Theme Of Marriage In Tess Of The D Urbervilles

It is said that a man should not marry a woman that he can live with but instead with a woman he cannot live without. Although this statement may hold true for some relationships, it does not pertain to the marriage of Tess and Angel in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Although Tess and Angel are married, they spend almost the entirety of their marriage separated from each other with no communication. As a modern reader, it is difficult to relate to these parts of the story. Nowadays, would a man leave his newly wed wife for over a year? More than likely this would never happen, but the themes of marriage in Tess of the d’Urbervilles are still very relevant to modern relationships. Today people still rush into marriage and believe that marriage will fix all just like in Tess and Angel’s situation. People also still utilize marriage a resource for

For example, a couple may truly be in love and want to commit themselves to each other. However, other couples may be getting married for reasons other than love. He or she may be receiving financial benefits, healthcare benefits, or gaining citizenship from a marriage. Being married in this country has many perks that do not include being loved by another person. Marrying for personal gain has occurred throughout history. It certainly occurred in Tess of the d’Urbervilles when Joan Durbeyfield yearned for her daughter to marry rich. According to Joan, Tess was to marry Alec so Joan would never have to work again. She was equally excited that another rich man came into Tess’s life. Tess, however, married Angel because she truly loved him, but used her “marriage” with Alec at the end of the book to provide for her family. Hardy used Tess and Joan Durbeyfield to show how marriage can be utilized to do much more that unite two people. Today, people can still relate to this theme as society witnesses more and more illegitimate