[hardy-l] More on the ending to Tess of the D'Urbervilles

[Paul Yuellig]

Paul...
 
You're right, the written ending is what makes Hardy who he is/was. However, I prefer to minimize the "visual accuity" that comes with hindsight. If we look back, we can say that Hardy was saying many things that he, himself may or may not have intended to say. Look at how that happened to The Beatles, with their songs - having been given a lot of meanings that simply weren't there (in the minds of Lennon, McCartney or Harrison) when they wrote them.
I don't think that Tess had such a terribly strong, negative emotion in her to have murdered Alec. It was an unrealistic act on her part, given how passive she had always been. Simply leaving with the returned Angel would have been more realistic for Tess's character. I think Hardy was writing out his feelings of anger, despair or disgust which were in his own life, inside that of Victorian England's. 
 
Paul

--- On Wed, 2/4/09, Niemeyer, Paul J. <pniemeyer at tamiu.edu> wrote:

From: Niemeyer, Paul J. <pniemeyer at tamiu.edu>
Subject: RE: [hardy-l] More on the ending to Tess of the D'Urbervilles
To: hardy-l at coyote.csusm.edu
Date: Wednesday, February 4, 2009, 11:49 AM

My namesake Paul calls to mind the fact that the 1924 movie of TESS was released
with alternate endings: theater owners could opt to show one where Tess is
hanged or one where Tess is reprieved and goes off to live happily ever after
with Angel.  This is perhaps an early instance of what we think of as "fan
fiction"--where a person rewrites a popular work to create the ending it
"should have had."  Such things are fine; but, to me, Hardy's
endings--melancholy, bittersweet, tragic, bleak--are among the things that make
Hardy Hardy.  Life isn't always what we want it to be, virtue isn't
always rewarded, and no one gets out of here alive (have I exhausted the
cliches?).  Heck, I would even agrue that, as in life, the sadness of
Hardy's endings make us better appreciate the good and beautiful things that
came before.
 
Best,
 
Paul (Niemeyer)

________________________________

From: Paul Yuellig 
Subject: [hardy-l] More on the ending to Tess of the D'Urbervilles


I've always felt that Hardy was too morbid & bleak in his ending to
Tess. ...I have satisfied myself over this dislike in Tess of the
D'Urbervilles by writing my own, private ending to Hardy's wonderful
novel. 

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