Joan Durbeyfield

Tess Durbeyfield

Joan is Tess's mother, a well-meaning but naive woman who pushes Tess toward Alec d'Urberville for financial gain.

Angel Clare

Angel interacts with Joan as his mother-in-law, but their relationship is strained due to Tess's past and Joan's role in it.

Tess Durbeyfield

Joan is Tess's mother, a well-meaning but naive woman who pushes Tess toward Alec d'Urberville for financial gain.

Angel Clare

Angel interacts with Joan as his mother-in-law, but their relationship is strained due to Tess's past and Joan's role in it.

Tess Durbeyfield

Joan is Tess's mother, a well-meaning but naive woman who pushes Tess toward Alec d'Urberville for financial gain.

Angel Clare

Angel interacts with Joan as his mother-in-law, but their relationship is strained due to Tess's past and Joan's role in it.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Tess's mother, who encourages Tess to seek out the d'Urberville family for financial gain.

Phase the First: The Maiden

Tess's mother, who encourages Tess to seek favor with the d'Urbervilles, hoping for financial gain.

I

John sends a message to his wife, instructing her to stop washing and wait for his return with news.

III

Rocking the cradle and singing, she tells Tess about the d'Urberville lineage and goes to fetch John from the inn.

The Ruin of Prince

Devises the plan to send Tess to claim kin with the wealthy Mrs. d'Urberville, hoping for a grand marriage.

V

Joan is Tess's mother, who schemes to send Tess to claim kin with the d'Urbervilles, hoping for financial help and possibly a match. She is childlike and opportunistic.

VI

Eagerly pushes Tess to accept the position, seeing it as a chance for Tess to marry Alec and improve the family's fortunes.

VII

Dresses Tess to attract Alec, expresses later regret, but trusts to chance; she claps her hands when Alec arrives in the gig.

VIII

Mentioned indirectly as Tess's mother, who dressed Tess prettily, apparently to lamentable purpose.

IX

Mentioned as Tess's musical mother, from whom Tess learned tunes for the bullfinches.

The Chaseborough Fair and the Flight with Alec

Joan is mentioned indirectly as the matron who pressures Tess to join the weekly pilgrimages, reflecting the local marriage customs.

Phase the Second: Maiden No More

Joan is Tess's mother, who shows concern but also a pragmatic, sometimes insensitive, attitude toward Tess's situation.

XII

Expresses disappointment that Tess did not secure a marriage proposal from Alec; admits she did not warn Tess about men for fear she would lose her chance.

XIII

Takes pride in the attention Tess receives from visitors, hoping it might lead to marriage despite the risk to Tess's reputation.

XIV

Mentioned as part of the household; Tess's mother is not directly active but her absence is noted in Tess's distress.

Chapter XV

Tess's mother, who knows Tess's feelings about the d'Urberville ancestry and never alludes to it, though she is Blakemore to the bone.

XVII

Mentioned in Dairyman Crick's inquiry about Tess's family.

Phase the Fourth: The Consequence

Joan is unsympathetic to Tess's plight after her return home, blaming her for not keeping her past secret and showing little understanding of her daughter's suffering.

The Milkmaid's Journey

Tess decides to write to her mother about the engagement.

XXXI

Writes a letter advising Tess to keep her past a secret, viewing it as a minor accident.

XXXII

Tess writes to her for advice about the marriage, but Joan does not reply.

XXXIII

Mentioned as having written a letter to Tess, though not directly present.

Phase the Fifth: The Woman Pays

Joan is present when Tess returns home after the separation, and she tries to support Tess.

XXXVIII

Reacts with anger and disappointment at Tess's confession, calling her a fool; later accepts the situation as a stroke of bad luck and uses Tess's money to celebrate.

XLI

Tess's mother; she writes to Tess asking for money to repair the thatch and ceiling of their house, and Tess sends twenty pounds.

L

Recovering from illness, but her husband's death changes the family's fortunes.

LI

Joan has gone out to bid friends goodbye; she was scolded for harboring Tess and independently offered to leave.

LII

Joan leads the family's move, determined to camp in the d'Urberville Aisle, and expresses bitterness about Tess's marriage.

LIII

Sends a brief, evasive reply to Angel's inquiry, stating Tess is away and not revealing her address.

LIV

Reluctantly reveals Tess's whereabouts to Angel, showing evasiveness and concern.