Tess of the D’Urberv

I have just closed the last page of Tess of the D’Urbervilles and my heart feels heavy. Tess is a poor country girl who only wants to be good, but life keeps hurting her. Rich Alec takes her innocence, kind Angel leaves her, and the hard rules of society push her down again and again. She works, she suffers, she tries to stay honest, yet people still call her “bad.” What makes me sad is that Tess herself believes the cruel names. She thinks one mistake ruins her forever. I want to tell her she is still pure, still worthy of love. Hardy shows us that the real sin is not Tess’s; it is the unfair world that judges a woman so harshly. The story teaches me to be slow to judge and quick to feel mercy. A person’s value is not in one act but in the whole heart. I will remember Tess’s gentle eyes and try to make my own world a little fairer.