Tess of the d'Urbervilles (AmazonClassics Edition) characters

First appears in chapter 2

The eldest daughter of an impoverished rural family in Marlott. She is conscientious, reserved, and acutely sensitive to the consequences of her actions. When her father learns that the Durbeyfield name descends from the old d'Urberville family, Tess is drawn into her parents' hopes of turning that ancestry into practical help.

Also known as Sir John d'Urberville

Appears from the start

Tess's father, a poor haggler and former farm worker in Marlott. Learning from Parson Tringham that his family descends from the ancient d'Urbervilles fills him with grand ideas, though the ancestry brings no property or dependable income. He readily adopts the mock title Sir John.

First appears in chapter 3

Tess's energetic and impractical mother. She seizes on the family's newly discovered ancestry and hopes that sending Tess to the wealthy Stoke-d'Urbervilles at Trantridge will produce either assistance or a prosperous match.

Appears from the start

An elderly clergyman and antiquarian who tells John Durbeyfield that the family name is a worn-down form of d'Urberville. His casual genealogical disclosure gives John a sense of inherited importance and sets the family's plans in motion.

First appears in chapter 4

Tess's young brother, who rides with her when she takes the family's beehives to market at night. His innocent questions about their place in the stars deepen Tess's sense that the family's welfare rests on her.

Also known as Alec d'Urberville

First appears in chapter 5

The confident young heir at the estate of the wealthy Stoke-d'Urbervilles. Although his family merely purchased the old surname, he allows Tess to approach him as a supposed poor relation. He is immediately attracted to her and arranges work for her at his mother's poultry farm.

First appears in chapter 9

Alec's blind mother and the owner of the estate at Trantridge. She is chiefly interested in her poultry and accepts Tess as a worker to tend and entertain her birds, without offering the familial recognition Tess's parents imagined.

First appears in chapter 2

The youngest son of a clergyman, encountered when he and his brothers pause at Marlott during a walking tour. Unlike his more solemn brothers, he briefly joins the village girls' dance. Tess notices him, but he leaves before dancing with her.

First appears in chapter 17

The genial master dairyman at Talbothays Dairy, where Tess seeks work away from Marlott. He oversees a busy household of milkers and tells stories about the cows and the people who care for them.

First appears in chapter 19

A strong, warm-hearted dairymaid at Talbothays and one of Tess's companions there. Like several of the women at the dairy, she is in love with Angel Clare and recognizes that his attention is directed toward Tess.

First appears in chapter 19

A dark-haired dairymaid at Talbothays who becomes Tess's friend. She quietly loves Angel Clare but sees that he prefers Tess, and she treats Tess with generosity despite her disappointment.

First appears in chapter 19

A young dairymaid at Talbothays, slight and emotionally fragile. She is another of Tess's companions who loves Angel Clare without encouragement and suffers privately as his attachment to Tess becomes clear.

First appears in chapter 25

Angel's father, an earnest and uncompromising clergyman. He has accepted that Angel will not enter the church and has set aside money for his agricultural training, but he hopes his son will marry a devout woman suited to the family's beliefs.

First appears in chapter 25

A religious young woman whom Angel's parents regard as a suitable wife for him. She shares their values and is presented to Angel during his visit home, though he has already formed his own attachment elsewhere.