Chapter 37

Synopsis of chapter 37

On the night before they are due to leave the house, Angel Clare sleepwalks. He picks Tess up, as if she was dead, and carries her out of the house over a plank bridge to the Abbey. He places her in an open tomb and lies down beside her.

Tess manages to speak to him whilst he is dead asleep, and lead him back to the house. In the morning, he has no recollection of the event, and Tess does not refer to it. They pay a final visit to the dairy, pretending everything is normal. Only Mrs. Crick notices Tess's eyes do not look right.

Angel has hired a vehicle and driver. When they get as far as Blackmoor Vale, Angel alights, says his farewells to Tess and sets off for his parents. He has left Tess a sum of money and instructions not to come to him, but she may write if she is in dire need. He leaves the future somewhat open. Tess refuses to make a scene or any final appeal. She sets off on the short distance home.

Commentary on chapter 37

The sleep-walking scene is one of the more famous episodes of the book. After all the talk and suppression of feeling, Hardy has managed to dramatically convey Angel's deep psychic disturbance, symbolically acting out the burial of the Tess he fell in love with, rather than the real one.

like a Samson shaking himself: referring to Judges 16:19-20 in the Old Testament, when Samson, having revealed the secret of his supernatural strength lay in his uncut hair, wakes after his wife Delilah has shaved his head, resulting in the loss of his strength.

any intention...pure reason: if he had decided on a course of action one evening, from whatever motivation, and that decision still seemed firm and real to him the next morning, then he would act on it as being rational.

'God's not in his heaven...': a negation of Robert Browning's famous lines from his poem Pippa Passes, where he writes,

'God's in his heaven —
All's right with the world'.

Place

Two strange journeys take place in the chapter:

The first one, the sleepwalking incident, is highly symbolic. Hardy anticipates psychoanalytic discoveries that suggest people act out their unconscious thoughts and desires in symbolic forms. There was actually such a tomb at Bindon Abbey, belonging to Richard de Maners (c.1310). The incident anticipates a later incident when Alec pretends to be lying dead on a tomb at Tess's ancestral burial place (Ch 52).
The second journey is an ironic echo of the usual honeymoon tour. Tess and Angel literally part ways, both returning to parental homes, negating their married state. This journey is more or less in line geographically with the fateful journey on which Prince was killed. They must have passed near the spot of his death, in fact.

Weatherbury: Puddletown, north-east of Dorchester

Stagfoot Lane: Hartfoot Lane, a hamlet in the hills, overlooking Blackmoor Vale, and near where Prince was killed

Nuzzlebury: Hazelbury Bryan, at the foot of Bulbarrow, five miles south-west of Sturminster Newton.

Vocabulary

fastidiousness: over-sensitivity, pickiness

vagary: quirk, strange behaviour

wicket: a small gate, usually an alternative to a larger one nearby

Investigating chapter 37

What does the sleepwalking incident reveal about Angel?
How does Tess respond to the incident, and what does this show about her?
Look particularly at references to death and dying.
- What, in fact, has really died?
What does Hardy emphasize in the visit to the dairy?
Look at Tess and Angel's farewell.
- What are the terms and conditions Angel lays down?
- Hardy seems to suggest that if Tess had tried harder, she may have been able to make Angel change his mind. Would you agree?
- What chances do you think exist for the marriage at this point?
- Is Angel's behaviour here any different from Alec's in Ch 12?
Hardy also suggests there is a fatal family flaw.
- What is this?
- Is Hardy being fair to Tess here?

English Standard Version
King James Version

¹Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her. ²The Gazites were told, Samson has come here. And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him. ³But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron. ⁴After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. ⁵And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver. ⁶So Delilah said to Samson, Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you. ⁷Samson said to her, If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man. ⁸Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. ⁹Now she had men lying in ambush in an inner chamber. And she said to him, The Philistines are upon you, Samson! But he snapped the bowstrings, as a thread of flax snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known. ¹⁰Then Delilah said to Samson, Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you might be bound. ¹¹And he said to her, If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man. ¹²So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, The Philistines are upon you, Samson! And the men lying in ambush were in an inner chamber. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread. ¹³Then Delilah said to Samson, Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound. And he said to her, If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and fasten it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man. ¹⁴So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web. And she made them tight with the pin and said to him, The Philistines are upon you, Samson! But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web. ¹⁵And she said to him, How can you say, I love you, when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies. ¹⁶And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. ¹⁷And he told her all his heart, and said to her, A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man. ¹⁸When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up again, for he has told me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. ¹⁹She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. ²⁰And she said, The Philistines are upon you, Samson! And he awoke from his sleep and said, I will go out as at other times and shake myself free. But he did not know that the Lord had left him. ²¹And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison. ²²But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved. ²³Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand. ²⁴And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us. ²⁵And when their hearts were merry, they said, Call Samson, that he may entertain us. So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars. ²⁶And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them. ²⁷Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, who looked on while Samson entertained. ²⁸Then Samson called to the Lord and said, O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes. ²⁹And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. ³⁰And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life. ³¹Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel twenty years.

¹Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her. ²And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him. ³And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron. ⁴And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. ⁵And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver. ⁶And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee. ⁷And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withes that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. ⁸Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withes which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. ⁹Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withes, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known. ¹⁰And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound. ¹¹And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. ¹²Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread. ¹³And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web. ¹⁴And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web. ¹⁵And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. ¹⁶And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; ¹⁷That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man. ¹⁸And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath showed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. ¹⁹And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. ²⁰And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him. ²¹But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house. ²²Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. ²³Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. ²⁴And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us. ²⁵And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars. ²⁶And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. ²⁷Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. ²⁸And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. ²⁹And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. ³⁰And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. ³¹Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

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Tess of the d'Urbervilles Contents