61 pages • 2 hours read
Thomas HardyA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
The novel begins in the English countryside between the villages of Shaston and Marlott. John Durbeyfield is walking home and encounters Parson Tringham. John asks the parson why he has recently taken to calling him “Sir John,” and the parson explains that through genealogical research, he has discovered that the Durbeyfield family, while poor at the present, is descended from the ancient and aristocratic d’Urberville family. Parson Tringham considers this information simply a matter of historical interest, as the Durbeyfield family has no claim to anything and the family legacy has largely disappeared. However, after this conversation, John Durbeyfield calls for a horse and carriage to take him the rest of the way home, already feeling a sense of inflated self-importance.
Meanwhile, in the village of Marlott, John Durbeyfield’s beautiful young daughter Tess is celebrating the traditional May Day ritual with a group of girls and women from the village. When the group sees John Durbeyfield driving by in the carriage, they begin to laugh at him, but they stop when Tess defends him. The girls begin dancing on the village green, and three men who are passing by stop to look at them. The three men are brothers—Felix, Cuthbert, and Angel Clare—and are wealthier and better educated than the villagers.
By Thomas Hardy
Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave
Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave
Thomas Hardy
At an Inn
At an Inn
Thomas Hardy
Channel Firing
Channel Firing
Thomas Hardy
Far From The Madding Crowd
Far From The Madding Crowd
Thomas Hardy
Jude the Obscure
Jude the Obscure
Thomas Hardy
Neutral Tones
Neutral Tones
Thomas Hardy
The Convergence of the Twain
The Convergence of the Twain: Lines on the loss of the "Titanic"
Thomas Hardy
The Darkling Thrush
The Darkling Thrush
Thomas Hardy
The Man He Killed
The Man He Killed
Thomas Hardy
The Mayor of Casterbridge
The Mayor of Casterbridge
Thomas Hardy
The Return of the Native
The Return of the Native
Thomas Hardy
The Withered Arm and Other Stories
The Withered Arm and Other Stories
Thomas Hardy
The Woodlanders
The Woodlanders
Thomas Hardy
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection