Tess Of The D’Urbervilles-Phase The Seventh-The Fulfillment-Part1

Hello everyone,
 To many of my short poem fans this is a distraction. A distraction that comes once in a while to them as I release a portion of this story. I know many of you have read the book, many had seen all the movies and so many others in January had seen the BBC-ONE production of the story of Tess written by Thomas Hardy. Still if you go through the first post and the intro into that you can see the reasons why I am doing this. It took its toll on my personal life too. A character that was thrown into every test of humanity, comes back to purity. That’s the core of the story. Many who made movies or T.V shows never really understood that core. As a poet I don’t know if I did justice in bringing that core out with these first drafts. But, I have to finish this, someone recently shown me a gesture in my site, by going through every page in my site all the way back to my first announcement about writing this story as poetry. Even though I asked that person what she is looking for in my site, I know what she meant, from that day onwards I am stuck at one point. I did not moved at all. She is right in many ways, and she misunderstood me in many other ways. Those and these poems are going to be history soon.

Now about this phase. It was properly called The Fulfillment by Thomas Hardy as it is not a conclusion but a fulfillment of a life.Tess’s troubles started when she was barely 16 years old and when the story ends with her Fulfillment of achieving the purity of a woman and human she is barely 20. In that short time Thomas Hardy shows a character that touches anyone who came around her. This is the phase where she meets her estranged husband again. I used the same dialogues Thomas Hardy used as when you read the poem you will understand there is a rhythm Hardy used in dialogues all through the novel. I am no one to change that. This is part one of The Fulfillment. Give me a bit more time I will show you all what I truly meant by writing these poems. Ironically it is nearly four and half years of my life I spent on thinking, writing, not writing, pulling my hair, falling in love, running away from love mmmm the falling in love and running away from love was something I did not expect to happen. Someday I will get the strength to write in a new way about it all. For the time being start reading “The Fulfillment”.

Tess Of The D’Urbervilles-Phase The Seventh-The Fulfillment-Part1.

On a late evening in May at Vicarage,
A mother and father without a wink waited,
To see their son who left for far away lands,
Though later than they thought he came,
Half the man who left, now sick and fainting in their hands.

Angel Clare asked if he got any more letters,
And saw the last letter Tess to him wrote,
The pain of a broken hearted though not near, still he felt,
The unforgiving mind of a wife he estranged,
Forgiveness to himself he did not felt.

Days passed as in rest his strength Angel regained,
As for the letter to Joan a reply he got that said,
They all moved out of Marlot and Joan will write,
When Tess comes back from her temp stay away,
In the days and nights again and again Angel read,
The plea from Tess then the letter in discontent she wrote,
And to go to her he decided as no longer he can wait,
To hear from Joan about Tess’s return.

While packing he also got the plea from the well wishers,
Yet another reason for Angel to rush,
And reach his love, his Angel and above all his wife,
Of whom no word of welfare in more than month he heard.
Angel as soon as he can left,
In a hired trap and uphill he climbed,
The same path earlier that year Tess descended,
In eager hopes and ascended with all hopes shattered.

First to Flintcomb-Ash he went,
As from there is where Tess her desperate plea wrote,
But to his dismay he learned,
Tess long time back from there gone,
Where her husband’s name she never used,
And understood her hardships in plight.
Angel then went to Marlot though he knew,
Tess and family from there long time back gone,
Still in the hopes of finding their whereabouts,
To the town where she was born and lived Angel went,
And to the people who in her house now lived asked,
With futile returns he walked by the church,
And found the tombstone of John Durbeyfield,
While reading “How are the mighty fallen”,
The sexton came by and told,
Even for the fancy tombstone none ever paid,
Angel to the mason who did the work went,
Paid him and on way found where the migrants left,
Though not a distance to walk still on his foot he stayed.
Angel late in the evening at Joan’s place reached,
And for the first time Joan Durbeyfield he met,
The handsome widow was reluctant to talk,
When she knew it was Angel Clare who in front of her stood,
The little ones around Joan gathered and in whispers asked,
“Mom is this the gentleman who is going to marry Tess”
For which Joan replied,
“He has married her” and told them to go inside.
Turned to Angel and she told him he knew Tess better,
Than in her whole life she herself known.
Angel turning back in thoughts of Tess’s plea,
Asked Joan the address of Tess again,
As a plea from a lonely wretched man.

A mother she is and no more the suffering of a lover she can see,
Joan told Angel Tess now in Sandbourne lives,
Though no address known, Angel with what he got left,
Sandbourne a place near the sea shore lay,
To where the last train with Angel Clare left.
 
Angel in a hotel night time spent,
After he informed his parents his address,
A night without much sleep he spent,
In the night about the thought of Tess he spent,
Oh’ what brought her to this wealth and fashion,
A milkmaid, a tiller, a cottage girl in the middle,
Of this watering-place what vocation she can do?
Restless thoughts and in restless walks night for Angel went,
At seven in haste to the post office Angel went,
Where he asked for Mrs.Clare whom they knew not,
Then he asked for Miss.Durbeyfield whom they knew either,
A postman about a D’Urberville living at The Herons told,
Pleased that she used her real family name Angel to Herons went.
At the Herons the landlady welcomed,
Angel for Teresa D’Urberville or Durbeyfield asked,
The landlady cleared “Mrs.D’Urberville?”
A wave of gladness through the mind of Angel passed,
As a married woman she is known,
Though his name she had not adopted,
Told a relative is anxious to see,
Though rather early the landlady with his christian name Angel went,
With thumping heart in thought what she may think,
About his appearance Angel in the front room waited.

