About the Motif that Inspired these Poems
When reading Tess of the d’Urbervilles, many people debate whether Tess’ downfall was her own fault or if it couldn’t have been helped. Existentialists who believe that Tess was responsible for her own demise state that she has too much pride. She takes the weight of caring for her parents and siblings upon herself and prides herself in being the only practical member of the household. This is what leads her to blaming herself for the death of the family’s horse, even though it was an accident on the road that couldn’t have been prevented. She could have chosen to be more assertive and refuse to visit the d’Urberville mansion when her mom tells her to, but instead she decides to go because she feels like she is responsible for the horse’s death and thus destroying the source of income for the household. Tess also doesn’t look at the warning signs that Alec clearly displays. He force feeds her strawberries and she still doesn’t interpret this as a bad sign to get away from him.
People who point out such details may think Hardy sympathized too much with his protagonist when writing this, but I have a very different view on the book. I would argue that Tess can not be blamed for any of the misfortunes she suffered. She was very young when she visited Alec and no one had ever warned her about how dangerous some men are. Her parents wanted her to marry a rich man and didn’t bother telling her to be careful. Later on, she had no control over falling in love with Angel and could not have predicted his hypocritical nature. Angel could have helped Tess settle down and become a respectable member of society but instead he chooses to degrade and humiliate her for something that wasn’t her fault. She had no control over her father dying, which resulted in her family becoming homeless and left her with no choice but to live with Alec. I also do not think she can be blamed for the murder of Alec which resulted in her execution, as she clearly had pent up trauma and acted as a result of Battered Wife Syndrome and madness.
Overall, I felt like Tess was a good person in a cruel, male-dominated society. She was an intelligent, responsible and hardworking woman as shown by her desire to be a teacher and the way she looked after her family in the beginning of this story. These poems were written to represent how the world was unfair to her. I’ve included paraphrasing from the book as context before each poem to show which parts inspired each one. The motif of the cruelty of fate runs throughout them all. Tess had very little control over how the unfortunate chain of events in her life unfolded as she was also from her poor family. Those who are born into poor conditions have a more pre-determined fate than the rest of us.
On the cover, I included a picture of the three Norns from Norse mythology who were responsible for weaving the fate of humans. The novel had a lot of pagan imagery itself so I thought this was a fitting visual representation.
This poem was inspired by the May Dance scene in the beginning of the book where Tess sees Angel for the first time but he doesn’t dance with her, which disappoints her. It also relates to the cruelty of fate as Hardy foreshadowed the nature of the rest of the book with symbolism like the red ribbon in Tess’ hair and also Tess’ gloomy mood upon seeing the state of her drunk father being carried home. This poem also has a feminist theme and allusions to paganism like the book did.
Keepers of the Flame
Women have always been connected to a primeval nature,
Predating civilization,
They were restricted to the hearth,
But their true domain has always been the earth,
Without them, tradition would be lost,
And history committed to the flames,
Yet at the same time their earthly nature can never be tamed by society,
For they are as mysterious as the deepest woods,
They dance the May Dance,
In dresses white like the pagan goddesses of lore too ancient for name,
Whose powers were not subjugated under the yoke of a foreign faith,
How ugly a sight it is then
That a being so powerful from among them,
Should try to be noticed by a young man who doesn’t look her way,
She is the only one among them with a red ribbon in her hair,
And is too young to know that this world is run by cruel, evil men,
Her innocence shall not last,
For she is already marked for destruction
This poem relates to Tess being taken advantage of in the Chase by Alec. It talks about how the event traumatized her and she couldn’t stop thinking about it, which eventually resulted in her developing psychological problems that caused her to murder Alec. Once again, she can not be held responsible for such a tragedy befalling her.
Torment
I do not know when I will be free from my torment,
Your face has etched itself so deeply in my mind,
As if it were imprinted on the insides of my eyelids,
Memories of you chase away my sleep,
And I regret that I can never shed the skin where your hands once were,
For no matter how hard I try to be free,
You and I shall always be inextricably linked,
For your name has been engraved on my heart,
Which has been shackled in chains,
And I have been branded as your slave,
No matter how hard I try to forget,
I will always bare your marks,
And never belong to another,
For you are my husband in nature
This poem is about Tess’ work at Talbothay’s Dairy and how she felt when she first fell in love with Angel Claire. These were the happiest days of her life. Love is a very difficult emotion to control and it wasn’t her fault that she fell in love with someone who would be responsible for her ruin.
Inadequacy
Your love is as warm as the eternal summer I want to live with you in forever,
When you gaze at me in wonder it feels like you are fire and my heart is tinder,
I could melt in your arms with a sigh of joy as we lie beneath a splendid sun,
And run among the endless green,
Or tumble entwined as if we were one,
Yet I know better and have realized that nothing good can last forever,
You are an angelic man,
Much too good for me,
In every attribute you are superior,
And I do not think I can hide the hideous inkblot staining my pristine white pages,
I can not hide my dark past from you any longer,
And when you learn that I am tainted and you are pure,
Then I am sure you will not love me anymore
This poem is about how guilty Tess felt when Angel left her and went to Brazil after he found out Tess’ secret. She felt as though she wronged Angel. This poem also shows how Angel changed Tess and he taught her a lot of things, so she uses allusions to classical mythology now that she didn’t know about before meeting him.
Begging for Forgiveness
You were the best thing that ever happened to me,
A ray of sunlight illuminating the shadows of despair in this blighted world,
You were as radiant as Apollo and brought me so much joy,
When you left me, my world was plunged into darkness,
And I felt as though I lost the sun,
And knowing it was I who betrayed you,
Is a guilt I can not bare,
For the guilt feels like an arrow twisting in my heart,
It burns just as the flames of hell must scorch the flesh of sinners like me,
I would endure any pain,
Take on any treacherous journey,
To have you look at me again,
And I would die for your warm smile,
For I can not bare to know I’ve broken your trust so much that you would deprive me of hearing your voice ever again,
If only you could forgive me as Eros forgave Psyche,
In the story you once told me
This poem is about how trapped and oppressed Tess felt when she had to live with Alec at the end of the poem.
Justice not Revenge
In these dready hours of isolation,
I feel dear moments of my time more precious than diamonds slipping away through the cracks of my fingers like sand,
I wither in wait,
My hair like cobwebs and my figure in decay,
I no longer feel alive,
And I do not even know if the one whom I wait for remembers me,
What shall become of me in this lonely prison?
Shall I die of longing?
I can not bare another day of this sickening routine,
A torture this cruel, I have never seen before,
It is more than I can endure,
I want to make my captor suffer the same,
Make him grovel until he feels the guilt and shame,
Deprive his life of meaning until he’s an empty shell,
So I don’t have to be the only one going through this hell,
The beast devoured my dignity and freedom,
I’d rather be dead,
But someday I’ll break free from captivity like a bird liberated from its cage and make him pay,
It will be justice not revenge,
And it wouldn’t be murder because I no longer believe he is human
