Tess Durbville

The Impact of Societal and Parental Influences versus Individual Decision in Angel Clare In Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urberville, a combination of society, parental influence, individualism, and indecision eventually lead to the downfall of Angel and those around him eventually. Moreover, society and heredity are not the primary factors of the catastrophe. Instead, in many critical instances Angel chose individualism and sometimes was drained into a perpetual state of indecision that brought about great …

…answers. The factors governing Angel Clare has minimal impact when considering his own strong opinion and "principles". In fact the influence of society plays the smallest role in the shaping of Clare's terrible reaction to Tess's confession when compared to the roles of parental and individualistic influence. Clare often reacts independently and rashly which brought about his union with Tess in the first place. This headstrong attitude plagued Tess by reacting to Tess's innocent replies.