Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Ratings164
Average rating3.7
Loved it. It depicts place of a woman in a patriarchal society. Her exploitation by men and defame. It' s always the case that women are hated and taken more liable to punishments of society while men for same ethical crimes are held as ideal.
I was constantly torn between being infuriated at everything poor Tess has to endure and enjoying the beautiful writing. Thomas Hardy has such a unique way of immersing the reader in the landscapes he describes. It's as if the characters emotions are echoed in their surroundings.
The ending was very unexpected and therefore emotionally impactful. I'm only subtracting one star because the book did drag a bit at times.
such an infuriating book. It's a book about men just treating this poor woman so badly and she is just a shell of herself by the end of it.
I want to actually fight every single man in this book. The whole time i felt like screaming “LEAVE TESS ALONE” and yet men keep coming back to abuse her even after they say “i never want to see you again tess”
Tess just never caught a break and i wanted to give her a hug the whole time.
It would be a 3 star read but the ending gave me a sour taste in my mouth.. ruined the whole story.
“A strong woman who recklessly throws away her strength, she is worse than a weak woman who has never had any strength to throw away.”
Kudos to Thomas Hardy for writing a book that depicts valid criticism of society's hypocrisy and injustice toward women in his time. Although, there are some things I couldn't wrap my head around, especially some of the heroine's choices. However, it is a melodramatic story where tragedy is destined to strike the heroine's life no matter her choices and I couldn't help but be drawn to her story.
“Why have you treated me so monstrously, Angel! I do not deserve it. I have thought it all over carefully, and I can never, never forgive you!”
It is quite depressing which was hard to get through at times, and the ending left me hollow. but i found beauty in this book somehow.
Powieść, która łamie serce i wywołuje złość. Nie byłam na nią psychicznie przygotowana (ale czy w ogóle da się na nią przygotować?)
For a book published in 1891 I actually found it to be quite spicy (compared to something like Pride and Prejudice). It makes commentary on the double standard when it comes to a woman having to be “pure” while men get to go and sow their wild oats, which I was surprised by and thought was quite progressive (for its time) especially considering the book was written by a man. Unfortunately a lot of misfortune befalls the main character Tess so don't go into this if you want a wholesome read.
This is not quite what I expected when I started this book. It has all the comforting quaintness you would expect from a classic romance, but the depth in which Hardy takes you into the characters beings is immense. He writes with such a simplistic depth, that you as the reader don't realize how deep into different elements you have gone until they have already trapped you and all you can do is read on. This is the first Thomas Hardy novel I have read and look forward to reading more of his work.
I didn't give this a 5 stars simply because I think Tess can be less silly to fall into the traps, didn't she? It's gotten me very frustrated to see her being “won” by Alec again and again. It is simply a preventable mess, in my opinion. And surely, we mustn't blame an unsophisticated woman for all faults being laid upon her. But as I said, she could've gone away without undergoing so many troubles especially when she recognised what a man Alec was.
I struggled with the beginning of this book especially with how forceful and persistant Alec is with Tess. His repetitive gaslighting of her was hard to read at times.
I loved the middle of this book. Where she overcomes - to a point - what has happened to her and tries to move on and live her life. Her romance with Angel - while again seemingly forced on behalf of Angel - was lovelier to read than Alec???s determined ownership of Tess.
The ending? I was not expecting that at all. Although - in hindsight - it was almost inevitable. With the mental abuse Alec puts her through Tess was bound to snap eventually. The ending moved me to tears and the final paragraph will stay with me for a long time.
I was very surprised to find a few tears in my eyes through some parts of this book. Tess is such a complicated character she seems to take on the victim role but I don't actually find her weak. I thought she was very strong and resilient.
I understand this novel's value in literary history. As an enjoyable read, however, it failed.
It has taken me about one and a half year to read this one. I did like it when I was reading, but never longed to pick it up when I wasn't.
It's a very sad book, Tess has few joys in her life. I was surprised at the end, I didn't see what happened to Alec coming.
‰ЫПThe sun, on account of the mist, had a curious sentient, personal look, demanding the masculine pronoun for its adequate expression. His present aspect, coupled with the lack of all human forms in the scene, explained the old-time heliolateries in a moment. One could feel that a saner religion had never prevailed under the sky. The luminary was golden-haired, beaming-faced, mild-eyed, God-like creature, gazing down in the vigour and intentness of youth upon an earth that was brimming with interest for him.‰Ыќ
‰ЫПThe past was past; whatever it had been it was no more at hand. Whatever its consequences, time would close over them; they would all in a few years be as if they had never been, and she herself grassed down and forgotten. Meanwhile the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings had not darkened because of her grief, nor sickened because of her pain.‰Ыќ