Tess of the d’Urbervilles is the mqsterpiece of Thomas Hardy,a poet-cum-novelist. It is an epic novel based on eternal
triangle in which two men-Alec and Angel-love the same woman, Tess. Love is the favourite theme of Hardy and all his novels deal with eternal triangle. This novel is the tragic story of a young country girl who is destined to meet a tragic end in her life. The most finest character here is Tess , an embodiment of
purity and virtuousness. Pure in her intentions , her
nature and her life. The novel is all about her reluctant affair with Alec and her real love for her husband, Angel. The mood is of revolt against evil forces and the story is of sin and punishment of a beautiful and intelligent girl who is forced to sin by a man (Alec d’Urbervilles) she hates and deserts by the man (Angel Clare) she loves. The first man robs her of her maidenhood and she becomes the mother of an illegitimate child who later on dies. Then she gets married to Angel whom she loves with her soul. But learning about her past , he rejects her. Her poverty once again compels her to surrender her body to Alec, when he reappears. In the end when Clare returns to her, she kills her seducer and is hanged to death. Merciless and cruel fate plays a major role in shape of nature , chance and love . Nature has always been playing as an actor not as a background in the novel .For Hardy it is far from beauty having other aspects like cruelty, indifference, blindness and selfishness. It haunts whole life of Tess and she has to undergo an ordeal for her sin. This novel deals with Hardy’s philosophy of realism and life that’s why it has earned a worldwide fame and popularity.