[hardy-l] understanding Tess

[Arthur Efron]

My friend Peter Grieco dropped by the other day and we got to talking 
about Hardy's novel. He said something like this:

It is a mistake to try to understand Tess by following the story of all 
the events that happen to her. She has a living presence in every moment 
that make her what she is. ( Or, as I think Pete was getting at: Her 
story does not give us her self.)

How does this idea strike you?
.
--Art Efron