[Hardy-l] Tess's motivation

[carolyn mcgrath]

"On the problem of Tess's motivation in her killing of Alec..."

If it was an unpremeditated act, as I believe it was, then does there need to be motivation as such? Isn't a cause sufficient? There is a sense in which Tess reacted with 'righteous anger' to Alec's sneering and mocking at a moment when she was already beyond herself with grief. Her later rationalisation of the act, I agree with Eric, is a psychological defence.
Are there not similarities to the 'battered wife syndrome', now recognised and accepted as a legitimate defence of similar actions to that of Tess? 

That Angel recognises his spurning and long abandonment of Tess left her heartbroken, vulnerable and defenceless against Alec and society in general and is an acknowledgement that it was his betrayal of her true character that led Tess to acting contrary to her own nature in murdering Alec. 

The fault does lie with Angel, though not with him alone. 

>From her mother's 'Tess is tractable enough' onwards, it seems Tess' nature was open to abuse by those who should have loved her better, but it was a long journey before that abuse became too much for her to bear.

best wishes

Carolyn McGrath