Phase the Seventh "fulfilment" Flashcards
Fulfilment
Phase the Seventh is the final Phase of Tess of the D’Urbervilles. The title of the Phase, ‘Fulfilment’, refers to the fate which Tess has which she has always wanted since her encounter with Alec: death. This Phase is where her wish for death is ‘fulfilled’. However, it may also refer to Alec’s death, as Tess murders him and, although wrong in the eyes of the law, she is ‘fulfilling’ her wish that he should be worse off for what he did to her and she is finally free of him when he is dead, which is something else she always wanted. Alternatively, it may refer to Angel’s return, which Tess was longing for; in this Phase, they finally consummate their marriage and live happily together as a couple, albeit for only a few short days, and this can be argued to be what the title refers to, as a full, happy relationship with Angel is all Tess has wanted since she fell in love with him.
“Mrs D’Urberville?”
This is what the landlady calls Tess when angel asks for her at The Herons. This is significant, as Angel goes on to think that he is glad Tess is passing as a ‘married woman’ despite his absence, but it is ironic as Angel doesn’t know that she is really passing as Alec’s wife, not his own. It shows how Angel is ignorant, particularly of Tess’ life, as he still doesn’t realise why she is in Sandbourne and who with.
I did not think rightly of you - I did not see you as you were!”angel
This is significant, as after seeing Tess he finally realises that he idealised her and ‘did not’ see her ‘rightly’ as what she really was. This is a change in attitude from the way that he blamed Tess after their marriage, showing how it is his own fault for trying to create an idyll with Tess which didn’t represent what was true.
“You have torn my life all to pieces…made me a victim, a caged bird!”
This is from Tess’ speech to Alec where she is describing what has happened with Angel. In her anger and frustration, she tells Alec she has ‘made’ her a ‘victim’ and ‘a caged bird’. This feeds into Hardy’s hunting imagery which frequently surrounds Tess throughout the novel, and the way she describes herself as a ‘victim’ can feed into an argument about Tess’ personal situation: whether she is always a victim or not. This demonstrates how far Alec’s actions have ruined her life, and the deep emotional distress she feels because of this.
The oblong white ceiling, with this scarlet blot in the midst, had the appearance of a gigantic ace of hearts.
- The end of Chapter 56 is a key passage in the novel as it is where Tess murders Alec. The significance of the blood appearing like ‘a gigantic ace of hearts’ through the ceiling is symbolic of how Tess’ murder of Alec was a crime of passion, which she was driven to through the emotional torment which she suffered.
The point of the blade had touched the heart of the victim.
Hardy’s description of the murder is sinister but not melodramatic; it has a gothic feel to it, but it is also a very brief and quick death. Alec’s life is over quickly, and the impact of this event is in the fact that little detail is given. Hardy also chose to include little detail of the murder, such as how Tess isn’t actually described committing it, as this allows the reader to continue having sympathy with Tess, as they don’t see her commit the violent act, so she still has the facade of a ‘pure woman’ despite what she has done.
“I am ready” she said quietly.
This is the final line of Chapter 58, and it is what Tess says when she is being taken away to be hanged for the murder of Alec. She displays a passive acceptance of her fate, showing how she is very fatalistic, and the way she describes herself as ‘ready’ shows how she has been waiting for her death for much of the novel following her encounter in The Chase with Alec. This fits in with the title of the Phase, ‘Fulfilment’. This is also the last time we actually see Tess in the novel.
‘Justice’ was done, and the President of the Immortals…had ended his sport with Tess.
he way Hardy sarcastically says ‘Justice’ is done implies that Tess is a ‘pure woman’ despite her crime, and the suggestion that God has ‘ended his sport with Tess’ echoes the ‘flies on a billiard table’ and the weather being calculated ‘like the moves of a chess player’ at Flintcombe-Ash. There is a sense of fatalism and the Gods playing cruel games with Tess.
