Tess of The D'Urbervilles Essay
“Almost at a leap Tess thus changed from simple girl to complex woman” – In context of the first phase in the novel, how far do you agree?
From the beginning of the novel, I believe we see the character of Tess as a woman. This is for many reasons, but mostly for that she carries a lot of responsibility for a girl of 16 years old.
Hardy firstly introduces Tess as she takes part in a ‘processional march of two and two round the parish’, joining in with the other ‘country girls’ that all wore matching white gowns. Tess is wearing an outfit that one would perhaps associate with purity and innocence, and the fact that she is described as having ‘large innocent eyes’ suggests this to be true. However, Hardy points out that she is different to all the other women; one thing that makes Tess stand out immediately: the red ribbon in her hair. Hardy decides to focus on this feature in his initial description of her character, particularly pointing out that ‘she was the only one’ who did this. It is interesting that we are introduced to Tess in this way- with the ribbon not only giving the impression that Tess is different to the other ‘country girls’ but also that the colour red is used. The colour in question is very bold and semantically linked to deep emotion, maturity and even danger. It is possible that Hardy chose this very much grown up colour as a slight hint of what was yet to come- but particularly to show, amongst the hoards of other country girls, that Tess was very much a sore thumb. The red colour signifies her maturity in both thought and action in comparison to the others that surround her. It could therefore be argued that from from the beginning, Hardy wanted to depict Tess as a woman.
As the novel continues, we see Tess with a rather significant role both in the household and as part of the family. Hardy introduces this concept as Tess returns home from the dance and upon seeing her mother doing the housework feels ‘a dreadful sting of remorse’.
From the beginning of the novel, I believe we see the character of Tess as a woman. This is for many reasons, but mostly for that she carries a lot of responsibility for a girl of 16 years old.
Hardy firstly introduces Tess as she takes part in a ‘processional march of two and two round the parish’, joining in with the other ‘country girls’ that all wore matching white gowns. Tess is wearing an outfit that one would perhaps associate with purity and innocence, and the fact that she is described as having ‘large innocent eyes’ suggests this to be true. However, Hardy points out that she is different to all the other women; one thing that makes Tess stand out immediately: the red ribbon in her hair. Hardy decides to focus on this feature in his initial description of her character, particularly pointing out that ‘she was the only one’ who did this. It is interesting that we are introduced to Tess in this way- with the ribbon not only giving the impression that Tess is different to the other ‘country girls’ but also that the colour red is used. The colour in question is very bold and semantically linked to deep emotion, maturity and even danger. It is possible that Hardy chose this very much grown up colour as a slight hint of what was yet to come- but particularly to show, amongst the hoards of other country girls, that Tess was very much a sore thumb. The red colour signifies her maturity in both thought and action in comparison to the others that surround her. It could therefore be argued that from from the beginning, Hardy wanted to depict Tess as a woman.
As the novel continues, we see Tess with a rather significant role both in the household and as part of the family. Hardy introduces this concept as Tess returns home from the dance and upon seeing her mother doing the housework feels ‘a dreadful sting of remorse’.