Phase the Second "maiden no more" Flashcards
“Maiden no More”
Significant in the idea that Tess has been stripped of her purity - in victorian society, by alec.
“She had learnt that the serpent hisses where the sweet birds sing.”
This line has links to the garden of Eden and Eve. Tess is now a fallen woman, much like Eve who was tricked by the devil disguised as a serpent, Tess has been tricked by Alec.
Also perhaps a euphansim.
“I should be your creature to go on doing that, and I won’t!”
This line demonstrates how Tess is different to other women of the era. Most other women would admit defeat and probably marry Alec for fear of being seen an impure but Tess doesn’t. She’s quite active in her denial of Alec. Perhaps her pride.
“I wish I had never been born - there or anywhere else!”
Tess says this to Alec when he inquires why she’s crying. Tess hasn’t displayed any suicidal thoughts before now and her current wish to have never been born shows how detrimental an affect Alec’s actions have had on her state of mind.
“The words entered Tess with accusatory horror.”
Tess’ encounter with the sign painter after she leaves Alec. It’s the first sign of the brutal resistance she’ll face from society from here on. Hardy brings back religious themes to show how Christianity and society work hand in hand to demolish Tess.
“You ought to have been more careful if you didn’t mean to get him to make you his wife!”
Joan’s reaction to Tess’ rape shows that this is a relatively common thing to happen to women of Tess’ class and she almost immediately begins blaming her. The reaction Joan exhibits shows just how flawed victorian society was.
“She had been made to break a necessary social law, but no law known to the environment in which she fancied herself such an anomaly.”
Hardy’s explicitly critiquing Victorian society and the unfairness of it. Tess is still following her morality but the arbitrary rules of society force her to feel the guilt of another man. To the natural world she has committed no sin.
“She knew what their whispers were about, grew sick at heart, and felt that she could come to church no more.”
- more criticism of both society and religion from Hardy here
- Tess decides to go to Church and when there she becomes ‘sick at heart’ because of the people she catches whispering. Tess will continue to isolate herself from her malicious community. Tess’ pride is hurt by this experience with the villagers and that’s the reason she’s responsible for her own isolation.
‘The baby’s offence against society in coming into the world was forgotten by the girl-mother; her soul’s desire was to continue that offence by preserving the life of her child.”
Hardy again brings up the battle between natural and societal laws. Tess’ child is seen as an ‘offence’ for being born. Despite the illegitimacy of the child, Tess is determined to be a devoted and caring mother, going against societal laws to fight in favour of natural ones. She worries that because the baby hasn’t been baptised, it’ll go to hell when it dies.
“I must not - for liturgical reasons.” the parson
Christianity and The Church are acting as an extension of society in their treatment of Tess. They both condemn her for her supposed ‘sin’ and condemn her illegitimate child. Hardy shows religion to have no warmth or sympathy.
