Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Purity

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When Tess of the d'Urbervilles was first published in 1891, there was a huge debate about whether Hardy should have described Tess as pure. According to conventional Victorian morality (based on the teachings of the church) no one who had engaged in pre-marital sex could be described as ‘pure'. Rather they were to be seen as ‘fallen' into sexual sin – mistresses and prostitutes were commonly described as ‘fallen women' and shunned by polite society (although their male partners were not!). At the beginning of the twenty-first century, readers are more likely to be troubled by Tess's murder of Alec, rather than her sexual experiences. It would seem an act of gratuitous violence. Why could she not just walk out on him? Only by reading the novel in Hardy's terms, rather than their own, can students appreciate that there is a deeper level on which to discuss the issue, involving intentions, desires and human endurance. This is where the universality of the novel lies. This contextual awareness is also necessary in order to understand Hardy's masculine construction of femininity in general, and female sexuality in particular. Establishing purity Hardy establishes Tess's purity in a number of ways: Omission Hardy does not actually provide the details of the worst things that happen to Tess: Her violation by Alec (Ch 11) The period of living with Alec immediately afterwards (Ch 12) Tess's confession to Angel by letter (Ch 33) Her confession to him face to face (Ch 34) Her arguments against Christianity that help cause Alec to lose his faith How she was persuaded to live with Alec again The act of murdering Alec. It might seem that Hardy was bound by convention not to be explicit, but it is much more probable he used these limitations to exploit ambiguity. This is a much more modern way of writing, forcing the reader to reconstruct events and then
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