Tess Of The D Urbervilles Character Analysis

Likewise, men are also demonised in both novels as they are depicted as dominant. In ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ when Alec feeds her the strawberry, Tess protests that she would “rather take it in (her) own hand”, then Alec “insist(s)” and ‘in a slight distress, she parted her lips and took it in’. This is the first example of the repeating cycle of Tess not wanting to do something but consenting reluctantly due to Alec forcing her. The use of the adjective ‘distress’ demonstrates how Tess must be submissive under the dominance of Alec. Moreover, Tess is forced to follow Alec around his estate when she meets him in ‘a half-pleased, half-reluctant’ manner and behaves ‘like one in a dream.’ This simile shows that Tess is overpowered by Alec,
Alec’s language when he first meets Tess, “my pretty coz” and “my beauty” shows his arrogance as he is informal, and he repeatedly uses the pronoun ‘my’ which shows he takes Tess to be his possession. He also refers to her as a “crumby girl” which is derogatory. Women in Victorian Britain were held as possessions of their husbands. Also, when Alec sees Tess for the first time in years, she hits him with a heavy work glove as he tries to kiss her; he cries "Remember, I was your master once! I will be your master again. If you are any man's wife you are mine!" The use of exclamatory language demonstrates Alec’s arrogance, along with his demanding tone. It was believed in Victorian Britain that the man a woman consummated with first was the woman’s natural husband. This reverberates throughout the novel as Angel Clare states that Alec is Tess’ true husband, not him; “How can we live together while that man lives? – he being your husband in nature, and not I.” The use of the rhetorical question conveys Angel’s arrogance as he doesn’t take into consideration Tess’ feelings. Following on in ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ Rasheed is introduced through his smell of ‘sweet cologne’ which ‘flooded Mariam’s nostrils.’ This sickening smell overshadows how Rasheed will overpower her during their marriage. He also has a ‘thick grunt’ and ‘breathed noisily’ which reinforces his arrogance through the use of unpleasant onomatopoeia and unattractive adjectives, ‘thick’ and ‘noisily’. Rasheed forces Mariam to wear a burqa and states, “Where I come from, one wrong look, one improper word, and blood is spilled. Where I come from, a women’s face is her husband’s business only. I want you to remember that. Do you understand?” The use of demanding tone conveys the arrogance of Rasheed, and also his violent nature through the reference to “blood”. Mariam is treated horribly by