Summary
In the final chapter, Angel Clare and Tess's younger sister 'Liza-Lu walk together through Winchester on a bright July morning, leaving the city behind as they climb West Hill. They move like people in shock, aged beyond their years by grief. At the top of the hill, they stop at a milestone and look back at the city below. Among the beautiful Gothic buildings stands one harsh, modern structure—the prison—with its ugly octagonal tower. They watch this tower with desperate attention until a black flag is raised, signaling that Tess has been executed. Hardy's narrator grimly notes that 'Justice' was done, though he puts the word in quotation marks, suggesting this justice is hollow. The President of the Immortals—Hardy's bitter reference to an indifferent God—has finished playing with Tess's life. The ancient d'Urberville ancestors sleep on, unknowing that their last descendant has died on the scaffold. Angel and 'Liza-Lu collapse to the ground in grief, then eventually rise and continue walking away from the city. This devastating conclusion shows how society destroys those who don't fit its narrow moral codes. Tess, who was more sinned against than sinning, pays the ultimate price for circumstances largely beyond her control. The novel ends not with redemption or hope, but with the stark reality that sometimes good people are crushed by forces too powerful to resist. Hardy leaves us with Angel and 'Liza-Lu walking into an uncertain future, forever changed by witnessing this injustice.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
LIX The city of Wintoncester, that fine old city, aforetime capital of Wessex, lay amidst its convex and concave downlands in all the brightness and warmth of a July morning. The gabled brick, tile, and freestone houses had almost dried off for the season their integument of lichen, the streams in the meadows were low, and in the sloping High Street, from the West Gateway to the mediæval cross, and from the mediæval cross to the bridge, that leisurely dusting and sweeping was in progress which usually ushers in an old-fashioned market-day. From the western gate aforesaid the highway, as every Wintoncestrian knows, ascends a long and regular incline of the exact length of a measured mile, leaving the houses gradually behind. Up this road from the precincts of the city two persons were walking rapidly, as if unconscious of the trying ascent—unconscious through preoccupation and not through buoyancy. They had emerged upon this road through a narrow, barred wicket in a high wall a little lower down. They seemed anxious to get out of the sight of the houses and of their kind, and this road appeared to offer the quickest means of doing so. Though they were young, they walked with bowed heads, which gait of grief the sun’s rays smiled on pitilessly. One of the pair was Angel Clare, the other a tall budding creature—half girl, half woman—a spiritualized image of Tess, slighter than she, but with the same beautiful eyes—Clare’s sister-in-law, ’Liza-Lu. Their pale faces seemed to have shrunk to half their natural size. They moved on hand in hand, and never spoke a word, the drooping of their heads being that of Giotto’s “Two Apostles”. When they had nearly reached the top of the great West Hill the clocks in the town struck eight. Each gave a start at the notes, and, walking onward yet a few steps, they reached the first milestone, standing whitely on the green margin of the grass, and backed by the down, which here was open to the road. They entered upon the turf, and, impelled by a force that seemed to overrule their will, suddenly stood still, turned, and waited in paralyzed suspense beside the stone. The prospect from this summit was almost unlimited. In the valley beneath lay the city they had just left, its more prominent buildings showing as in an isometric drawing—among them the broad cathedral tower, with its Norman windows and immense length of aisle and nave, the spires of St Thomas’s, the pinnacled tower of the College, and, more to the right, the tower and gables of the ancient hospice, where to this day the pilgrim may receive his dole of bread and ale. Behind the city swept the rotund upland of St Catherine’s Hill; further off, landscape beyond landscape, till the horizon was lost in the radiance of the sun hanging above it. Against these far stretches of country rose, in front of the other city edifices, a large red-brick building, with level...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Hollow Justice
Systems that sacrifice the vulnerable to maintain the illusion of fairness while protecting those with real power.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to identify when systems blame individuals to avoid examining root causes.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when bad outcomes get blamed on the person with least power instead of the policies or people who created the conditions.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Winchester
An ancient English city, once the capital of Wessex kingdom. Hardy calls it 'Wintoncester' to emphasize its historical weight and dignity. The setting contrasts the city's noble past with the harsh reality of modern justice.
Modern Usage:
Like how we might reference Philadelphia as the birthplace of American democracy when discussing current political injustices
Black flag execution signal
In Victorian England, prisons raised a black flag to announce that an execution had been carried out. This was the public notification that someone had been put to death by the state.
Modern Usage:
Similar to how news breaks instantly today on social media when major legal decisions are announced
President of the Immortals
Hardy's bitter reference to God or fate, suggesting that divine forces toy with human lives for sport. The phrase comes from Greek tragedy and implies that higher powers are indifferent to human suffering.
Modern Usage:
Like saying 'the universe has it out for me' when everything seems to go wrong at once
Justice in quotation marks
Hardy deliberately puts 'Justice' in quotes to show he doesn't believe real justice was served. It's his way of saying this execution was legal but not moral or fair.
Modern Usage:
Like when we use air quotes to show we disagree with something - 'Yeah, that was real fair'
Gothic architecture
The medieval style of the cathedral and old buildings in Winchester, representing beauty, tradition, and spiritual values. Hardy contrasts this with the ugly modern prison tower.
