In Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, the men in Tess Durbeyfield’s life objectify her, trying to make her into a woman who would benefit themselves. In doing so, they shape Tess into the woman that they want her to be, who commits murder and is put to death. Tess’ father objectifies Tess by trying to use their name and Tess’ looks to “claim kin” with the d’Urbervilles and eventually become rich. Alec d’Urberville, the man whom Tess’ parents expect her to marry, objectifies Tess by taking advantage of her while she sleeps when they get lost in the woods. Angel Clare objectifies Tess by abandoning her when she tells him of her past with Alec, seeing her for her unfortunate past and not her present self. Alec objectifies Tess again when
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When Tess arrives at Trantridge, she finds a blind old woman who rarely leaves her room and a young man by the name of Alec d’Urberville. Alec seems to have intentions of seducing Tess from the very beginning of their relationship. On the ride to Trantridge, Alec drives recklessly and promises Tess to slow down if she kisses him. Tess agrees, but grabs the reins instead. When this happens again, she throws her hat off the cart so that she could get off and walk back. Ultimately, though, Tess decides to get back on the cart because she would be too ashamed to go back to her home (Hardy 68-70). He also offers Tess whistling lessons, which Tess perceives as a way to seduce her yet again (Hardy 75). Alec takes Tess out of a bad situation on the back of his horse and gets lost in the woods, or “The Chase” (Hardy 83-84). When Alec leaves to try to find where they are, Tess falls asleep. When he comes back, he rapes Tess (Hardy 90-91). This is a form of objectification because Alec does not see Tess as a person, but as a way for him to have sexual relations. Tess makes it extremely clear that she does not love Alec through both her actions and her words, such as one of the times she tells him “I don’t love you” (Hardy 86). Alec still does not understand her feelings toward him, because he treats Tess as an object and not a person. Alec has a significant impact on Tess’ …show more content…
Alec meets Tess again when he preaches as a minister, although she tried to avoid him (Hardy 354-359). Alec seems to have had a revelation about the importance of faith (Hardy 360). However, Alec very quickly drops his new career when he reencounters Tess and wants nothing more than a relationship with her (Hardy 384). Meanwhile, Angel lives on a poor farm in Brazil, pondering his mistake of leaving Tess. When he decides to return to her, he arrives too late. Alec has “won” Tess, who decides to live under the name “Mrs. d’Urberville” (Hardy 440-443). Alec objectifies Tess in an almost identical way to that of his former self, despite a change of heart at first glance. Alec demonstrates how much he wants Tess by leaving his occupation as a minister as soon as possible (Hardy 384). This makes his newfound love of faith a farce. However, no matter how many times Tess rejects Alec, he seems to follow her wherever she goes. Tess eventually gives into Alec because of her low self-esteem caused by Angel’s negligence. She does, however, murder Alec when Angel returns (Hardy 449-450). She does so because Hardy wants to emphasize the wrongness of Alec’s objectification. Tess is eventually captured and put to death for her
When Tess arrives at Trantridge, she finds a blind old woman who rarely leaves her room and a young man by the name of Alec d’Urberville. Alec seems to have intentions of seducing Tess from the very beginning of their relationship. On the ride to Trantridge, Alec drives recklessly and promises Tess to slow down if she kisses him. Tess agrees, but grabs the reins instead. When this happens again, she throws her hat off the cart so that she could get off and walk back. Ultimately, though, Tess decides to get back on the cart because she would be too ashamed to go back to her home (Hardy 68-70). He also offers Tess whistling lessons, which Tess perceives as a way to seduce her yet again (Hardy 75). Alec takes Tess out of a bad situation on the back of his horse and gets lost in the woods, or “The Chase” (Hardy 83-84). When Alec leaves to try to find where they are, Tess falls asleep. When he comes back, he rapes Tess (Hardy 90-91). This is a form of objectification because Alec does not see Tess as a person, but as a way for him to have sexual relations. Tess makes it extremely clear that she does not love Alec through both her actions and her words, such as one of the times she tells him “I don’t love you” (Hardy 86). Alec still does not understand her feelings toward him, because he treats Tess as an object and not a person. Alec has a significant impact on Tess’ …show more content…
Alec meets Tess again when he preaches as a minister, although she tried to avoid him (Hardy 354-359). Alec seems to have had a revelation about the importance of faith (Hardy 360). However, Alec very quickly drops his new career when he reencounters Tess and wants nothing more than a relationship with her (Hardy 384). Meanwhile, Angel lives on a poor farm in Brazil, pondering his mistake of leaving Tess. When he decides to return to her, he arrives too late. Alec has “won” Tess, who decides to live under the name “Mrs. d’Urberville” (Hardy 440-443). Alec objectifies Tess in an almost identical way to that of his former self, despite a change of heart at first glance. Alec demonstrates how much he wants Tess by leaving his occupation as a minister as soon as possible (Hardy 384). This makes his newfound love of faith a farce. However, no matter how many times Tess rejects Alec, he seems to follow her wherever she goes. Tess eventually gives into Alec because of her low self-esteem caused by Angel’s negligence. She does, however, murder Alec when Angel returns (Hardy 449-450). She does so because Hardy wants to emphasize the wrongness of Alec’s objectification. Tess is eventually captured and put to death for her