A busy day for Tess (chap 49 & 50)

[kev67]

A very eventful day for Tess. In one day she has:

• walked 15 miles from Flintcomb-Ash to Emminster
• been put off introducing herself at the vicarage by overhearing talk about herself
• lost her boots (FFS)
• ran into the man who debauched her
• swore an oath by a monument that was cursed
• walked 15 miles back

I noticed she called Alec Stoke-d'Urberville Alec rather than Mr d'Urberville. Presumably she feels she cannot call him by his formal title. She speaks frankly to him, which implies she feels they are on intimate terms even though she does not want to be.

You'd think by now she'd start thinking whether she was better off just jumping in the river and having done with it. She's started thinking things like "Bygones would never be complete bygones till she was a bygone herself." The phrase petite mort was mentioned. Hardy seems to be preparing us for the worst.

At least Izz seems to have found someone nice (I hope he is nice). I wondered whether any of the other chaps at the dairy were any good.

[kiki1982]

indeed. I can't say anymore, although I would very much like to.

It always amazes me how many miles people walked in a day back then to still do something at their destination... And also walking with babies on their arms, backpacks, carrying a basket, etc. I wonder how many people now would be able to do this.

Walking 30 kilometers, no problem, but not with my possessions on my back or in a suitcase, plus a child I have to carry and to still do some dancing on the way...

[kev67]

Tess seems exceptional though. The characters of Pride & Prejudice did not seem so tough. From what I remember, a two or three mile walk was about their limit. Pip from Great Expectations once walks about twenty miles from Satis House to London, but I think he wanted to tire himself out. Tom Brown's School Days describes a cross country race that goes for about ten miles. It was presented as a feat of great endurance, which I suppose it was for a twelve-year-old.

[kev67]

I think I found the cursed relic that Alec made Tess swear by. It's near a village called Batcombe. If you look it up on www.streetmap.co.uk or www.bing.com and search for Batcombe or Ordnance Survey grid reference SY6199 you should get near it. It's best to bring up the Ordnance Survey map and look for 'Cross & Hand' written in gothic font. Both Cross & Hand and Long Ash Lane mentioned in the chapter are real places. There's no actual relic there, but there is a tumulus that looks like a small, round patch of land.