Threat of Industrialisation ‘the red tyrant that the women had come to serve - a timber-framed construction, with straps and wheels appertaining – the threshing-machine’-chapter 47 of the threshing machine Alec d’Urberville represents the aggressive, domineering machinery of industrialisation whilst Tess is symbolic of the innocent and rustic nature. ‘The long strap which ran from the driving-wheel of his engine to the red thresher under the rick was the sole tie-line between agriculture and him.’-chapter 47 of the threshing machine and workman Industrialisation threatens agriculture and the old way of life. Alec d’Urberville threatens Tess’ previous naïve way of living.

Benefits of Industrialisation ‘The dairy business did well, particularly, when the railways arrived, which were able to get dairy produce to the cities quickly - vital when there was no such thing as refrigeration.’-crossref-it.info ‘Dairyman Crick's household of maids and man lived on comfortably, placidly, even merrily.’-chapter 20 It could be argued that none of Tess’ ordeal would have occurred at all had Marlott been subject to more technological advancement. As a small, rural village, industrialisation does not extend to Marlott a great deal which forced the family to rely on transportation via horse and carriage. It is this reliance on their trusty horse, Prince, that leads to Tess visiting the d’Urbervilles after Prince’s unfortunate death. Upon meeting Alec for the first time Tess exclaims ‘I – killed him! […] And I don’t know what to do for my father on account of it!’ She also previously told her mother ‘Well, as I killed the horse, mother […] I don’t mind going and seeing her, but you must leave it to me about asking for help.’ This reveals that Tess only went to visit the d’Urbervilles as a result of Prince’s death and the family’s reliance on older methods of farming and transportation, implying that if the village of Marlott had been more modernised none of the horrific events in Tess’ life following this would have happened so industrialisation could have greatly benefitted Tess.

Hardy’s Criticism of Modernism Hardy reveals his disapproval of modernism through his descriptions of Alec d’Urberville as a very modern man as upon their first meeting he conveys Tess’ disappointment at Alec’s fresh, modern appearance ‘She had dreamed of an aged and dignified face, the sublimation of all the d’Urberville lineaments, furrowed with incarnate memories representing in hieroglyphic the centuries of her family’s and England’s history.’ He furthers this criticism of modernisation through Angel and Tess’ issues with the weight of responsibilities and difficulty adapting to modern times. In chapter 19, Angel notices Tess’ ‘feelings which might almost have been called those of the age – the ache of modernism.’ This represents Hardy’s fear that modernism equates to an emptiness inside, a lack of identity and therefore a falseness in one’s appearance to the world, as encapsulated by the portrayal of Alec d’Urberville, especially through the name d’Urberville. Angel is also a modern man and conveys another popular fear of modernity by his decision to not become a parson like his father and brothers which illustrates the worry of modernisation leading to a rejection of faith and the church.