I don’t burn books, but on finishing ‘Tess of the D’Ubervilles’ I nearly tossed it into the fire. I was angry: with Tess, with Alex, with Angel, and with all the Victorian moral hypocrisy this novel explores. Good riddance to it. And good literature should move a reader, so this is a success.
I began reading Tess knowing it was on one of those great pieces of literature taught in university courses everywhere. How had I completed my major requirements in English literature and never read it? Well, never mind, now it was time.
Spoiler alert, I will reveal plot elements, as so much of my dislike of this novel is plot related.
I knew it was a story of a woman (Tess) who is taken advantage of (By Alex), it surprised me how early in the book that happens. And that she had a child. I think having the child die is a weak plot device to clear the field for act 2 (Angel Clare). But so far I enjoyed the novel, especially Thomas Hardy’s language. It is inspiring.
But the social structures are stifling. My biggest knock against George Eliot is the fatalism her characters embrace. I suppose Hardy’s book makes me better understand that fatalism.
A good book requires a certain ‘suspension of disbelief’, the reader immerses into the narrative and let’s the author’s world envelope them. They act and react to the narrative as if it were real, feeling the emotions, thoughts and feelings with the main characters. This is one joy of reading great literature.
But at about two-thirds through Tess I lost my disbelief. There are just too many author constructed coincidences to be believable. I am surprised Hardy’s editor didn’t point out the improbabilities piled on top of improbabilities. Or maybe he did. Regardless, the last third of the book is weak.
But it still moves the reader. I so wanted Tess, the woman, to succeed in some way, some form. The frustrations mount and it gets harder to read on.
It is a great book, and everyone should read it. But only once. I cannot see reading it again.