and tainted. The focus on the 'mean' colours, the 'mud', and the 'cold' create a setting symbolic of all the negative things in the pastoral world. This symbolises the destruction of Angel's illusion of a pastoral idyll and of an idealised Tess, and it alludes to his recreated Golden Age being ruined. This emphasises the end of Tess and Angel's happiness/happy relationship.

In her submission - which perhaps was a symptom of that acquiescence in chance too apparent in the whole D'Urberville family - the many effective chords which she could have stirred by an appeal were left untouched.

Ch 37, pg 253

Tess' submissive nature is highlighted again here. Hardy suggests that Tess is very fatalistic - she accepts 'chance', whatever fate seems to give her. The idea that she could have appealed to Angel implies another missed opportunity for Tess, like the letter she put under his door, for example, and suggests that her life could have turned out differently if she had not been so fatalistic and passively accepting. Hardy implies her own attitude towards the situation goes someway to explain what happens to her, however, his suggestion that the D'Urbervilles are predisposed to accept fate undermines this, and places the blame for Tess' fate on her ancestry, showing how she is unable to escape it, and reminding us that right from the beginning, her ancestry has been nothing but bad for her.

He turned to go on his own way, and did not know that he loved her still.

Ch 37, pg 254

This is the last line of Chapter 37 - Tess and Angel part and go their separate ways. Hardy is once again playing with the idea, as he did earlier in the chapter, that Angel deeply loves Tess but suppresses his feelings and is totally unaware of them. This creates a tragic irony as they are parting. Hardy makes it apparent that the parting is not final, as Angel said he will write to her to come to him when he is ready, but the chapter ends with a sense of finality nevertheless, creating a sad sense of loss of love. It is clear that Angel has let his anger and social convention override his true, natural emotions for Tess.

From the foregoing events of winter-time, let us press on to an October day...

We see her a lonely woman with a basket and a bundle...

Instead of the ample means that were anticipated by her husband for her comfort through this probationary period, she can produce only a flattened purse.

Ch 41, pg 272

The opening to Chapter 41 is told through Hardy's authorial intrusion. He appears to give a sympathetic outside view of Tess, a few months on from her wedding, in October. The 'winter-time' has negative connotations, and the opening of 'press[ing] on to an October day' demonstrates the passing of time in Tess' life, showing how time has gone on after Angel's departure. Tess appears as 'lonely' with a 'basket and bundle', which, unlike when she left Alec's house the first time, where her 'basked was heavy and the bundle was large', it seems to be empty, showing the loss in Tess' life, but also her poverty at this point in time. Her poverty is highlighted again when Hardy writes that she can 'produce only a flattened purse'. Angel is shown once again to know little about Tess, as he 'anticipated' 'ample means' for her to keep her going, but he doesn't realise that Tess' pride will stop her from collecting money from Angel's parents to survive. This also implies that Tess' pride is a source of her downfall, as it is this which has caused her poverty after her and Angel's separation. Furthermore, Hardy calls Angel and Tess' split a 'probationary period', implying that it is temporary and they will reunite, which does give some sense of hope for the future, although the overriding theme of the introduction of Chapter 41 is anti-pastoral, impoverished, sad, and 'lonely'.

Something of the habitude of the wild animal

There seemed only one escape for her hunted soul

Making a sort of nest in the middle

Outside humanity, she had at present no fear

She killed the birds tenderly

Ch 41, pg 276-279

Hardy compares Tess frequently to a wild or hunted animal at the end of Chapter 41, showing how she has been 'hunted' and badly treated by humanity and society. Hardy says she has the 'habitude of the wild animal', a 'hunted soul', and has 'no present fear' other than humanity. This brings Tess closer to nature, suggesting she is part of it, but also highlights her sadness, loneliness, and isolation from community. The way she 'kills the birds tenderly' creates juxtaposition, showing she is both assertive but also kind and caring towards nature.

She occasionally caught glimpses of these men in girlhood...

At once so unmannerly and so unchivalrous towards their weaker fellows in Nature's teeming family.

