Tess of the d’Urbervilles · Chapter
Chapter II explained
The chapter depicts the annual club-walking procession of village women, including Tess Durbeyfield, who is embarrassed when her father John Durbeyfield rides by in a chaise, drunkenly boasting of his noble ancestry.
What happens
The chapter depicts the annual club-walking procession of village women, including Tess Durbeyfield, who is embarrassed when her father John Durbeyfield rides by in a chaise, drunkenly boasting of his noble ancestry. The women gather for dancing on the green, where three brothers, including Angel Clare, stop to watch. Angel decides to join the dance but does not choose Tess as his partner, though he later regrets it and notices her standing apart, hurt by his oversight.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Inequality
The contrast between the 'superior class' brothers and the village girls highlights class divisions; Tess's noble ancestry does not help her attract a dance partner over the common peasantry.
The Past and Ancestry
John Durbeyfield's drunken boasting about his d'Urberville lineage introduces the theme of ancestry, though it proves useless in Tess's present life.
Characters to notice
- Tess Durbeyfield
A fine and handsome girl with a mobile peony mouth and large innocent eyes; she is embarrassed by her father's drunken behavior and is hurt when Angel Clare does not choose her as a dance partner.
- Angel Clare
The youngest of three brothers on a walking tour; he joins the dance but does not choose Tess, later feeling sorry for his oversight and noticing her standing apart.
- Jack Durbeyfield
Tess's father, seen riding in a chaise from The Pure Drop Inn, drunkenly singing about his noble ancestry and family vault, causing Tess embarrassment.
- Felix Clare
The eldest brother, a curate, who disapproves of dancing with country girls and urges the group to move on.
- Cuthbert Clare
The second brother, an undergraduate, who walks on with Felix while Angel stays to dance.
Key passages
“Pedigree, ancestral skeletons, monumental record, the d'Urberville lineaments, did not help Tess in her life's battle as yet, even to the extent of attracting to her a dancing-partner over the heads of the commonest peasantry. So much for Norman blood unaided by Victorian lucre.”
Tess's noble lineage and family history offered her no advantage in her current struggles, not even helping her secure a dance partner above the ordinary villagers. This shows how little aristocratic blood matters without modern wealth.
Highlights the theme of social class and the irrelevance of ancestry in practical life.
“Tess Durbeyfield at this time of her life was a mere vessel of emotion untinctured by experience.”
At this stage, Tess was purely driven by feelings, untouched by the harsh lessons of life.
Emphasizes Tess's youthful innocence and vulnerability.