Tess of the d'Urbervilles Study Day - Yurie Watanabe

2021 will mark the 130th anniversary of the publication of Tess of the d'Urbervilles, arguably the most widely loved of Hardy's novels, containing one of the most memorable heroines in all of English literature. While contemporary society was scandalized by the concept of a fallen woman being championed as pure, the novel was scathing in its exposure of hypocritical nineteenth-century sexual and social mores. Subjects depicted that remain in continual debate to the present day are the question of rape/seduction, who is the true villain of the story – Alec or Angel? was Tess justified in murdering Alec? and was it right that Tess received the death penalty for her crime? This is a story that has transcended time and place, still resonating with audiences around the globe.

To celebrate this anniversary the Thomas Hardy Society held a study day on Saturday 23rd October 2021 at the United Church, Dorchester, Dorset.

- Yurie Watanabe (University of Durham): 'Sympathy and Plurality of Purity in Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles'