Tess of the d’Urbervilles
In every girl’s life they want to conform to society, but in the book Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, the protagonist, Tess, is anything but what society considers normal. Tess started out as a pure girl from a rural town in England who found herself in a harmful situation with a wicked man. Unfortunately, as with every situation, there comes consequences and Tess’s life revolved around the consequences that arose with all her problems. Hardy wrote this book with many themes inquired into it. The main theme of this story is marriage. The concept of marriage over the years has altered drastically, that is why this theme is so significant to modern day readers. Although marriage during the 1880s and …show more content…
In this book Tess’s mother, Joan Durbeyfield, was infatuated with Tess finding a wealthy man to marry so their family could be taken care of. When Alec d’Urberville came into the picture, Tess’s mother wanted nothing more than Tess to marry him, and she was very disappointed in Tess when she learned that she came back home not a married woman. Joan Durberyfield said in the book “…she ought to make her way with ‘en, if she plays her trump card aright. And if he don’t marry her afore he will after” (Hardy 62). Her mother was saying that if Tess looks pretty than Alec will be sure to love her and if he doesn’t love her before they have sex, he most definitely would love her after. This quote illustrates how desperate Tess’s mother was to have Tess marry Alec d’Urberville. During this period, parents encouraged the person you were going to marry. Angel Clare is the man Tess falls in love with and Angel also loves her dearly, so they get married. Before they were married, Angel’s parents encouraged Angel to marry the pure girl next door, Mercy Chant. When Angel’s parents learned about Tess they compared her to Mercy and were a little hesitant on whether or not to give him their blessing. On the other hand, in today’s society, marriage has a whole different meaning than the time Tess of the d’Urbervilles was …show more content…
People wait years before they get married in order to ensure that they will be marrying the right person for them. Unlike today, during the 1880s two people would meet one day and be married the next day. In this era, the families do not have much say over whom their children will marry. Marriages are less judged than they were during the 1880s because during that time if you married someone out of your social status it would not be considered socially normal and people would look down upon you. Today’s marriages differ from interracial couples to even same sex marriages. In the 1880s, no one thought of those things because doing something different was not the right thing to do. Although these comparisons may be true, there are also many similarities in the marriages that readers can relate
In every girl’s life they want to conform to society, but in the book Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, the protagonist, Tess, is anything but what society considers normal. Tess started out as a pure girl from a rural town in England who found herself in a harmful situation with a wicked man. Unfortunately, as with every situation, there comes consequences and Tess’s life revolved around the consequences that arose with all her problems. Hardy wrote this book with many themes inquired into it. The main theme of this story is marriage. The concept of marriage over the years has altered drastically, that is why this theme is so significant to modern day readers. Although marriage during the 1880s and …show more content…
In this book Tess’s mother, Joan Durbeyfield, was infatuated with Tess finding a wealthy man to marry so their family could be taken care of. When Alec d’Urberville came into the picture, Tess’s mother wanted nothing more than Tess to marry him, and she was very disappointed in Tess when she learned that she came back home not a married woman. Joan Durberyfield said in the book “…she ought to make her way with ‘en, if she plays her trump card aright. And if he don’t marry her afore he will after” (Hardy 62). Her mother was saying that if Tess looks pretty than Alec will be sure to love her and if he doesn’t love her before they have sex, he most definitely would love her after. This quote illustrates how desperate Tess’s mother was to have Tess marry Alec d’Urberville. During this period, parents encouraged the person you were going to marry. Angel Clare is the man Tess falls in love with and Angel also loves her dearly, so they get married. Before they were married, Angel’s parents encouraged Angel to marry the pure girl next door, Mercy Chant. When Angel’s parents learned about Tess they compared her to Mercy and were a little hesitant on whether or not to give him their blessing. On the other hand, in today’s society, marriage has a whole different meaning than the time Tess of the d’Urbervilles was …show more content…
People wait years before they get married in order to ensure that they will be marrying the right person for them. Unlike today, during the 1880s two people would meet one day and be married the next day. In this era, the families do not have much say over whom their children will marry. Marriages are less judged than they were during the 1880s because during that time if you married someone out of your social status it would not be considered socially normal and people would look down upon you. Today’s marriages differ from interracial couples to even same sex marriages. In the 1880s, no one thought of those things because doing something different was not the right thing to do. Although these comparisons may be true, there are also many similarities in the marriages that readers can relate