Tess of the d’Urbervilles · Chapter
LV explained
Angel Clare arrives in Sandbourne, a fashionable seaside town, searching for Tess.
What happens
Angel Clare arrives in Sandbourne, a fashionable seaside town, searching for Tess. He finds her living at The Herons under the name Mrs. d'Urberville, but their reunion is tragic: Tess reveals that Alec has won her back, believing Angel would never return. She begs Angel to leave, and he departs in despair.
Themes in this chapter
Fate and Inevitability
Tess's tragic reunion with Angel underscores the inescapable consequences of past events, as she feels compelled to stay with Alec despite her love for Angel.
Suffering and Resilience
Tess endures immense emotional pain, having given up hope of Angel's return and resigned herself to Alec's control.
Characters to notice
- Angel Clare
Returns to England and seeks Tess in Sandbourne, only to find she has reunited with Alec.
- Tess Durbeyfield
Living as Mrs. d'Urberville at The Herons; she confesses to Angel that Alec has won her back.
- Alec d'Urberville
Mentioned as being upstairs; he has persuaded Tess that Angel would never return.
Key passages
“It is too late, too late! she said, waving her hand in the impatience of a person whose tortures cause every instant to seem an hour.”
Tess insists that Angel's return has come too late, her agony making each moment feel endless.
Tess's despair at the irreversible situation.
“He has won me back to him.”
Alec has successfully persuaded Tess to return to him.
Tess reveals her renewed relationship with Alec.
“his original Tess had spiritually ceased to recognize the body before him as hers—allowing it to drift, like a corpse upon the current, in a direction dissociated from its living will.”
Angel feels that the real Tess has detached herself from her physical form, which now moves without her true will.
Angel's perception of Tess's spiritual disconnection.