Alec D'Urberville Flashcards
What is the significance of Alec’s name? (3 points)
Alec’s first name, Alexander, suggests the conqueror—as in Alexander the Great—who seizes what he wants regardless of moral propriety
His full last name, Stoke-d’Urberville, symbolizes the split character of his family, whose origins are simpler than their pretensions to grandeur
The first part of his surname conjures associations with fiery energies, as in the stoking of a furnace or the flames of hell
How can Alec be compared to Satan? (4 points)
His devilish associations are evident when he wields a pitchfork while addressing Tess early in the novel, and when he seduces her as the serpent in Genesis seduced Eve
Like Satan, he revels in his bad qualities - he bluntly tells Tess in Chapter 12 :
+ “I suppose I am a bad fellow—a damn bad fellow”
+ “I was born bad, and I have lived bad, and I shall die bad, in all probability.”
Some readers feel Alec is too wicked to be believable, but, like Tess herself, he represents a larger moral principle rather than a real individual man
Like Satan, Alec symbolises the base forces of life that drive a person away from moral perfection and greatness
