Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen Today I will be talking to you about the role of the 19th century composer. 19th century composers, such as Thomas Hardy, were more than just narrators with amazing descriptive detail; they also were supremely penetrating observers of the world in which they lived. Hardy, one such composer, made his observations evident through the values and attitudes he chose to portray in Tess of the d'Urbervilles; a pure woman. Hardy …showed first 75 words of 687 total…

…showed last 75 words of 687 total…his brief affair with a London woman, Tess immediately forgives him. However when Tess tells him of her story, he cannot forgive her, 'forgiveness does not apply in this case'. Although Angel's act was intentional and Tess's actions were forced by Alec, Angel is forced to make a hypocritical decision (representative of society's judgements) as a product of society's culture, where women are expected to remain chaste and men may act at their own discretion.