Summary: Chapter XXXI
When Mrs. Durbeyfield receives Tess’s letter, she immediately
writes back advising her daughter not to tell Angel about her past.
Tess luxuriates throughout October, and, when Angel asks her to
finalize the date of their wedding, she again appears reticent,
saying she is reluctant to change things. When Angel announces their
engagement to Mr. Crick in front of the dairymaids, Tess is impressed
by their joyous reaction. She feels that she can finally express
her happiness, but she soon feels unworthy of Angel. Tess decides
that she will finally tell him about her past.
Analysis: Chapters XXV–XXXI
It is obvious that Angel has become very different from
the rest of his family as a result of the time he has spent farming.
His brothers have excelled in the ministry and in intellectual circles,
and Angel feels that he has nothing in common with them anymore.
Overall, Angel’s family is somewhat snobbish. They are quite respectable
in their religious observances, but they seem to lack the ability
to feel and to understand people on an emotional level.
Tess represents many bad things to Mrs. Clare. Angel’s
mother sees in Tess the beginning of the fall of the great Victorian
era of opulence and high society. She does not accept Tess as a
suitable daughter-in-law because she believes that Tess will bring
down the status of the family. The Clares hope that Angel will find
a suitable bride, meaning a highborn, well-bred woman of society.
For them, marriage is not about love, but rather social, financial,
and religious prosperity. The difference between Angel and the rest
of the Clares lies in his progressiveness. He has rejected the clerical
profession because he does not believe in serving the church but,
rather, working on land and supplying food.
Tess’s denial of Angel shows that she is concerned about
what her past may mean to her future. To Angel, her denial seems
to signify that Tess is even more virtuous than he thought. By denying
him not because of a lack of love but, he believes, because of her
lack of social status, her convictions seem almost too pure to him.
In fact, Angel believes that both his family and Tess suffer from
holding onto the belief in a privileged class.
The story of Jack Dollop’s wife makes Tess feel nervous
again about her predicament. As Angel persistently seeks Tess’s
acceptance of marriage, Tess continually seeks an opportunity to
share her past with him. She understands that a woman’s virginity
is regarded as supremely important by most of her society, and that Angel
does not see her as anything but completely pure. Telling Angel
of her family’s d’Urberville lineage is difficult enough for her. He
takes the news well, but she does not gain confidence that her other,
more shameful revelation will be met with the same excitement.
Mrs. Durbeyfield advises Tess against the ethically sound
choice of telling Angel about her past. Mrs. Durbeyfield’s advice,
however, stems from her love and concern for Tess. Like any mother,
Mrs. Durbeyfield does not want anything to interfere with her daughter making
an advantageous marriage. Tess is relieved to receive this advice
from her mother, but she knows deep down that she cannot follow
it. Although Tess’s mother can advise an unethical course of action
in order to preserve her daughter’s happiness, Tess’s conscience
is too strong to live with the secret, and she must free herself of
the burden so that she can live comfortably and morally.
