Chapter 55
Synopsis of chapter 55
Angel arrives late at night in Sandbourne. He books in at a hotel, then walks to the very edge of Egdon Heath, noting how strange the new city looks. He sleeps little.
In the morning he inquires at the Post Office for Tess. One of the postmen remembers learning of someone of the name d'Urberville staying at a high-class guest house, 'The Herons'. He goes there and asks for her. The landlady calls her Mrs d'Urberville.
Finally, Angel and Tess confront each other. Angel is expecting a happy reunion as he admits his mistake. Instead, a horrified Tess tells him he is too late, that 'the other man' has claimed her through his help to her family. Dazed, Angel stumbles out of the house.
Commentary on chapter 55
Although we have not known where Tess is staying any more than Angel, we do know about Alec. This allows Hardy to set up a whole series of little dramatic ironies. Angel is far too optimistic that it will be all right and that he is in time. But Hardy has scattered enough clues for us to know ahead of time that it will not be all right and that he is too late. The subtext here is Milton's Paradise Lost, Book IX. After Eve has been tempted and fallen, the still innocent Adam eagerly greets her, only to find she is a changed woman.
British trackway: Hardy is using the term 'British' in the sense of 'Ancient Britons;' that is, from before the time of the Romans ('the days of the Caesars'), who came to Britain about 55 BC.
the prophet's gourd: a reference to the Old Testament prophet Jonah, who camped outside the city of Nineveh hoping for it to be struck down by God. A gourd plant suddenly sprouted to give him protection from the sun whilst he argued with God about God deciding to spare the city due to its repentance (Jonah 4:4-6). Hardy no doubt also means us to see Sandbourne as a type of the wicked city, Nineveh. See City and countryside.
rich cashmere dressing-gown: cashmere is a very fine expensive wool, originally from Kashmir. It gives us an immediate signal of how fashionably Tess is now dressed.
Place
Hardy makes a great deal of the contrast between the modernity of Sandbourne and the antiquity of the surrounding country. Both the modern present and the ancient past have been equally harmful to Tess.
Egdon Waste: that is to say, Egdon Heath. Even to-day, a small part of Canford Heath still remains to the north-west of Bournemouth. The rest has been swallowed up in suburbs of Poole and Bournemouth.
Vocabulary
gourd: a certain type of quick-growing vine bearing fruit
lounging-place: resort
tawny: an uneven brownish-orange with patches of lighter brown in it
Investigating chapter 55
- Examine the detailed contrast between the modern city and the ancient heathland surrounding it.
- What points is Hardy trying to make through this contrast?
- How do Hardy's comments on modernity tie in with previous comments on this subject?
- Find one or two examples of dramatic irony in the chapter.
- Can you say exactly what is ironic about them?
- Compare the physical descriptions of Tess and Angel at their meeting.
- In what ways do they contrast?
- In what ways are their roles reversed?
- How has Hardy prepared us for Tess's new appearance?
- Discuss whether it really is 'too late'?
- What makes Tess think it is?
- Explain what Hardy means by the sentence beginning, 'But he had a vague consciousness of one thing....'
- English Standard Version
- King James Version
1But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2And he prayed to the Lord and said, O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. 3Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live. 4And the Lord said, Do you do well to be angry? 5Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. 6Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. 7But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. 8When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, It is better for me to die than to live. 9But God said to Jonah, Do you do well to be angry for the plant? And he said, Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die. 10And the Lord said, You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?
1But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. 2And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. 3Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. 4Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry? 5So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. 6And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. 7But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. 8And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. 9And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. 10Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: 11And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more then sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
Situation (often with tragic consequences) in which the true significance of a literary character's words or actions is revealed to the audience but not understood by the character concerned.
Some other literary text that is present in the mind of writers when creating a new text, and by references, parallels or in some other way, becomes present in the new text also.
According to the book of Genesis in the Bible the first woman, said to have been created by God out of Adam's rib, to be his companion.
According to Genesis (the first book of the Old Testament), Adam is the first human being, made in the image / likeness of God, placed in the Garden of Eden and given dominion over the earth.
Relating to the city or empire of ancient Rome or its people.
A 'testament' is a covenant or binding agreement and is a term used in the Bible of God's relationship with his people). The sacred writings of Judaism (the Hebrew Bible). These also form the first part of the Christian Bible.
Someone who conveys God's message to human beings or speaks about the future sometimes through words alone, sometimes through dramatic actions.
The main character in the Old Testament book of Jonah. Jonah was a prophet sent by God to the city of Nineveh to preach to the people but he disobeyed. He spent three days in the belly of a whale. Jonah prayed and God gave him a second chance.
Situation (often with tragic consequences) in which the true significance of a literary character's words or actions is revealed to the audience but not understood by the character concerned.
