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How does Hardy present death in Tess of the D'Urbervilles? -- A grade - page 2
Keywords: Thomas Hardy Tess of the D'Urnbervilles death pheasants sorrow jack durbeyfield
By georgie1 on 31/12/2009
Level: A Level (Year 12) / AS Level
Page Number: 2 of 4 pages: 1 2 3 4to particular groups during the Victorian period as it is now, extreme alcoholism provided an escape for the everyday lives of the lower class, despite public drinking being considered anti-social behaviour. Thus we can consider that the harsh difficulties of the Durbeyfield family prove too much for Jack Durbeyfield, and his taste for alcohol symbolises his loss of hope. This leaves Hardy teaching another moral: there are unfortunate endings for those who give up and do not persevere.
In opposition to this idea of death being unexpected and unintentional, Hardy also introduces death as premeditated and murderous. An example of such behaviour is the murder of Alec D’Urberville by Tess, in which she stabs him and leaves him to his death. The anger and hatred towards Alec that Tess has developed throughout the novel is uncontrollably released in this spontaneous act. She shows no remorse for her actions, showing a cruel facet to her personality which has not previously been exposed: “Say you do now [love me]… now that I have killed him!” However, when the Durbeyfield horse, Prince dies, Tess perceives the collision as her own fault and is extremely apologetic and repentant: “she regarded herself in the light of a murderess.” The multiple interpretations of the word “light” could show that she is illuminated or singled out as a murderess, or that the situation is only taken lightly because it is the death of an animal; not of another human. Although it is Tess that becomes tired when she is leading the horse to the market, which causes the crash, there are also others that are involved. Hardy acknowledges that another carriage is involved in the death, signifying his intent to make us question the actual cause of death: “its two noiseless wheels, speeding along these lanes like an arrow”. By being “noiseless”, Tess cannot be blamed for her unawareness. The simile used insinuates that the oncoming carriage was aiming for Tess, as though fired by another to harm Prince. Hardy presents Prince’s death as a lesson to Jack and Joan Durbeyfield for allowing their young daughter to go to market.
Similarly, intentional death is explored at the death of the pheasants at which Tess is present. The intense suffering of the birds is representative of the suffering of Tess at that moment of the novel: “rich plumage dabbled with blood”. Her aristocratic ancestry is symbolized by the description
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