On Tess of the D'urbervilles

Its difficult to believe that Alec d'urberville had a genuine conversion, more so a "whimsical conversion, which was perhaps the mere freak of a careless man in search of a new sensation, and temporarily impressed by his mother's death" like Thomas Hardy had put it. His one of the kind mum was obviously lacking in maternal affections that he craved for preferring the company for her cooing companions (the chickens), she was a blind invalid and more blind I should say to her son's need of her approval.

To me Alec is a kind soul who doesn't know how to love someone properly. After he seduces, read rape his so called cousin Tess on that fateful misty night in the woods, he singlehandedly destroyed her. She was left to pick up the pieces, the physical and emotional trauma of the rape and the result of it. A dead infant son named SORROW, and of course the social stigma of being a pure woman no more.

So when they met again quite by accident some four years later, he had to her surprise become a street preacher while she was hardly able to sustain herself doing hard manual labour in the farms. Seeing Tess awoke those old feelings in him that he thought were dead. "The old adam" but upon learning of her troubles namely that she had her son and that poor young innocent life was dead, made him want to make amends or restitution. He decided he had to marry her, the woman that he once used brutally and despised, the mother of his dead child.

"Will you put it in my power to do my duty-to make the only reparation I can make for the trick played on you: that is, will you be my wife and go with me? asked Alec with a slight embarrassment as he withdrew the marriage licence from his pocket. And to add to that, "Its my old mother's dying wish."

Of course. Tess must refused such an audacious request. Afterall, she was already married to the youngest son of that pastor who coincidentally was the cause of Alec's temporal conversion. As much as Tess loved Angel whom she looked up to as almost perfect, Angel upon discovering her history had despised her and abandoned her. Tess became a deserted wife, left to fend for herself with very little and hoping against hope for her husband's forgiveness though she had already forgiven him of his 48 hour folly with an older woman.

I love it in the BBC drama miniseries, Hans Matheson made Alec D'urberville so attractive, charming and sexy a bad character that one cannot help but feel for him. To me Alec is not all bad. If there is anyone to blame I would point my fingers at the old blind invalid mother of his, whose disapproval and lack of maternal love made Alec who he is. Alec is a sensitive soul and he had compassion on Tess and her forever needy large peasant family. He is always there to provide. Plus Alec really does not like the beauty of his life to suffer in the hands of a hard driving task master at the farm, doing hard labour chores when she should be a fair lady.

Eventually Tess agreed to be his "creature" or modern equivalent of "mistress". I would choose the same too. One must be practical. To love the man, your so called husband who despised you and abandoned you, who obviously had become indifferent to your love or to accept a better life, no more hard labour and poverty including education for the younger siblings. Why not??? Afterall, despite what had happened before, Alec does love Tess so much that he gave up his preaching assignment just to be with her. He even accuses her of his "backsliding" and liken her to the "witch of Babylon".

"Tess, my girl, I was on the way to, at least, social salvation till I saw you again!", he said, freakishly shaking her as if she were a child. "And why have you tempted me? I was firm as a man could be till I saw those eyes and that mouth again-surely there never was such a maddening mouth since Eve's." Hahaha. Such a passionate man.

Anyway I voted for Gemma Arterton, 23 and Tess of the D'urbervilles in the TV choice and TV Quick Awards 2009, though i felt a sense of pity that Hans was not in the Best Actor list. I genuinely believes his role is very crucial and his acting skills superb and that is what makes this Thomas Hardy classic directed by David Snodin so worth watching-over and over again even though i could only get to see it in Youtube.