Ruined

Tess of the d’Urbervilles stands as Hardy’s searing critique of Victorian morality and blind fate. Tess, a girl of unspoiled goodness and rural simplicity, becomes a pawn of circumstance: preyed upon by Alec’s cruelty, rejected by Angel’s moral hypocrisy, and trapped by the rigid class and gender norms of her time. Her quiet resilience and unbroken humanity in the face of endless suffering make her a hauntingly vivid figure. Hardy weaves a tragic tale that blames not the victim, but a society that crushes purity and punishes vulnerability, leaving a powerful lament for the innocent lives destroyed by an unjust world.