The dairy of Talbothays is in the Blackmoor Valley, on the river Froom/Frome. Hardy describes this region in breathtaking terms of green valleys and abundant life. “The river itself, which nourished the grass and cows of these renowned dairies, flowed not like the streams in Blackmoor … The Froom waters were clear as the pure River of Life shown to the Evangelist … .” To Tess, the job at the diary signifies a new beginning, so much so that she now begins a new phase of her life—“she appeared to feel that she really had laid a new foundation for her future.” She fits right into the diary work and it suits her.
In this sequence of chapters, Hardy introduces us again to Angel, who appeared briefly in Chapter 1. Angel’s desire is to learn all he can through an internship, or apprenticeship, with an expert farmer. His training is practical, not like his two older brothers, both parsons, who were university trained at Cambridge. Angel has settled on farming in order to have “intellectual liberty.” That is, he wants to be able to study and read what he wants, whenever he wants, and to pursue studies not related to the church. He comes to realize that the myth of the uneducated, simpleton farmer is not true. He sees the farm workers as his friends and regards them with high esteem. Through this changing perception, Angel “grew away from old associations, and saw something new in life and humanity.”
The description of Angel in these chapters is significant in other ways: Angel Clare is a direct contrast to Alec d’Urberville. Angel makes himself aware of Tess in a slow methodical manner versus the abrupt, harsh forcefulness of Alec. Angel is well read, from a good family, and he does not regard his associates or colleagues with scorn. He uses his position of authority wisely, not to overpower his coworkers but to aid and assist them, unlike Alec who abuses his position over the servants of the house, using them for his own pleasures and whims. Angel is not opposed to working for a living, especially the hard life of a farmer. Angel seeks to better himself by furthering his own education, even offering to enhance Tess’ education as his own expense. Angel is not perfect, however, as his relationship with an older woman in London suggests. Mr. Crick tells Tess how Angel views the aristocracy and the use of “old family names” as a means to establish dominance over others not so fortunate: “Oh no! he can’t stomach old families!” Perhaps these views are not Crick’s own but are part of Hardy’s argument against establishment and order in Victorian England.
It is interesting the comparison Hardy makes between Angel and his brothers. Angel is essentially a good man—and remains a good man, despite his later inability to forgive Tess for her past and the bad decision he makes to leave her—and we can admire his kindness, fairness, and strength. His brothers, on the other hand, although certainly not bad men, do not exhibit, the admirable qualities Angel possesses. Although this comparison will become more apparent in later chapters, Hardy begins it here, and in so doing, begins the revelation of Angel’s character. What we know from the information about Angel’s past is that he is his own man (note that he is not going into the family business—ministering—despite his family’s expectations that he will); that he does not rely on family name to determine his own or others’ worthiness (a direct contrast to Alec d’Urberville who does rely on family name and, even more pointedly, relies on a family name that is not even really his); and that he views others without the prejudices associated with his privileged class.
Hardy describes Tess and Angel as “Adam and Eve” as it appears that they are the first and only people awake on earth (they are the two earliest risers at the dairy, usually up early for the morning milking). In describing the couple, Hardy uses these biblical references—of Adam and Eve and Mary Magdalene—to elevate the pair to a more heroic status. These allusions are interesting and significant in other ways: Mary Magdalene—and by Hardy’s analogy, Tess—is identified with the repentant woman, specifically a reformed prostitute. Adam and Eve existed in a state of innocence in the Garden of Eden; their loss of innocence resulted in their loss of Paradise. Linking Angel and Tess with Adam and Eve (and linking Tess specifically with Mary Magdalene) foreshadows the revelation and the events that destroy Angel and Tess’ happiness. When Hardy says that life at Talbothays is quite good and that “Tess had never in her recent life been so happy as she was now, possibly never would be so happy again,” the reader can justifiably look to the coming action with foreboding.
