Summary: Chapter XVI
In good spirits, Tess sets out to begin work at the Talbothays
Dairy, located in the Valley of the Great Dairies. On her way, the
new scenery enchants her as she travels through the mists of Blackmoor.
The beautiful day and the beautiful landscape put Tess in an optimistic mood.
She passes the burial ground of her ancient ancestors, but decides
to keep going.
Summary: Chapter XVII
Tess finally arrives at the Talbothays Dairy. Richard
Crick, the master dairyman, treats her kindly and offers to let
her rest, but she prefers to begin work immediately. She quickly
fits in and feels very much at home. One of the men at the dairy
looks familiar to her, and she recognizes him as the highbrow man
whom she noticed back at the May Day village dance in Marlott. That
evening, Tess overhears the dairymaids talking about him and learns
that he is Angel Clare, the son of a well-respected Wessex clergyman.
Angel’s two brothers have also joined the church, but Angel himself
prefers a life in agriculture and, thus, has come to the dairy to
learn about its work. There is much talk about Angel among the other
dairymaids, and many of them seem to have a crush on him.
Summary: Chapter XVIII
The narrator shifts away from Tess’s point of view to
tell us Angel’s background story. Angel is the most gifted of the
three brothers, but, because his father looked upon a university
education solely as preparation for a clerical life, Angel decided
not to go to Cambridge. He has doubts about the doctrines of the
church and feels that it would be dishonest to join the clergy.
He has spent time in London in an attempt to find a business profession
and has been involved with an older woman. Finally, he decided that
the life of the soil would enable him to preserve his intellectual
liberty outside the stifling conditions of city life. Now twenty-six
years old, he learns firsthand about farming by visiting sites devoted
to the subject. He is gentlemanly and thoughtful and is treated
as a superior by most of the workers at the dairy. Angel acts aloof
and a bit shy at first, but he soon befriends the other workers
and spends more time with them. He swiftly finds himself drawn to
Tess’s beauty and thinks that she seems uncommonly virginal and
pure. Tess, however, tries to stay away from him out of shame for
her secret, woeful past.
Summary: Chapter XIX
After a few weeks, Tess discovers that Angel is breaking
the dairy’s rules by lining up her favorite cows for her. She tells
him of her discovery and, later that night, walks alone in the garden,
listening to him strum his harp. He comes down to join her, and
they have an intimate conversation. Angel finds it compelling that
a girl as young and beautiful as Tess would have such a dark view
of life. She deflects his questions about her with general comments
about life, and then she inquires about him. Tess is interested
in Angel’s education and learning, and she also wonders why such
a well-bred and well-schooled man would choose to become a farmer
instead of joining his father and brothers in the clergy. He offers
to tutor her, but she refuses, claiming that the answers she seeks
are not to be found in books.
Analysis: Chapters XVI–XIX
These chapters portray the beginning of the happiest period
of Tess’s life. The narrator indicates that she “had never been
in her recent life so happy as she was now, possibly never would
be so happy again.” This turn in tone is matched by a healthier
landscape, and she is perfectly suited to her surroundings. Tess’s
simple, rustic beauty is matched by the country paradise of the
dairy, and the ripening weather of summer matches the blossoming
romance between Tess and Angel.
Tess is in control of her emotions and, it appears, of
her life. The setting allows her to deal with her past melancholy,
and these chapters serve as development, on a number of levels,
of Tess’s newfound success: her return to normal life, her achievement
as a worker, and her success as a more virtuous lover. This perspective
is mirrored by the background of Talbothays, a quiet, slow-paced
paradise where Tess can be calm and comfortable.
