Tess, of the film Tess of the D’Urbervilles, begins as
the daughter of a poor peddler and in the first rising action her
family discovers that they may be descendants of an ancient noble
family. Tess is sent to live with a more affluent branch of this
family and is soon raped by Alec, a member of this family. Tess
returns to her family to give birth to his child, which dies soon
after birth and is buried in shame. Tess then takes a job as a
milkmaid before meeting a man named Angel, with whom she falls deeply
in love. They grow close and although she protests at first, because
of her secret, she eventually accepts his marriage proposal. She
attempts to write him a confessional letter, but it slips under his
carpet instead of into his home and Angel never reads it. After the
wedding, Angel tells Tess of an affair he had in London, but when
Tess tries to make her confession, he hardly lets her speak. But when
she does speak, he is stunned, and shows her none of the forgiveness
she gave him. They arrange to go separate ways, he to Brazil. Tess
struggles, even sleeping in the woods at least one night, before
finding work as a farm laborer. Alec d'Urberville tries to convince
her to come live with him and not subject herself to the hard work,
but she refuses at first. Tess's father dies and the family is
evicted; Alec again offers to help and Tess again refuses. Finally,
just after Tess gives in to Alec, a forgiving Angel comes looking for
her. When Angel sees her with Alec he is stunned. Tess, consumed by
emotion, kills Alec and finds Angel. Angel and Tess hide in the
mansion for a few days then travel to Stonehenge. Tess is tired and
hopeless at this point. When Angel wakes in the morning he finds part
of a search party standing near him in the fog, he tries to run but
is informed more are coming. He gently wakes Tess and she knows they
have been caught. As the film draws to a close as they are being led
away.
The story of Tess is one that awakes empathy and compassion in
response to the overwhelming despair Tess experiences. Although the
tone is lighter in this film than in Return of the Native, the
story still carries a dark undertone. Tess of the D’Urbervilles
is a spiritually and morally dark film dealing with adult themes.
