Social Class or Something More: Relationships and Motivations in Rebecca and Tess of the d'Urbervilles Heidi Wright 12th Grade

Both Tess of the d’Urbervilles and Rebecca are texts in which social class proves to be a factor in the relationships between lovers. Tess is born into a low class poor family, which significantly alters the outcome of events in her life. Contrastingly in Rebecca, the narrator marries into a different social class, which poses a strain on her relationship. Despite this, it is evident that social class is not the most important factor in relationships between lovers, as other factors in the novels prove themselves to be more significant.

In both Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Rebecca, the main female character are of a lower social class than their male partners. In Rebecca, the narrator sees herself as ‘ill bred’ and in Tess, she is described as ‘simple Tess Durberyfield’ which portrays both of the characters’ low social standings. Their partners in contrast are all of high social classes, Alec’s family living in a place where ‘Everything looked like money’ reflecting his wealth and high social status. Angel’s family are also described as ‘middle-class people’ and when Angel describes Tess, he says ‘she is not what in common parlance is called a lady.’ portraying that Angel too recognises Tess’ lower class. Similarly, in...