Here's the weird thing about Tess and history. For readers today, it's obvious that Tess is not only our protagonist, but also the moral center of the novel—the narrator consistently sympathizes...

Ugh. This little weasel, with his Snidley Whiplash mustache. We hate him so much we almost want to not discuss him... but he's so interesting that we can't stop thinking about him.We discuss Alec b...

Part of the difficulty in interpreting Angel—or Tess, for that matter—is that Hardy's skill at creating the sense of psychological depth and complexity makes it hard to remember that these are...

Joan Durbeyfield might not appear too often, but she's an important character, nonetheless. In terms of the plot, she's the main reason Tess goes to the D'Urbervilles' house at Trantridge in the fi...