le. In the end, though he claims to love Tess, he and her sister watch the hanging and then go off together. This is what Tess wants, but it still is an example of the peculiar behavior demonstrated by Angel throughout the novel. He did not go into the clergy as his father did and as his father wanted him to do, and there is some sense that he did not do so because of doubts about aspects of the teachings of the church. His name, Angel, evokes a certain sense of goodness that is countered by his inability to make up his mind and to be faithful to the woman who loves him and who ultimately dies for him.
Tess's fate is not completely the fault of Angel, of course, and one of the elements brought forth by Hardy is the idea that Tess is a product of her upbringing and that much of what happens to her later in life can be traced to that fact. To a degree, this is also an issue of social class--the Durbeyfields aspire to be part of the d'Urbervilles they believe are their relatives, and as poor people, the Durbeyfields are pressured by economic necessity that limits any chances Tess has for a future. In addition, Hardy criticizes the arbitrary laws of society that condemn Tess for something that is not her fault. Hardy sees these laws as an aspect of the general preference for the ideal over the real, a force th
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