Tess of the D'Urbervilles Tess Durbeyfield Quotes

"I'll always be ugly now, because Angel is not here, and I have nobody to take care of me. My husband that is gone away, and never will love me any more; but I love him just the same, and hate all other men, and like to make 'em think scornful o' me!" (42.5)

Angel might have left her, but Tess remains fiercely loyal to him to the point of making herself ugly so that other men won't admire her good looks. Her idea of marriage seems to be that no other men should even look at her if she can help it. But really, her decision to make herself ugly is a practical one – she was getting harassed on the road.

"Why didn't you tell me there was danger? Why didn't you warn me? Ladies know what to guard against, because they read novels that tell them of these tricks; but I never had the chance of discovering in that way, and you did not help me!" (12.81)

What's interesting about Tess's complaint to her mother is what she assumes about the purpose of reading novels. After all, we're reading a novel right now. What does Hardy want us to get out of it? Are we just supposed to learn what "tricks" to "guard against"? Perhaps this passage is partly a defense against those contemporary critics who accused Tess of the D'Urbervilles of being immoral – Hardy seems to suggest that reading novels, even novels with sex parts, is important for women, because too much innocence can be dangerous, like it was for Tess.