Free Sample Essays > European Literature
Tess of D'Ubervilles
Wessex
The fictionalized region of southwest England in which Hardy set all of his fiction. This region was somewhat backward in the late nineteenth century. Although industrialization had made the north of England and the region around London prosperous and modernized, southwest England was still rural, agricultural, and quite poor. Modern advancements in farming techniques were slow in coming to this region, and the transition to modernity was not easy. Hardy, who grew up and lived in the region, is particularly interested in showing the ways in which Wessex is caught between its old, traditional culture and modernization; little details showing this dilemma appear throughout Tess of the d'Urbervilles and his other works. In some ways Wessex is as much a character in Hardy's work as any of the people he depicts-and indeed, Tess is very much identified, physically and emotionally, with her surroundings in Wessex.
Pure, purity
Purity, both sexual and moral, is an important concept in Tess of the d'Urbervilles. The word is used throughout the narrative with reference to Tess, and the subtitle of the book deems her "A Pure Woman." (Even one of the inns where her father drinks is called "The Pure Drop.") When applied to women in Victorian England, the concept of purity had specific reference to sexual chastity. By this definition, Tess very early on loses the right to be called "pure." The word is nevertheless still applied to her. In this application, there is some degree of Hardy's characteristic irony. But it also means something more. Hardy considers Tess "pure" because, despite her bodily state-that is, her loss of virginity-she is morally pure and innocent, uncorrupted by her hard life. When Hardy wrote this book, he knew that the characterization of a sexually fallen woman as "pure" would shock some readers, and indeed it did, but he thought it was important to show that the loss of virginity did not necessarily thoroughly corrupt a woman's heart and mind.
Dialect
A localized way of speaking a language, distinct from standard usage. The local Wessex dialect is spoken by Tess's family and by the agricultural workers she knows, but Tess uses language closer to standard English. This is because she has been to school, where she has been taught a national standard version of the language. The change in speaking habits of people in Wessex and other areas of Britain was very much a hallmark of increasing modernization. As national schools and standards spread across the country, regional variations began to disappear. (This process is still ongoing, though it has been accelerated by radio and television.) Therefore, Tess's speech patterns are one more indicator of the way in which she is caught between the traditional world in which she was raised and the modern culture she confronts outside her village and home.
Droit de seigneur
An old custom of feudal days, in which lords had the right to demand sexual favors from peasant women bound to their estates. Although Hardy does not discuss the concept directly, this ancient custom [next page]