Explaination of the text “Alec and Tess”

Line 100: The Chase also contains an idealized landscape of the ancient woods at night with the mist
floating etherally. This is a desired landscape for Alec only, for Tess is threatening.

Line 106: Darkness and silence ruled everywhere. Yes, Nature fails to protect Tess.

Lines 108-110: The flog blurs the characters’ and the readers’ visions , which reflects Hardy’s ambiguity
towards the rape. Hardy never uses this word in the novel. Hardy was asked not to describe such scene
because for Victorian England audience would have been outrageous.

Line 108-110: Hardy makes use of rethorical questions to criticize Christian beliefs : “But one might say..?
Where was Tess’s guardian Angel…? Etc.. “ This foreshadows the tragic irony of Tess meeting her “angel”
Angel Clare, who also fails to protect her from fate.

From line 112 to the end: Es.14 p-269: punto 1:Hardy describes the birds and animals in the wood going on
their business; he asks where Tess's guardian angel was and why she was not protected.
Lines 116-121:punto2: the past affects the present: ...”the sins of the fathers upon the children...” “Tess's
ancestors..” punto 3: In considering Tess's people saying “it was to be” an acceptance of fate.
Punto 4 : Hardy does not make a moral judgement, he does not blame any of the parts, not even Alec. He
says that (line 113) a coarse pattern was printed on her dress, she was simply changed, a chasm divided her
from her previous self.

Line 123: “it (the rape) was meant to be”: Hardy concludes that Tess’s life is controlled by fate. Whatever
she does in her life to improve her poor condition has no positive result because everything in her life is
pre-planned and determined by fate. Fate has decided her rape too.

Line 124: Es.13 p.269: chasm= gap . Tess and Alec belong to two very different social classes and their
relationship is not acceptable to either class. Moreover, only the woman pays the social price of her lost
reputation , so Tess will be a fallen woman. She will no longer be simple and joyful but will have a darker
side to her personality.