Tess quotes Flashcards

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1
Q

‘Mobile peony mouth’

A

Emphasises Tess’s purity as a character - ‘mobile’ = docile; ‘peony’ = flower = delicate. However, the focus on her mouth (associated with sexuality) suggests that people perceive her to also be sexual (contradiction) - The focus on her beauty, passivity and sexuality are characteristics that lead to her tragic journey in the novel.

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2
Q

‘blue narcotic haze’

A

Blue = associated with innocence (especially baby blue); ‘narcotic’ = continues the theme of Tess’s passivity as a character and how she is taken advantage of by the men in her life; ‘haze’ = dream-like - links to passivity - may foreshadow her rape

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3
Q

‘She obeyed, like one in a dream’

A

Obeyed = passivity; simile = emphasises her passivity to make the contemporary reader believe that Tess is innocent in her demise; she has been taken advantage of; could also be read as her naivety being the cause of her downfall BUT it can also come off as victim-blaming

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4
Q

‘Passed the Sixth Standard in the National School’ The Maiden

A

Sets Tess apart from her working-class peers and family - may have used this to emphasise Tess’s noble blood and the conflict between her w/c identity and being different to others - this otherness may lead to her downfall since she does not conform neatly into societal categories of class or sexuality

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5
Q

‘Light of a murderess’ - The Maiden

A

Tess’s morality - believes herself responsible for Prince’s death; might link to her ancestry (Mark Asquith) BUT Hardy emphasises Tess’s critical view of herself to critique Victorian society for blaming women for what men have done

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6
Q

‘Figure of Guilt intruding into the haunts of innocence’

A

Tess is her worst self-critic - shows the affects on a highly patriarchal and judgemental society on a woman. Personification of guilt = she believes that she has committed the worst sin and is not innocent; ‘haunts’ = ghostly - almost as if innocence is beyond her reach because she is no longer ‘pure’ BUT it could also suggest how the idea of innocence haunts her because of Victorian society

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7
Q

‘Her hopes mingled with the sunshine in an ideal photosphere’ - The Rally

A

Pathetic fallacy = seasons reflecting Tess’s emotions - suggests that there is hope for Tess to move on BUT because the weather is changeable, it could be Hardy suggesting that this state will not last long. Talbothays = Garden of Eden and Eve got her and Adam kicked out

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8
Q

‘Two ardent hearts against one poor little conscience’ - The Consequence

A

Hearts = Tess’s = meant to highlight the internal conflict within herself - be selfish and happy or be selfless and be in pain because she does not want to ruin Angel’s reputation? Shows that she really cares for Angel = mutual desire

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9
Q

‘he was so godlike in her eyes’ - The Consequence

A

Idealisation of Angel ‘godlike’ = perfect; immortal; infallible = he could do no wrong; might stem from him being the one person in her life that has not used her or mistreated her (at this point); could also stem from her viewing herself as imperfect that she puts him on a pedestal

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10
Q

‘Was she not truly Mrs Alexander D’Urberville?’ -The Consequence

A

Context = sex was only meant for marriage, so Tess believes that because she was raped that her body belongs to him now; exemplifies guilt and the influence of Victorian society

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11
Q

‘Her nature cried for his tutelary guidance’ - The Consequence

A

‘Her nature’ - emphasise her strong feelings for Angel but also her passivity and innocence as a character - power imbalance within the relationship

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12
Q

‘Long pointed features, narrow eye and smirk’ - The Consequence

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Meant to look evil and mischievous - links to Tess’s fate as a character being linked with her despicable ancestors - her tragic fate was predestined (spirituality) and perhaps Darwinism - inheriting traits from ancestors, BUT Tess isn’t duplicitous or conniving - Hardy critiquing fate?

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13
Q

‘I will obey you like a wretched slave’ - The Woman Pays

A

Recurring word - Tess’s passivity; simile - will rid herself of agency and autonomy as a person to please Angel; shows how guilty she feels

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14
Q

‘She took everything as her just deserts and hardly opened her mouth’ - The Woman Pays

A

Tess’s fatal flaw - her passivity. Low sense of self-esteem due to her being very moral, responsible and selfless, BUT her reluctance to hold Angel to account highlights a structural issue in Victorian society - men not being held to account

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15
Q

‘Several pheasants (…) their rich plummage dabbled with blood’

A

Metaphor for Tess? Tess is repeatedly compared to a bird since she is trapped within a repressive society; ‘dabbled with blood’ - innocent blood caused at the hands of men - anti-pastoral picture - Hardy critiquing of industrialisation harming the environment and women being punished too harshly

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16
Q

‘Mercilessly nipped off her eyebrows’ - The Woman Pays

A

Eyebrows = part of her beauty - shows her unhealthy devotion to Angel; eyebrows are meant to protect eyes from dirt - shows how vulnerable she is and is willing to be to prove herself to Angel

17
Q

‘The whole field was in colour a desolate drab’ ‘Complexion without features’ - The Woman Pays

A

Pathetic fallacy = Tess’s lack of identity due to Angel not being there; also the height of her suffering at the hands of a man (Victorian societal standards)

18
Q

‘Wives are unhappy sometimes; from no fault of their husbands - from their own’ - The Woman Pays

A

Blaming herself for her suffering - refusing to hold Angel to account - Victorian influence

19
Q

‘I only like to have them (beauty) because they belong to you’ - The Woman Pays

A

Tess’s first letter to Angel - lack of identity without her husband

20
Q

‘Take your fill of pleasure on earth (…) bitter and black with sorrow’ - The Convert

A

Tess standing up to Alec - growth - understands that he is at fault of her suffering; calling out the hypocrisy of the Christian church.

21
Q

‘all injustice I have received at your hands - T’ The Convert

A

Tess standing up to Angel -BUT she only realised this through Alec (who has questionable motive) and not herself - still dependent on men for her thoughts and values

22
Q

‘He had divined her chief anxiety’ - The Convert

A

The ‘chief anxiety’ is her family, who had been recently made homeless; shows how moral and responsible she is but also is vulnerable to manipulation

23
Q

‘Made me a victim, a caged bird!’ - Fulfilment

A

Tess dominates the speech in the page whereas the reader does not hear what Alec says - Tess’s radical act of standing up for herself and holding him to account again. Bird metaphor = Tess; was trapped by Alec and not free

24
Q

‘He was still her Antinous, her Apollo even’ Fulfilment

A

Antinous - young lover of Roman emperor Hadrian and was deified after his death; benevolent deity who cured people of their ailments and is associated with the Celtic sun god Belenons (god of fire - sun, healing and prophecy_

Apollo - Greek god of sun, prophecy and healing

Could suggest that Angel = perfect and represents her future

25
Q

‘I am ready’ - Fulfilment

A

Tess’s final words - tragic fate that she has accepted - dying happily; Hardy commenting on how fallen women will eventually be punished in society and how innocent women are punished for not adhering to the strict standards of Victorian society

26
Q

‘“Justice” was done, and the President of the Immortals (in the Aeschylean phrase) had ended his sport with Tess’ - Fulflillment

A

Justice being in quotation marks creates a sarcastic tone - Hardy is obviously critiquing Victorian societal standards for harming innocent women. Aeschylus was a Greek tragedian (which links to the tragic elements to Tess) - but also link to how Tess was destined to suffer perhaps because of her family; she was a pawn in Victorian society and her ancestors

27
Q

Liza-Lu = ‘all the best of me, without the bad’

A

Innocence; societal views on purity