Tess of the d’Urbervilles · Chapter
XXXIX explained
Three weeks after his marriage, Angel Clare returns alone to his parents' parsonage in Emminster, deeply troubled by the revelation of Tess's past.
What happens
Three weeks after his marriage, Angel Clare returns alone to his parents' parsonage in Emminster, deeply troubled by the revelation of Tess's past. He struggles with his own conventionality and hypocrisy, feeling enslaved by the very customs he thought he had transcended. He announces his plan to emigrate to Brazil, hoping that in a new country the conventions that make life with Tess seem impossible will be less operative. During family prayers, his father reads the chapter of Proverbs praising a virtuous wife, and his mother innocently praises Tess's purity, forcing Angel to lie and call her 'spotless.' He is tormented by guilt, anger, and the realization that he has wrecked his career and deceived his loving parents.
Themes in this chapter
Female Purity and Double Standards
Angel's internal conflict and his lie to his mother about Tess being 'spotless' highlight the cruel double standard that condemns Tess for her past while excusing Angel's own moral failings.
Religion and Hypocrisy
The family's pious reading of Proverbs about a virtuous wife contrasts sharply with Angel's deception and his inability to live up to the Christian ideals of forgiveness he professes.
Suffering and Resilience
Angel's emotional turmoil and Tess's quiet endurance of his judgment illustrate the theme of suffering, though Tess's resilience is shown only through Angel's guilty memories.
Characters to notice
- Angel Clare
Returns alone to his parents' home, tormented by his own hypocrisy and the weight of convention. He lies to his mother about Tess's purity and decides to emigrate to Brazil.
- Tess Durbeyfield
Absent but constantly in Angel's thoughts; he imagines her voice and touch, and feels guilt for his harsh judgment of her.
- Old Mr. Clare
Angel's father, who reads the chapter of Proverbs in praise of a virtuous wife during family prayers, unwittingly deepening Angel's anguish.
- Mrs. Clare
Angel's mother, who senses something is wrong and asks directly if Tess's history would bear investigation; she praises Tess's purity, forcing Angel to lie.
Key passages
“With all his attempted independence of judgement this advanced and well-meaning young man, a sample product of the last five-and-twenty years, was yet the slave to custom and conventionality when surprised back into his early teachings.”
Despite his progressive ideals, Angel is ultimately a prisoner of the conventional morality he was raised with.
Highlights the theme of hypocrisy and the power of social conditioning.
“She is spotless! he replied; and felt that if it had sent him to eternal hell there and then he would have told that lie.”
Angel lies to his mother, calling Tess pure, and feels he would rather be damned than admit the truth.
Illustrates Angel's guilt and the painful double bind created by societal expectations.