Ch26

Question 1

Quote showing Tess supposed purity

Answer 1

Chaste as a vessel

Question 2

Analysis of “chaste as a vessel”

Answer 2

-Ironic as she is no longer chaste making it paradoxical
-Vessel suggests her passivity and objectification from others
-Critique of Victorian double standards as Tess remains spiritually lyre yet wield judges her by her physical “chastity”
-Dehumanises her despite natural innocence

Question 3

Quote showing Angel’s love for Tess as being for her

Answer 3

“It was for herself that he loved Tess;her soul,her heart,her substance”

Question 4

Analysis of “it was for herself that he loved Tess;her soul,her heart,her substance”

Answer 4

Suggests his love is pure and rooted in Tess’s inner being yet thus love is conditional
-Critique of Victorian men who construct women as idealised figures rather than complex human beings
-Triadic structure of asyndetic list emphasises wholeness of Tess

Question 5

Analysis of D’urbeville ‘coach and four’

Answer 5

-Symbol of ancestral curse and the burden of Tess’s aristocratic lineage,despite Tess living in poverty her decayed noble blood haunts her and the sins of her ancestors
-Tess’s fate shaped not just by individual choices but by historical social forces beyond her control
-Harbinger of tragedy (foreshadows doom) and reinforces sense of fatalism throughout