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TESS OF THE D’URBERVILLES 

by Thomas Hardy

 A SYMBOLISTICAL APPROACH 

“Why s ! !ha! a "oma# $a# s%% &rom a ds!a#$%

"ha! a ma# $a##o! s%% $'os%()Thomas Hardy

Along with Dickens’ B'%a* Ho+s% and Elliot’s M'' o# !h% F'oss, Thomas Hardy’s T%ss o& 

!h% d’Urb%r-''%s is one of many works which requires detailed analysis not only of the actions

its characters did but also of the society they lived in, which made them do those actions. n

other words, things are not what they always seem to be, and in the case of T%ss o& !h%

d’Urb%r-''%s, most of them are quite the o!!osite of view held by the surroundings.

There is an e"tensively large net of symbolism o!erating throughout the work and this is

e"actly what foreshadows Tess’ misfortune even before she is aware of it. This essay will focus

u!on untangling various symbols and, later on, it will brush !utting the case of the life of Tess of 

the d’#rbervilles in clearer conte"t by e"!laining why it was com!letely unnecessary for her to

end u! the way she did.

$irst, on the very beginning of the novel, we see Tess en%oying the &ay Day festivities

with the other girls where she is wearing a "h!% dress with a r%d rbbo# in her hair ' (the only

one of the white com!any who could boast of such a !ronounced adornment). n the first

instance, there is nothing that makes her different from either of them* however, if we take a

closer look, we will see that she is the only girl with r%d rbbo# # h%r har . The har rbbo# s

r%d  on !ur!ose+ !h% r%d $o'o+r  signifies many things and some of those that Tess certainly has

 beauty, courage and !assion, while "h!% is usually associated with !urity and chastity. hat is

even more im!ortant, these colours make the distinction between !urity and se"uality and Tess-s

dual nature.

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8econd, when her horse 3rince dies, she feels guilty about it, even though we are not told

if there is any good reason for her to feel guilty and what is it. The death of the family horse,

3rince, is the trigger for most of the tragedy to come. hilst Tess’s fate is to some degree the

result of her !arents’ !ride and ambition, she resists their urging until this !oint. ith 3rince

dead, she feels she has !ersonally ruined the family economically and must make amends for her 

negligence.

Here, Hardy mentions b'ood , which foreshadows her loss of virginity+

( I# h%r d%s.ar T%ss s.ra#/ &or"ard a#d .+! h%r ha#d +.o# !h% ho'%, "!h !h%

o#'y r%s+'! !ha! sh% b%$am% s.'ash%d &rom &a$% !o s*r! "!h !h% $rmso# dro.s0

Th%# sh% s!ood h%'.'%ss'y 'oo*#/ o#1)

The $o'o+r o& r%d , in this conte"t, stands for the loss of her moral virtue, as foreshadowing a sin

that was soon to ha!!en to !oor young Tess. 9ust like 3rince’s death, we do not consider it to be

her fault, which is a !osition o!!osed to the one society shared at the time Tess lived. n other 

words, the belief held in those times was that she was a sinner, no matter how did it all occur, for 

she lost her !ureness, unlike the view from which the situation is observed today, which

 !erceives Tess rather as a victim.

Third, there is something in &rs. d’#rbervilles’ brds that makes us think of freedom

and life without any restrictions. These brds  are treated almost like babies, taken care of 

regularly, Tess even had to whistle to them and they were allowed to fly freely. However, this

freedom of theirs meant more work for Tess, since they were constantly leaving white s!ots on

the u!holstery, which is where the actual message is hidden. To !ut it clearer, this means that one

man’s fortune is another man’s misfortune* one man’s freedom is another man’s im!risonment.

At S!o#%h%#/%, we can see a number of the key themes and ideas of the novel come to

a head. Tess achieves a sense of tranquility when she lies down on the stones of an ancient(heathen tem!le). Throughout the novel, Tess has been connoted with !agan and heathen ideas.

The conflict between :hristianity and !agan beliefs is constant in the novel. At the novel’s

conclusion, Tess seems to release her :hristianity ;es!ecially when Angel cannot confirm her 

question, (Tell me now, Angel, do you think we shall meet again after we are dead<)= and it is

fitting that she does so at a !agan tem!le.

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The symbolism hiding behind the scenes mentioned above is merely !roviding tiny

insight in the novel, which is rather com!le" and is full of the things one cannot com!rehend

without having all the necessary information about the !eriod in which it was written and first

 !ublished. This further means that there are many themes yet to be discussed and many scenes to

 be read (between) the lines.

$inally, the only thing left to be mentioned in the essay is why Tess had to end u! the

way she did. The answer is a rather sim!le one, if observed from the !ers!ective we share in

modern times+ she was a fallen woman, so sh% had !o .ay &or h%r s#s ;in most cases the woman

dies=. 9ust like &aggie ;eorge Eliot-s  M'' o# !h% F'oss=, who went against the system

dominated by men, Tess was different than all other women for she did not fit in the established

 !attern* unlike men, women were those who su!!osed to be moral and if they were not, they had

to !ay, sim!le enough.

n conclusion, %ust as almost any other literary work, T%ss o& !h% d’Urb%r-''%s cannot

 be understood %ust by reading su!erficially and there are many instances that has to be read twice

in order to gras! the idea coming out of the written word. The fact that symbolism and irony are

 !resent all throughout the work makes it even more interesting.

After all, a literary work is su!!osed to invoke our attention and dee!er interest in it, urging us to

use our imagination and that is e"actly what Hardy does in T%ss o& !h% d’Urb%r-''%s0

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6 Hardy, Thomas T%ss d2Urb%r-''%, Ed. :orint, ?ucures ti, >Bș

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