Modern Usage:
Like how we contrast beautiful historic neighborhoods with harsh modern developments that lack character
Scaffold
The wooden platform where public executions took place. In Victorian times, hanging was still the method of capital punishment, and it carried deep shame for the family.
Modern Usage:
Similar to how we talk about 'death row' or lethal injection chambers today
Characters in This Chapter
Angel Clare
Tess's husband and survivor
He walks with Tess's sister in grief and shock, watching for the execution signal. His presence shows he finally understands what he lost and perhaps feels guilt for abandoning Tess when she needed him most.
Modern Equivalent:
The ex who realizes too late what they threw away
'Liza-Lu
Tess's younger sister and witness
She represents innocence forced to witness injustice. Hardy describes her as a 'spiritualized image of Tess,' suggesting she carries on Tess's memory but in a purer form.
Modern Equivalent:
The little sister who has to grow up too fast because of family tragedy
Tess
Absent victim
Though not physically present, her execution is the central event. She dies as a symbol of how society destroys those who don't fit its narrow moral codes, especially women who've been sexually victimized.
Modern Equivalent:
The victim who gets blamed for their own assault
The d'Urberville ancestors
Sleeping ghosts of the past
Hardy mentions they sleep unknowing that their last descendant has died. This shows how the proud family line ends not in glory but in disgrace and execution.
Modern Equivalent:
Family members who'd roll over in their graves if they knew what happened to their descendants
Key Quotes & Analysis
"Justice was done, and the President of the Immortals, in Aeschylean phrase, had ended his sport with Tess."
Context: After the black flag is raised, signaling Tess's execution
Hardy's most bitter statement in the entire novel. By putting 'Justice' in quotes and comparing God to someone playing a cruel game, he shows this isn't real justice at all. The reference to Greek tragedy emphasizes how Tess was doomed from the start.
In Today's Words:
So they called it justice, but really the powers that be were just done messing with Tess's life
"They seemed anxious to get out of the sight of the houses and of their kind, and this road appeared to offer the quickest means of doing so."
Context: Describing Angel and 'Liza-Lu fleeing the city
Shows how shame and grief make them want to hide from society. They can't bear to be around other people after witnessing this injustice. The isolation reflects how trauma separates us from normal life.
In Today's Words:
They just wanted to get away from everyone and everything as fast as possible
"Their pale faces seemed to have shrunk to half their natural size."
Context: Describing Angel and 'Liza-Lu after witnessing the execution
Physical description shows how trauma literally changes people. They're diminished, aged, and hollowed out by what they've witnessed. Grief has made them smaller versions of themselves.
In Today's Words:
They looked like ghosts of themselves, completely drained and broken
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
The d'Urberville name dies with Tess while the systems that destroyed her family continue unchanged
Development
Completes the arc—class pretensions led to tragedy, and class divisions ensure no real accountability
In Your Life:
You might see this when working-class people face harsher consequences for the same mistakes that privileged people walk away from
Justice
In This Chapter
Hardy puts 'Justice' in quotation marks, highlighting how legal justice can be morally hollow
Development
Introduced here as the novel's final judgment on society's moral failures
In Your Life:
You might encounter this when formal procedures claim to be fair but consistently favor those with more resources or connections
Powerlessness
In This Chapter
Angel and Liza-Lu can only watch helplessly as the system destroys someone they love
Development
Culminates the theme—even those who care are ultimately powerless against institutional force
In Your Life:
You might feel this when watching a loved one get crushed by bureaucracy, illness, or other systems beyond your control
Survival
In This Chapter
Angel and Liza-Lu must somehow continue living and walking forward despite devastating loss
Development
Transforms from Tess's struggle to survive into others' struggle to survive her loss
In Your Life:
You might face this when trying to rebuild your life after witnessing or experiencing profound injustice
Legacy
In This Chapter
The ancient d'Urberville line ends not with honor but on a scaffold, while the forces that destroyed it continue
Development
Completes the irony—the noble name Tess sought to restore dies with her execution
In Your Life:
You might see this when family dreams and aspirations end not through failure but through systemic destruction
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What actually happens to Tess at the end of the novel, and how do Angel and 'Liza-Lu find out?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Hardy put the word 'Justice' in quotation marks when describing Tess's execution?
analysis • medium - 3
Think about situations where someone gets blamed for problems they didn't create. What makes a person an easy scapegoat?
application • medium - 4
When you see someone being unfairly blamed at work, school, or in your community, what can you actually do to help?
application • deep - 5
What does Tess's story reveal about how society treats people who don't fit perfectly into expected roles?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map the Real Power Players
Think of a recent situation where someone got blamed or punished for a problem. Draw three columns: 'Who Got Blamed', 'Who Had Real Power', and 'What Didn't Get Fixed'. Fill in each column, then look for patterns. Often the person who gets blamed has the least power to change the system that created the problem.
Consider:
- •Look at who benefits from keeping the focus on individual blame rather than system change
- •Notice how quickly people accept simple explanations that protect those in charge
- •Pay attention to who gets to define what counts as 'justice' in each situation
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you were blamed for something that wasn't entirely your fault. What would real justice have looked like in that situation?