# L explained — Tess of the d’Urbervilles

> Chapter companion for Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy.

## What happens

Tess works on the family allotment, struggling with poverty and her father's illness. Alec d'Urberville appears disguised as a laborer, attempting to win her back by offering help for her family. Tess rejects him, but later returns home to find her father has died, leaving the family homeless due to the expiration of their lease.

## Themes in this chapter

### Social Class and Inequality

The Durbeyfields' fall from their d'Urberville ancestry to landless laborers is highlighted by the loss of their lease upon John's death, reflecting the harsh realities of class and property.

### Suffering and Resilience

Tess endures Alec's unwanted advances and the sudden death of her father, yet continues to work and care for her family, demonstrating her resilience.

### Fate and Inevitability

The 'destiny' of the Durbeyfields, once oppressors of the landless, now befalls them, illustrating the cyclical nature of fate and change.

## Character check-ins

### Tess Durbeyfield

Works on the allotment, sings sadly, rejects Alec's advances, and learns of her father's death.

### Alec d'Urberville

Disguises himself as a laborer to approach Tess, tries to tempt her with help, and leaves in anger after being rebuffed.

### Liza-Lu

Works with Tess on the allotment before being sent home; later informs Tess of their father's death.

### Jack Durbeyfield

Dies suddenly from a heart condition, leaving the family without a leaseholder.

### Joan Durbeyfield

Recovering from illness, but her husband's death changes the family's fortunes.

## Key lines

> A jester might say this is just like Paradise. You are Eve, and I am the old Other One come to tempt you in the disguise of an inferior animal.

Alec compares himself to Satan tempting Eve, using Milton's Paradise Lost to frame his pursuit of Tess.

_Alec's allusion to Milton underscores his manipulative and predatory nature, casting Tess as a fallen woman._

> So do flux and reflux—the rhythm of change—alternate and persist in everything under the sky.

The narrator reflects on the cyclical nature of fortune, as the Durbeyfields now suffer the same fate they once imposed on others.

_This philosophical observation ties the family's downfall to a universal pattern of rise and fall._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tess_of_the_d_urbervilles_se/chapters/l
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- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tess_of_the_d_urbervilles_se/chapters