Ch 41, pg 278-279

The description of the men hunting and killing the pheasants is significant in Chapter 41 as it is symbolic of the way men have mistreated Tess, a 'hunted' and 'wild' woman who is a part of nature. Hardy suggests these men treat nature badly in an 'unmannerly' and 'unchivalrous' way, which is seen as a very negative thing. He implies they are taking advantage of their 'weaker fellows in Nature', which is symbolic of the way Alec took advantage of Tess. This implies that Tess' situation was not her own fault, but the fault of the men in her life, particularly those upperclass men.

She was ashamed of herself for her gloom of the night, based on nothing more tangible than a sense of condemnation under an arbitrary law of society which had no foundation in Nature.

Ch 41, pg 279

Hardy ends Chapter 41 with the suggestion of the contrast between Natural Law and Social Law, and how this is responsible for Tess' situation and condemnation. Tess is only condemned by the 'arbitrary law of society which has no foundation in nature', while nature sees what has happened to her as a natural process which she is no less 'pure' because of.

Thus Tess walks on; a figure which is part of the landscape; a field-woman pure and simple...

Ch 42, pg 280

There is a focus on what Tess is now rather than her past at the start of Chapter 41. She is shown to be a part of nature, being a 'field-woman' which is 'part of the landscape'. She is said to be 'pure and simple' implying that by Nature's Law, she is still a 'pure woman' regardless of what Society's Law says about her. The way she 'walks on' also shows how despite what has happened, her life continues, and so does nature around her.

Winter's occupation and a winter's home...

Her experience of short hirings...

She went forward from farm to farm...

Ch 42, pg 281

This is showing the displacement of the rural people through the seasonal nature of work in the countryside. Hardy says that rural work-folk have to move from 'farm to farm' seeking a seasonal, in Tess' case 'winter', 'occupation' and 'home'. The nature of the 'short hirings' Tess has experienced suggests that rural life is full of displacement and temporary situations.

Work on arable land: work of such roughness...

She was doomed to come.

Stubborn soil...

The kind of labour in demand here was of the roughest kind...

Starve-acre place.

Ch 42, pg 281-283

This is the very anti-pastoral introduction to Flintcombe-Ash, where Tess works throughout the following winter after her separation from Angel. Hardy highlights the 'roughness' and 'stubborn' nature of life and work at the farm, implying that the work is very different from the calm, enjoyable kind at Thalbothays Dairy, showing the negative side of rural life. Tess being 'doomed' to come shows how Flintcombe-Ash is a place of harsh labour and demonstrates how life will be very hard for Tess. The suggestion that it is a 'starve-acre place' contrasts to the Dairy, saying that the land does not provide for humanity here.

Redder in the face

"I took to drink. Lord, that's the only happiness I've got now..."

Ch 42, pg 282-283

We are reintroduced to Marian in Chapter 42, who is now working at Flintcombe-Ash farm. The first descriptions of her show how she is 'redder in the face' and seems not to care about her appearance, and this is shown to be a result of alcoholism. Marian tells Tess drinking is her 'only happiness' now, and this emphasises the harsh reality of rural work; Marian drinks to escape her depressing, hard rural life at Flintcombe-Ash. Hardy is very careful to present this anti-pastoral element in the novel, emphasising the negative effects of alcohol on rural communities.

The yelling wind sticking into them like glass splinters...

Summer had been liberal in her gifts...

They lived...in memories of green, sunny, romantic Thalbothays.

If it was frosty even their thick leather gloves could not prevent the frozen masses they handled from biting their fingers.

There had not been such a winter for years. It came on in stealthy and measured glides, like the moves of a chess-player.

Ch 43, 286-287

These are more anti-pastoral descriptions of Flintcombe-Ash. Hardy uses the juxtaposition of the 'liberal' summer at 'green, sunny, romantic Thalbothays' to emphasise just how harsh and unforgiving life is for Tess at Flintcombe-Ash. The idea that the winter comes on like the 'moves of a chess-player' goes back to Hardy's earlier allusion to the idea that Tess' life is controlled by fate, and she is almost a 'game' to a higher being which controls what happens to her.