Tess of the d’Urbervilles · Chapter
XLII explained
Tess, now traveling alone and in disguise, makes her way to Flintcomb-Ash to find work.
What happens
Tess, now traveling alone and in disguise, makes her way to Flintcomb-Ash to find work. She disfigures her appearance to avoid male attention, reflecting on her sorrow and her enduring love for Angel. She reunites with Marian, who helps her secure a job at a desolate farm, and Tess resolves to live humbly and keep her marriage a secret.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Resilience
Tess endures physical hardship, self-imposed ugliness, and emotional isolation, yet continues forward with fortitude, reflecting on the relativity of sorrows.
Love and Marriage
Tess's unwavering love for Angel persists despite his abandonment; she hides her married status and sacrifices her appearance out of loyalty to him.
Social Class and Inequality
Tess, a gentleman's wife by marriage, is forced to return to the lowest form of field labor, highlighting the precariousness of her social position and the gap between her past and present.
Characters to notice
- Tess Durbeyfield
Tess travels to Flintcomb-Ash, disfigures her face to avoid admiration, and takes up rough field work, hiding her identity as Mrs. Angel Clare.
- Marian
Marian is working at Flintcomb-Ash, now shabbier and given to drink, but she warmly greets Tess and helps her get hired at the farm.
- Angel Clare
Angel is absent, having gone abroad; Tess's thoughts and actions are dominated by her love for him and her grief over their separation.
Key passages
“What a mommet of a maid!”
What a grotesque-looking girl!
A passerby mocks Tess's deliberately disfigured appearance, causing her to weep in self-pity.
“The wall seemed to be the only friend she had.”
The warm wall of the cottage felt like her sole companion in her loneliness.
Tess finds comfort in the warmth of a cottage wall as she arrives at Flintcomb-Ash, emphasizing her isolation.
“I don’t wish to bring his name down to the dirt.”
I do not want to dishonor his name by associating it with this lowly work.
Tess asks Marian to keep her marriage to Angel a secret to protect his reputation.