Quote:
Originally Posted by barryem
After writing "Tess" he stopped writing novels for a while, as I recall, because of the public's shocked reaction. It was thought that since Tess was an unwed mother even though that was due to being raped, that there was nothing important to say about her. In fact initially his publishers refused to publish it.
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I read this in 6th or 7th grade as an assignment. During the class discussion, I told the teacher that Tess just needed to get over herself and stop whining!
I suspect I'd have a very different point of view as an adult with a better understanding of the cultural mores at the time of the novel.