Phase The Second Flashcards
What is the initial setting of phase the second?
4 months have passed and Tess enters a relationship with Alec following her seduction but blames herself
Where does hardy use the motif of Eden to show how Tess’ experience had been her tutor?
‘The serpent hisses where the sweet birds sing’
What impact does the sign painter’s biblical slogans have on Tess?
‘The words entered Tess with accusatory horror’
Why does hardy show religious conviction to be damaging and how does he?
After hardy lost his own faith in the 1860s he chose to show how religious conviction was damaging and did so via the biblical slogan that made Tess a sinner
Which quote links to Tess’ naivety and how is this tragic?
Alec says, ‘that’s what every woman says’ which links to Tess’ naivety as it clearly shows that Alec has done this before and foreshadows further harm towards Tess
After Tess return’s to tantridge in chapter 13, how does she let her own pride contribute to her suffering?
She feels insecure due to the assumption that people are speaking about her - which drives her away from the church
In chapter 13, how is personification used to show tess’ suffering at the hands of society and her own pride?
‘She looked at herself as a figure of guilt intruding into the haunts of innocence’
How does hardy as the omniscient narrator say that the moral ideals of time need to change at the end of chapter 13?
‘She had been made to break an acceptable social law, but no law known to the environment in which she fancied herself such an anomaly’ - doesn’t think she fits in the the innocence of nature
What are the key events of chapter 14?
Tess gives birth and is harmed by her job yet has no choice due to her being a provider. She wishes death on both her and her child yet before it dies, feels the urge to baptise it in order to not be judged in society
What key quote in chapter 14 shows Tess’ depressed state due to her own flaws and her illegitimate baby?
‘She wishes the baby and her too were in the churchyard’
What quote in chapter 14 underpins society as a driving force for Tess’ suffering due to her baby
‘The baby’s offence against society’ - this refers to the offence that victorians take
What is a key quote by Hardy, voicing his opinion against Victorian society’s view on bastardy?
‘So passed away sorrow the undesired’ - says it wasn’t Tess fault, therefore opposes society’s view
Which quote shows Tess’ transition from childhood to womanhood and marks the beginning of her recovery?
‘Tess thus changed from simple girl to complex woman’
What key quote shows Alec’s ownership over Tess, linking to phase the 1st?
‘See how you’ve mastered me’
How is sympathy created for Alec and Angel?
The idea that they are indoctrinated into their thinking does help us to understand they aren’t independently minded, meaning we shouldn’t judge them as harshly
What does the painter’s slogan ‘THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT’ show whilst Alec is preaching?
It acts as a metaphorical moral boundary and foreshadows Tess’ later difficulties and experiences. It also suggests society’s inflexible sense of religious morality
Why is Tess’ relationship with Angel more morally defensible?
The economics of sexual relationship between the classes are made quite explicit, in Alec’s attempts to help her financially as a form of ownership over her
What does the detailed description of the threshing do?
It shows the contrast between the camaraderie of the workers and the harsh conditions, to show that there is no pastoral idyll and the red reaping machine pushes the women and makes Tess bleed
How does Hardy portray Tess?
As a sort of ‘pagan goddess’, a symbol of innocence and nature, to contrast to her individual humanity and personhood
How is Tess linked with nature?
Her movement into adulthood aligns with passing of the seasons
How is hardy controversial in phase the second?
He touches on the issue of bastardy which was an ongoing social question for the victorians. It was even edited out of the graphic edition
