TESS OF THE D'URBERVIL LES(PHASE THE SECOND)

**nour** · 11-19-2009, 11:44 PM

Hello everybody

Summary Of Tess

Phase The Second

Chapter 12

Tess is walking back to her parents' home in Marlott four months after leaving for the d'Urbervil le manor in Tantridge and only two weeks after Alec d'Urbervil le seduced her. She is saddened and disgusted by what happened, and her innocent view of the world is gone because of what he did to her. Alec catches up with Tess in a carriage and insists on driving her the rest of the way home if she refuses to come back to Tantridge with him, which she does. She agrees to ride with him because she has nothing left to fear from him. He's already taken from her what she wanted to protect anyway. He seems sad that she does not love him, but he doesn't seem to feel any remorse for what he did to her. She notices his indifferen ce to her sadness and explains to him that she really had no idea what he was doing until it was too late. Only after her sincere explanatio n does he seem to understand how he's wronged her, but even then, he's not all that sorry for taking advantage of her. He offers her money to try to compensate her, but she is too proud to take it. He tells her that if she needs anything, he'll be in London and she can write to him there for anything, but she wants nothing from her fake cousin.

Alec drops Tess at the edge of town as she wishes, and a young man who is traveling the countrysid e painting scripture on the sides of barns walks along with her. When he paints one barn along her path, his chosen scripture, "THY, DAMNATION, SLUMBERETH , NOT. 2 Pet. ii. 3,"
makes her feel more guilty despite the fact that her sin was not her doing. The artist mentions that Mr. Clare, a fiery preacher, is preaching in her village, but Tess wants only to go home.

Joan Durbeyfiel d is surprised to see her daughter come home. When Tess brokenly explains what happened with Alec, Joan is angry that her daughter did not force Alec to marry her, if for no other reason than the good of the family. But Alec never meant to marry Tess and she doesn't want him anyway, so that wouldn't have worked out. Tess feels angry with her mother for never telling her what happens between men and women so that she might have protected herself, but Joan's excuse is that she thought it might scare Tess away from Alec and ruin her chances of marrying him. Joan tells Tess that sex is part of nature and nature pleases God, so she must make the best of the situation. There is

no pity for Tess's Situation.

Chapter 13

Old friends come visit Tess that afternoon, expecting that she's a lady now, or soon will be. Joan plays along so that even Tess gets a little caught up in the attention and forgets what's happened to her, forgets that no gentleman is going to marry her, especially now that she's been ruined. In the months that follow her return to Marlott, Tess is quite depressed and leaves the house very little except at twilight when she goes outside and feels as close to peace as she can. She is pregnant

Chapter 14

Not long after having the baby in August, Tess becomes a thresher. She works in the fields in an attempt to snap out of the funk she's been in and regain some independen ce. She remains somewhat isolated from the other workers, and at noon, Liza Lu, her younger sister, brings Tess food from home and the baby to nurse.

Tess seems ashamed of the child, but she seems to love it as well, and the people of Marlott make it a point not to shame Tess because they think it a shame that such a thing should happen to a girl as kind as Tess.

Shortly after the baby is born and Tess begins working in the field, her baby becomes ill, which is no surprise because it was so small and weak to begin with. Tess becomes distraught when she realizes that she's not had her child baptized, but her father refuses to allow her to call a pastor because he self-righteousl y feels that she's brought enough shame on their house already. Tess decides to baptize the baby, Sorrow, herself. The child dies the following morning and Tess convinces the preacher to allow her to bury the baby in an undesirabl e corner of the town cemetery where other ungodly people are buried. She makes a cross and leaves flowers on the grave on her infant son.

Chapter 15

A year passes and Tess marks the important days - her birth, her humiliatio n, the birth and death of her child - and she notes that the only other significan t date in her life she does not yet know is the date of her death. Wishing to find some place to start over where no one knows of her past, she finds out that a dairymaid is needed at Talbothays in a village south of her home. She decides to go there hoping that her innocence and happiness will return.