Summary: Chapter XXXV
Angel is distraught by Tess’s confession. He begs her
to deny it, but she cannot. He flees the house, and Tess follows
after him. For hours, they walk the grounds of the mansion. Tess
tells her husband that she will do anything he asks and even offers
to drown herself. Angel orders her to go back to the house. When
he returns, Tess is asleep. After an uncomfortable moment looking
at the d’Urberville ladies’ portraits, Angel goes to sleep in a
different room.
Summary: Chapter XXXVI
Three miserable days go by, during which Angel spends
his time at the mill or with his studies. Tess wonders if they should
get a divorce, but she learns that the law does not allow divorces.
Finally, Tess offers to go home, and Angel tells her she should
go.
Summary: Chapter XXXVII
Clare came close, and bent over her.
“Dead, dead, dead!” he murmured.
(See Important Quotations Explained)
That night, Tess wakes up and discovers that Angel is
sleepwalking. He stumbles into Tess’s room and seizes her in his
arms. Moaning that his wife is dead, he carries her over a narrow
bridge and into the churchyard, where he lays her in a coffin. Tess
carefully leads Angel back into the house, and in the morning he
shows no recollection of the event.
The couple makes a brief stop at the dairy on their way
to Marlott. They behave awkwardly together in public. Angel leaves
Tess near her village, telling her that he will try to accept her
past, but that she should not try to come to him until he comes
for her.
Summary: Chapter XXXVIII
Tess returns home dolefully and confesses to her mother
what has happened. Mrs. Durbeyfield calls her a fool, and Mr. Durbeyfield finds
it hard to believe Tess is even married. Tess is miserable at home,
and when a letter arrives from Angel informing Tess that he has
begun looking for a farm in the north, Tess seizes the excuse to leave
and tells her family that she is going to join her husband. She gives
them half of the fifty pounds Angel gave her and leaves her home.
Summary: Chapter XXXIX
Three weeks after their marriage, Angel visits his parents
and tells them he is traveling to Brazil and not taking Tess. His
parents are alarmed and disappointed, but Angel tells them they
will meet Tess in a year, when he returns.
