CMK. it is years since I read 'Tess', didn't enjoy it then so have no desire to go back to it now.
You ask about having babies 'out of wedlock' in Victorian times.
Tess was published in about 1890, but I think Hardy was writing of an earlier time, the Wessex in which he had grown up, so probably the book is set in the 1840's.
Morals (or lack of them) were much looser in those days and country people were used to the 'seventh month baby', although Tess' big mistake was not to get married to the father.
As we all know the exploitation of young females has gone on since the year dot and it is only recently that the 'man' in these cases has been expected to take any blame or admit 'he' should face up to his responsibilities. So the attitude of Tess' Mother is one of resignation to the situation. I think many families in a similar plight would reckon that if they had to have a b*stard in the family it was preferable to have one with some blue blood in its veins . . . and some better-off fathers did go on to provide for their 'by-blow' children.

Re the upcoming BBC production of Tess read the link below which is taken from the mag section of Saturday's 'Daily Telegraph'. (three pages)
Notice the unusual cleanliness of the village maidens and the unlikely, but photogenic setting overlooking the sea in Dorset. The film company used 'our' part of Gloucestershire for the scenes of the dismal journey made by the poverty-stricken family. No chickens were injured during filming.

Here is a link that might be useful: BBC 'Tess' Production

Like Veer, it's been years since I read it, and my memory is shot these days:-). In fact, I don't even remember there being someone named Angel in the book;-).

I must've liked the book though, because I gave it a high rating in my book journal.

I read another book by Hardy about two years ago; it was The Mayor of Casterbridge. That one I thought was just "okay" and I really got bogged down in the middle of it. I haven't tried any others by him since.

Kelly

Thanks for that site, Vee. I hope we get it on PBS (and don't have to wait five years). I have cable TV and don't get the BBC channel.

Add me to the list of those who read this book years ago, too many to comment on the book in detail. But I loved it and found it very powerful. While it is set in a specific time period, the exploitation of the powerless by the powerful is an eternal human--and literary--theme.

The theme is actually quite advanced for its time, that women had the right to say no. There was once such a thing as the "droit du seigneur" in which the lord of the manor had the right to have sex with any young girl on her wedding night--before her husband.

And we have only to look at American history, tragically enough, where rape and sexual abuse were an integral part of slavery. The documentation of this is extensive--see, for instance, the excellent and riveting book, "The Plantation Mistress, Woman's World in the Old South", by the highly regarded historian, Catherine Clinton.

Yes, thanks for that link veer. I read it all, and the film looks quite promising. I'll be eagerly awaiting its debut to the US!
I was actually wondering about was why, if Tess's family, friends, and neighbors didn't care about her defilement and 'natural' child, Tess was so bothered by it? Why couldn't she just move on with her life and get over it? It seems likely that she could have found some farmer willing to marry her (even knowing her circumstances), especially after her baby's death.
CMK

This novel was required reading in my sophmore year in high school. I was a naive southern girl and I am afraid a lot of it went over my head. When I re-visited it years later, I found it quite powerful.

Are some of you aware that a film was made of Hardy's "Tess" some years back, starring Natassia Kinski, as I recall. I thought it well done. Maybe it is available for rental.....

I've had the same experience with books we read in high school and college. We bring so much more to books as adults that I feel as if I should re-read everything.

I remember reading Madame Bovary in my early 20s and thinking, What is her problem? How much more I understood when I re-read it ten years later.

CMK, you ask why Tess didn't just accept what had happened to her, put it down to a bad experience (and even the death of a baby was very common-place then) and get on with her life.
If Hardy had gone down that road there wouldn't have been any story. :-)
I can't remember if Tess' family were 'Ag labs' ie farm labourers or was her father a tenant farmer?
It may be a surprise to an American where I understand everyone is meant to be equal but English farmers, in those days held quite an important place in their communities and would never have allowed one of their sons to marry the daughter of a worker.

>no chickens were injured during filming... (Veer, you've just provided my chuckle for the day).

I saw the film with Kinski years ago, and tried reading the book afterwards, but couldn't get through it. IIRC, the cinematography for that film was beautifully done. I've yet to get through a Hardy book, though. I practically flung Jude The Obscure at the wall half way through, and never looked at Hardy again.

Re the article Veer attached, the scriptwriter is quoted, "'People think of Hardy as this chocolate-box author..." I'm not familiar with that expression, 'chocolate-box author', so I'm not sure it means what I think it might mean. Can anyone explain?

Too sweet and pretty?

Lol, yeah, I suppose thats true veer. If Tess hadnt flipped out and decided to move on there WOULDNT have been a story. As I said before, I took interest in reading about her plight, but thought it would have been better without Hardy's commentaries. And about his comments...he is very conflicting on some points. I was often not sure what I, the reader, was supposed to feel. I guess I just have to ponder some of the things to try to understand their meaning and relavance.
I belive her father was in the buisness of conveing items for sale from his villiage to another to sell. Appearantly he was a drunkard, and didn't do much work at all. Thats why Tess had to take the pony and cart that day, to take something to the next villiage. That's when she accidently killed the horse, which was her fathers only means of supporting his family. She felt guilty for this and thats what started her out on this journey, to aid her family...
I do know that there ' equality for all'was not yet en vouge and that status was a protected thing that could be endangerd by a mismatched marriage. But she could have married a field laborer or a low status man like a tanner or blacksmith.
CMK

Yes, ginny is right.'Chocolate-box' (not necessarily of authors) means just that . . . from the popular pictures/photos that decorate our c-boxes, of country life, lambs frisking in the fields, children playing in the hay, blossom-laden trees etc.
Behind the facades of the thatched country cottages life could be very tough.
I often wonder if it would have been preferable to be brought up in rural or urban poverty.
I suppose country air was better than that in the cities. Firewood was available and poaching rabbits/pigeons or growing veggies would have kept extreme hunger at bay. But so many folk left the country during Hardy's day to seek their fortunes/find work in the growing towns and cities, the new life must have been even tougher.