Tess of the D'Urbervilles

After dinner, Angel speaks with his parents about his future. Angel’s father explains that since he did not spend money on Angel’s education at college, he will provide Angel with an equivalent sum of money to buy land to set up his life as a farmer. Angel hints that, given his career aspirations, it is important for him to find a wife who is knowledgeable about farming and life in the country. His parents don’t dispute this but want Angel to marry a woman who is pious and religious. Angel brings up his feelings for Tess, explaining that she is extremely pure and virtuous and that she can help him with farming. He also explains that while Tess comes from humble origins and a working-class family, she is naturally sensitive and well-bred. As Angel explains, “[S]he is a lady, nevertheless—in feeling and nature” (181).

Angel’s parents remain uncertain about the match, so he drops the topic for the time being. Later, the conversation turns to the work of Angel’s father and his efforts to convert sinful individuals. Angel’s father explains that he has been working with a wealthy and libertine young man named Alec d’Urberville, trying to help him change his ways.

Angel returns to the dairy farm and is more struck by Tess’s beauty than ever. He immediately asks her to marry him and is stunned when Tess refuses. Angel is even more confused when Tess admits that she does love him, telling him, “I would rather be yours than anybody’s in the world” (188). When he presses for an explanation, Tess vaguely says that she is not well-bred enough to marry someone from Angel’s social position. He tells her that he will give her more time to think about his proposal.

Time passes, and Angel persists in trying to persuade Tess to marry him. He is increasingly confused by her refusals and even asks her if she loves someone else, which Tess denies. In September, when Tess rejects him again, Angel complains that she is toying with him like “a coquette of the first urban water! They blow hot and blow cold, just as you do” (194). Tess agrees that in a few days’ time she will tell him why she keeps refusing to marry him. Yet, as this date approaches, Tess admits to herself that she wants to simply marry Angel.

The other workers at the dairy gossip about the collapse of a local marriage wherein a woman misrepresented her financial status. Once her husband found out the truth, he felt betrayed. This story makes Tess uneasy and strengthens her conviction that she must keep refusing Angel. However, as the autumn passes Tess feels increasing desire for him. One day after refusing Angel again, Tess reluctantly agrees to accompany him to deliver some milk to a nearby town.

As they drive through the countryside, Angel points out the ruins of an old house and explains that it was once owned by the d’Urberville family. He reflects that it is sad that ancient families have gone extinct, and Tess impulsively explains that her family descends from the d’Urberville lineage. She says that this is the secret she has been keeping from Angel and that she believed this information would make him unwilling to marry her. Angel is merely amused; he explains that he doesn’t care about her family history and that this background might even assuage his family’s concerns about their marriage. With no excuses left, Tess finally agrees to marry Angel. They are both joyful. Tess tells Angel that she will write to her mother, and Angel realizes that he first saw Tess long ago at the May Day dance.

Tess writes to her mother to announce that she is engaged and asks if she should tell Angel the truth about her past. Joan Durbeyfield advises her that there is no reason to tell Angel the truth, but Tess remains uncertain. However, she ignores these feelings as the autumn passes and she enjoys spending time with Angel. When they tell the other dairy workers that they are engaged, everyone is pleased for them. This kindness from her friends makes Tess even more ashamed that Angel chose her.

Angel suggests that he and Tess set a date for their wedding. He wants to move ahead with setting up his farm and sees the marriage as the first step towards that future. However, Tess panics about actually going ahead with the wedding and tells Angel that she wants things to stay the same. Tess becomes consumed with a need to confess her past to Angel.

The seasons are changing, as are the rhythms of life and work at the dairy. Angel always expected to leave around Christmas, and when he discusses plans with the dairy master, both men agree that this would also be an ideal time for Tess to leave. Tess agrees to marry Angel on December 31, even though she tells him that she wishes “that it would always be summer and autumn, and [him] always courting [her], and always thinking as much of [her] as [he] ha[s] done through this past summer-time” (221). After they marry, they will spend some time at a flour mill so that Angel can learn about mill work. They are going to stay in a nearby farmhouse that was once one of the grand houses owned by the d’Urberville family.

On Christmas Eve, Tess and Angel go shopping in a nearby town. A man from Tess’s hometown recognizes her and makes an insulting comment referencing her sexual impropriety. Angel is outraged and strikes the man, who backs off and claims he made a mistake. After Angel and Tess drive away, the man tells his companion that he was not mistaken but did not want to cause any more conflict.

Angel brushes off the incident, but Tess is shaken and asks if the wedding can be delayed. Angel rejects this suggestion and soothes her. However, late that night, Tess writes a letter in which she tells Angel everything about her past, slipping it under the door to his room. The next morning, he doesn’t reference the letter or treat Tess any differently. She hopes that this means he has read the letter and doesn’t care. However, on the morning of their wedding, she sneaks into his room and looks under the carpet. The letter is there, still unopened; when Tess slid it under the door, it slipped under the carpet, and Angel never found it.

Tess tries to find a moment to tell Angel about everything, but it is a busy day, and he tells her that they can talk once the wedding is over. Racked by doubts, Tess goes ahead and marries Angel, even though she believes that the woman Angel “love[s] is not [her] real self, but one in [her] image; the one [she] might have been” (233).

Tess and Angel drive to the ancient farmhouse where they will be staying; it is isolated and derelict, but the newlyweds are happy to be alone together. A messenger arrives with a delivery from Angel’s father; when Angel was young, his godmother bequeathed some jewelry to his future wife. Tess and Angel are pleased with these jewels, and Tess puts them on. Another messenger delivers some of their possessions from the dairy and explains that chaos immediately broke out after they left. One of the dairymaids tried to drown herself; another was found drunk and wandering outdoors. Tess feels guiltier than ever.

Angel and Tess share their deepest secrets with one another. Angel explains that when he was younger, he had an affair with a woman in London and asks Tess if she can forgive him. Tess readily does and tells him that hearing Angel’s confession makes her feel more confident telling him her own story. Tess then tells Angel about her past with Alec.