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Sir John
John Durbeyfield is told by Parson Tringham that he is a decedent of a noble family called the D'Urbervilles. -
May Day
Tess if enjoying the May Day festival with other women from her village. John Durbeyfield rides through, drunk, on the carriage he ordered to come get him. The other girls make fun of him and while Tess is embarrassed she also gets defensive. She dances with Angel and sees Alec for the first time. -
Plan for Tess
Tess receives the news of her ancestors from that her dad had earlier gotten, from her mother. Her mother goes off to the inn to find John but when she is gone for too long, she sends her little brother Abraham to go make sure everything is ok. Abraham goes there to overhear his mother and father talking about how they plan for Tess to take the news of her ancestry to the wealthy Mrs. d’Urberville in the hopes that she will make Tess’s fortune. -
The Horse
Tess knows her dad will dad will be too drunk and tired to take his loads to the beehives so her and Abraham do it. Abraham tell Tess what he heard his parents saying. Both end of falling asleep on the horse which results in their horse, Prince, being killed in a collision. Tess feels very guilty and it is a huge financial loss for her family. -
Meeting the D'Urbervilles
Tess feels so guilty that she agrees to her parents plan of being sent to Mrs. D'Urbervilles. When she gets there she meets Alec who thinks she is very beautiful and because of that says he will see what he can do to help her. When Tess gets back home she gets a letter for Mrs. D'Urberville offering her a job at their house to look over her fowls. Tess wanted a job closer to home but she ultimately accepts this job and moves to Trantridge. -
Alec
Even from the time Alec came to get Tess her mother worries Alec might try to take advantage of Tess. On the way there he drives recklessly to scare Tess. He tells her to hold his waist and promises to slow down if she will kiss him. He becomes angry with her after because she wipes off the kiss she didn't want with a handkerchief. -
Taken Advantage Of
Alec convinces Tess to let him take her home on his horse because all of her friends are drunk. Once Tess agrees Alec takes her far out into the woods and tries to convince her to be his lover. Tess is refusing are they are lost in the woods. Alec goes to try and find a way out of way they are. He tells Tess he will buy her family a new horse. When he returns, Tess is asleep and he sexually takes advantage of her. -
Goodbye Tess
Tess realizes she doesn't have any love for Alec and decides to flee from there. Alec sees her on the road, going home and offers her a ride after she tells him she is going home. She denies the ride and Alec says to contact him if she ever needs anything. Her mom is surprised and first angry that Tess rejected Alec, but she comes around shortly after. -
Cause and Effect
Because of all of this Tess is in a depressive state. The people around her try and cheer her up but nothing is the same. She can't do things like go to church without being judged anymore. -
Heartbreak
Things were starting to look up for Tess was helping the village with the harvest. Though, that changes when the baby she had when Alec did that to her, is very sick. She feels like it is her own fault because the baby is not christened so she does it. But the baby ultimately dies. -
New Start
Tess realizes she can never be happy in Marlott. She wants to begin a new life where her past in unknown. She gets the chance to be a milkmaid at the Talbothays Dairy and leaves her home again. -
Familiar Face
When Tess starts working on the farm she feels like she belongs here. She soon recognizes an old face which is Angel. The boy she danced with at MayDay, years ago. She overhears women talking about him later. They are talking about him as though they have a crush on him. -
More on Angel
We stray away from Tess and her narration and get to learn more about Angel and his story. He is the most gifted out of all his brothers. He is very respectful and he is a gentleman. He is very attracted to Tess and her beauty but Tess tries to stay away from him due to the fact that she is ashamed of her past. -
Confrontation
Tess discovers that Angel is lining up her favorite cows for her which is against the rules. She confronts him about it. They meet later and end up having a deep conversation about life. Tess wants to figure out why he chose to work on a farm considering how gifted he is. Angel wants to know why Tess is so young and has such a dark outlook on life. He offers to tutor Tess but she denies it because the answers she is looking for aren't found in books. -
Buds and Butter
Tess and Angel begin to get closer and closer. Meanwhile, the butter on the farm isn't churning. Mrs. Crick jokes that this happens when two people on the farm fall in love. Everyone knew this was Tess and Angel, but Tess didn't want to every marry due to the trauma from her past. Soon enough, the butter situation is fixed. -
Problematic love
On a walk to find garlic weeds (due to a costumer who complained about the butter and the cows were eating garlic weeds) Tess felt sick and took a break. Angel stopped with her and Tess began to talk to him about other girls. He tells her he isn't interested in them romantically. Everyone sees that Angel is interested in Tess. All the girls confess their love for Angel to Tess. Tess feels guilty because she loves him too but already decided never to marry. -
The Confession
Late one night Angel and Tess are milking cows together. Angel cannot hide his feeling anymore. They hug and Tess allows it for a minute before trying to pull away. Angel impulsively confesses to Tess that he loves her. Nobody notices their encounter.