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The Theme Of Tess In Tess Hardy By Thomas Hardy

1356 Words6 Pages

Tess and her family live in the village of Marlott. More specifically, the Durbeyfield’s live in the Vale of Blakemore (also referred to as Blackmoor). (Page 4)
When Parson Tringham greets Tess’s father at the beginning of the story, the clergyman calls him Sir John. Parson calls Tess’s father Sir John because the Parson discovered that the Durbeyfield’s are part of the d’Urberville family when exploring pedigrees for the county history. (Hardy 5). By having the clergyman greet Tess’s father in this way, Hardy introduces one of the main ideas of the novel which is the pursuit of power and wealth as well as the greed and poor morals that result. Once Tess’s father discovers that he is, according to the Parson, related to the d’Urbervilles his attitude immediately changes and he calls for a carriage to take him the rest of the way home (9). John hopes that Tess will be able to find work with the d’Urbervilles and eventually marry a rich man and help her family grow wealthy as well.
Tess and several other young women are dressed in white gowns that are in the “Old Style” (13). The dresses that are in the “Old Style” signify times when May time represented cheerfulness and before “long views” resulted in average emotions (13). Only one girl wears a red ribbon in her hair which symbolizes that most of the girls come from humble backgrounds with few luxuries and possessions.
The girls pass Tess’s father on his way home in a carriage. Tess reacts by defending her father and

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