Phase the Seventh — Fulfillment
Chapter 53
When Angel finally returns to his parental home, it’s clear to see that he has undergone great physical hardship. “You could see the skeleton behind the man, and almost the ghost behind the skeleton.”
And his state of mind is far different from what it was when he departed. He has come to realize that he has treated Tess unfairly — “and he had asked himself why he had not judged Tess constructively rather than biographically, by the will rather than by the deed?” The desperate letters from Tess confirm him in this view.
And yet, ever the indecisive character, lacking the courage of his own convictions, still he hesitates, waiting for another letter from Joan Durbeyfield rather than rushing off to find Tess. Only when he reads the letter from the two “Well-wishers” warning of an enemy who threatens Tess, does he finally decide to seek her out — revealing that he is still unconvinced of his wife’s honesty; he needs corroboration from outside sources. This is a man that no wife can depend upon.
Chapter 54
Angel embarks on a search for Tess, becoming increasingly distraught, finding that little is known about her in any of the placed she had supposedly stayed. Learning that she had not only refused to appeal to his parents for help but had avoided using her married name makes him understand that she was ashamed to let her abandonment be known. He finally convinces Joan Durbeyfield to reveal Tess's whereabouts but it's becoming ever clearer that he has come to his senses too late.
Chapter 55
And now at last, Angel must confront his own folly. The warning of the “Well-wishers” were correct. The “Enemy” has struck. Unlike Angel, Alec is a man of action and he has claimed Tess for his own. It’s impossible to feel any sympathy for Angel. And far from helping Tess, his tardy return has only succeeded in further breaking her heart as she too realizes that it’s too late to save her. Having succumbed again to Alec, she cannot even retain her self-respect, knowing that she has been betrayed again by both men, each in his own way.
Chapter 56
The final climax of the story has been reached! Tess has reached her breaking point, her doom is sealed.
In retrospect, it becomes clear that from the day that Tess first encountered Alec D’Urberville, her fate has been tied to his; she could never escape him, he kept turning up in her life again and again and there would have to be a final day of reckoning, when they would probably destroy each other. Hardy’s conception of a relentless fate has won out.
Even though this sudden turn of events may seem overly melodramatic, it is actually quite in keeping with the rest of the story. Hardy had already given us a signal, when Tess struck Alec with her heavy glove back in Chapter 47, that Tess might become violent if pressed beyond endurance.
Chapter 57
As has always been the case with Angel, unable to come to any decisive action, he simply leaves the scene after his confrontation with Tess. He travels aimlessly until he notices that Tess has followed him after all and is running to catch up. When faced with the horror of what Tess has done, he has difficulty comprehending the implications, although his instincts are (again) to flee, this time taking Tess with him.
Angel has vague ideas about secretly leaving the country, seeking some kind of foreign refuge. But he has no plan, he’s unable to think clearly and it’s Tess who truly understands the hopelessness of their situation. She know that she will be caught, tried and executed for murder and she turns to the only action that she believes can salvage anything positive out of the situation: she entreats Angel to look after her sister, marry her after Tess is gone. A final act of compassion and unselfishness.
Chapter 58
As the days pass, Angel and Tess, united at last, finally manage to steal a brief interlude of relative peace and shared happiness together. But we know this is only a few stolen hours; reality is marching inexorably toward them and their love has an aura of unreality about it. If they had ever had any real opportunity to exit the country, they would have had to do so immediately, before the hue and cry could catch up with them. Tess understands this instinctively, she is a realist; Angel cannot bring himself to acknowledge the truth, because if he did so, he would have been compelled to take action and that he cannot do.
They move on but they do not get very far. When their pursuers arrive, Tess surrenders immediately. She cares only that she will not live to see Angel despise her.
I’m intrigued at Hardy’s choice of a setting for their final moments together: Stonehenge, a place of drama, mystery — and perhaps, fateful or dramatic events. The prehistoric aspect of the site might be symbolic of an ancient destiny, tied to Tess’s long gone forebears that has finally caught up with her. Perhaps the cosmic significance that is attributed to Stonehenge, its relationship with the sun and to ancient ritual, is meant to suggest the finality, the inevitability of Tess’s fate.
I’m told that some people visiting Stonehenge nowadays are struck with a feeling of time having stopped while they survey it. And a few individuals who are perhaps more attuned to receiving signals of intelligence from afar — such as researcher Lynne Kelly recounts in her astonishing book “The Memory Code” — believe they sense the presence of ancient voices.
Chapter 59
The final chapter is in effect a very brief epilogue.
Angel has perhaps kept his final promise to Tess, but even that is uncertain, given Angel’s weak character.
The mood is somber, the two remaining characters, Angel and Liza-Lu appear almost like stick figures who are observed from a distance. We are not told what is passing through their minds as they observe the raising of a black flag signifying the death of Tess.
Liza-Lu is a pale reflection of Tess, resembling her somewhat in appearance but entirely lacking in her spirit. We sense that Angel’s relationship with her will be very different from that with Tess because the passion, the contest of wills — and above all the workings of a malevolent fate — are entirely absent here.
In the immortal words of Tonio in I Paliacci "La comedia e finita!"
Final thoughts concerning the narrative:
When reading any novel, there is much insight to be gained by examining the shape of the narrative arch. It strikes me that the story arch of Tess is a downward spiral, where each attempt at regaining altitude (i.e. hope or even respite) is immediately followed by another reversal as the protagonist descends into loss and despair. This downward spiral reminds me of that of Rashkolnikov in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment.
Tess's downward spiral begins when her parents pack her off to their supposedly rich kinfolk; there's a halfhearted hope of better times ahead but Tess soon becomes disillusioned and falls victim to the lecherous Alec.
She attempts to regain her former status at home but soon her infant son dies.
She gains a period of calm and relief as a dairymaid and is wooed by Angel, but this ends with their disastrous wedding night and Angel's abandonment of Tess.
In desperation, Tess embarks on a journey in hopes of obtaining help from Angel's parents but that too ends in failure and deeper disillusionment. Tess falls into a period of drudgery, only to have things made worse by the tantalizing re-appearance of Alec.
Tess's confrontation with Angel, too late to save her, brings her to the final breaking point. Seeing no other way out, she murders Alec, thereby sealing her fate. Her hanging is the only possible outcome.
Further thoughts concerning Hardy's fatalism:
In this, as in all of Hardy's novels, fate is made manifest in people's actions, i.e. each character's own choices and the impact upon them of actions taken by others. The actions taken by Tess's parents, by Alec and by Angel have dire consequences for Tess. Further, Tess makes some decisions that determine her fate in large measure.
The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus stated that "A person's character is his fate." In other words, our destiny is etched or engraved upon us by our thoughts and choices, not by some mysterious, omnipotent outside agency. While external forces and the seeming randomness of events do impact our lives, each of us helps the process along by the actions we take. Our freedom of choice may be limited or not easily perceived but some choices do exist. The choices each of us make will be largely determined by our character and state of mind.
It was not in Tess's nature to rebel against those who mistreated her, nor did her upbringing prepare her for what she would face. It could be said that she fell victim to the neglect, prejudice and malfeasance of others; but that does not imply any sort of predestination.
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