Joan Durbeyfield
>
Tess Durbeyfield
Quote 4
"And yet th'st not got him to marry 'ee!" reiterated her mother. "Any woman would have done it but you!" (12.76)
Tess comes home having been raped by Alec, but without having married him. This totally overturns Mrs. Durbeyfield's views of sex and marriage. Yes, marriage is generally supposed to happen first, but on the occasions when sex happens first, marriage is sure to follow – or so Mrs. Durbeyfield had persuaded herself.