Discover timeless tales with the Umatilla Literary Society's Classics Book Club, where we explore the enduring stories that have shaped literature. This term we will read Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles, famous as both a Victorian classic and infamous as a literary scandal. Each session we will read between 15-20 chapters. A digital copy is available here: https://mylakelibrary.overdrive.com/media/432546.
Meeting 1: (Chapters 1–34)
Questions to Consider as You Read:
Fate vs. Agency: How much control does Tess actually have over her decisions in Phase 1 and 2, versus how much is forced on her by her family's poverty and social status?
The Two "Tragedies": Compare the accident with Prince the horse (Chapter 4) to Tess’s night in the Chase (Chapter 11). How does Hardy frame responsibility and guilt in both events?
Idealization vs. Reality: At Talbothays Dairy, Angel Clare falls deeply in love with Tess—but does he actually love her, or just an idealized, natural fantasy of her?
The Silence: Why do you think Tess hesitates and struggles so much to tell Angel about her past before they marry? Is she being realistic, fearful, or self-sabotaging?
Breakdown suggested by Gemini AI.
