Study Questions & Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. Discuss the
character of Tess. To what extent is she a helpless victim? When
is she strong and when is she weak?
2. Discuss the
role of landscape in the novel. How do descriptions of place match
the development of the story? Does the passing of the seasons play
any symbolic role?
3. Hardy rarely
questions public morality openly in
Tess of the d'Urbervilles.
Nevertheless, the novel has been taken as a powerful critique of
the social principles that were dominant in Tess's time. How does
Hardy achieve this effect? Why might we infer a level of social
criticism beneath Tess's story?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. What is the role of fate in Tess
of the d'Urbervilles? What does Hardy mean by “fate”? To
what extent does Tess's tragedy hinge on improbable coincidence?
2. Throughout Tess's story, a
number of sources are presented as possible moral authorities and
possible guides on which characters might base their moral choices.
What are some of these sources? Which of them, if any, prevails?
3. Discuss the character of Alec.
Is he the villain of the novel? Does he really love Tess? In what
ways does he exemplify the novel's critique of the upper class?
4. Tess's story is full of omens,
and her tragedy is largely prefigured by all the bad omens that
occur throughout her story. What are some of these omens? Are they
an effective device? Do they build suspense, or are they simply
a kind of heavy-handed foreshadowing?
5. Social class and lineage are
powerful forces for determining character in the novel. What role
does Tess's noble lineage play in the depiction of her character?
With regard to noble blood, is it possible that the novel's portrayal
of Tess advances some of the very social stereotypes it otherwise
criticizes?
6. Hardy's style has been praised
as rhythmic and imaginative, and also criticized as clunky and rough-edged.
How is Hardy's style best characterized? What are some of its other characteristics?