Foot steps his curious ears first heard,
Opening the door Tess appeared,
Not even in Angels any dream he expected,
To see her in the charm and beauty she came,
In the cashmere dressing-gown wrapped,
Her soft neck out of a frill rose,
Her hair all over the head in haste coiled,
She stood there, in front, in real like a just bloomed,
Morning glory, the gift of spring to humanity.

His hands out towards Tess Angel held,
But fell down as Tess towards him not moved,
The contrast between them Angel felt,
And about his skeletal appearance Angel thought.
Then looking at her Angel said,
“Tess, Can you forgive me for going away?
Can’t you-Come to me?
How do you get to be-Like this?”.

With eyes unnatuarally shinning Tess told,
“Its too late”
Angel not fully hearing her continued,
“I did not think rightly of you—
I did not see you as you were!”
I have learnt to since, dearest Tessy mine!”
Waving her hands in impatience Tess told,
“Too late, too late, Don’t come close to me,
Angel, you must not. Keep away”
“Don’t you love me my dear wife,
In sickness I’ve been down,
To take you with me I’ve come,
My mother and father to welcome you awaits”
Angel continued his plea.

In surprise and gladness, anger and sadness,
Tess towards him looked and said,
“Don’t you know all—don’t you know it?
Yet how do you come here if you do not know?”
“I inquired here and there and I found the way”
Angel in desperation told.
Then from every strength bound in anger Tess told,
“Waited and waited I for you, you did not come,
I wrote to you  and you did not come,
He kept on saying you would never come,
And a foolish woman I am to wait for you to come,
After the death of my father kind to me,
And kind to my mother and everyone, He”
Angel interrupted Tess saying he understands her not,
Tess with sadness again told,
“Back to him he has won me”.

Angel by now understood it all,
His look from her eyes to her hands dropped,
The once hard worked rosy hands now white and delicate.
Tess holding her sobs to him looked and continued,
“Upstairs he is and now I hate him,
Because to me a lie he told,
That never again you would come,
And now you have come,
These clothes he puts on me,
And I didn’t care what he did with me,
But will go away from me?
Angel please never come any more to me”.

They both stood there looking at each other,
No more words or actions from both came,
As Angel from all her heard and seen understood,
His own darling Tess inside her ceased,
The body of beauty before him stood,
Is nothing but a corpse in a current drifting,
Spiritless and without direction of any will.

Minutes passed and Angel found,
Tess without any more words or deeds had gone,
None knows how that place Angel left,
Spiritless in the streets he was later found,
Where beauty of all kinds in the May morning wandered,
The light, life, pain and all that moved,
Oh’ all for him lost their meanings in a mind lost.

Though not so curious in this material world,
The landlady in her lady mind got curious,
Upstairs she went and from outside the door listened,
Where she only heard the sobbing of crying Tess,
Through the keyhole she then looked,
And found Tess beside the dining table kneeling,
With her head on the table again and again she sobbed.
Then from inside a man for the reason of cry asked,
Tess first as if in a soliloquy some things said,
None can understand as all in the sobbing voice drowned,
Then in clear voice she said,
“And then my dear, dear husband came home to me
… and I did not know it! …
And you had used your cruel persuasion upon me …
You did not stop using it—no—you did not stop!
My little sisters and brothers and my mother’s needs—
They were the things you moved me by …
And you said my husband would never come back—never;
And you taunted me, and said what a simpleton I was to expect him!
And at last I believed you and gave way! …
And then he came back!
Now he is gone. Gone a second time,
And I have lost him now for ever …
And he will not love me,
The littlest bit ever any more—only hate me! …
O yes, I have lost him now—again because of—you!”.
 
Towards the door Tess her face turned,
And the red face in tears and pain the landlady saw,
Her bleeding lips from the clench of teeth,
Then wiping away her tears Tess continued,
“And he is dying—he looks as if he is dying! …
And my sin will kill him and not kill me! …
O, you have torn my life all to pieces …
Made me be what I prayed you in pity not to make me be again! …
My own true husband will never,
Never—O God—I can’t bear this!—I cannot!”
Some foul words and sharper comments from the man came,
And in a sudden Tess got up,
The landlady thinking Tess is coming to the door,
Making no noise went down the stairs in haste.

Though Tess did not opened the door and came,
From her own place below the landlady barely heard,
The creek of floor and later she heard,
Then door opened and Tess dressed in walking costume,
And a veil covering her face,
Without a word to her landlady she left.

Mrs.Brooks the landlady back to her work went,
And sat in her parlor and started her sewing work,
While in her work her eyes up to the ceiling went,
And saw a spot which she never before seen,
The spot slowly started growing in size,
In her fancy thoughts she got up the table and touched,
And found it was a stain of blood.

She went upstairs and from the room no sound came,
Except for the sound of something dripping,
The landlady rushed and from the neighborhood called,
A worker who came and into the bed room went,
Back he came all shocked and said,
The shocking news of the dead gentleman,
Who was found on bed with a knife hurt,
And a pool of blood on the floor from his injury.

The quite house with lot of footsteps aroused,
And the surgeon who came by said,
The one wound, only wound was small,
But the knife indeed touched his heart,
That killed Alec D’Urberville instantly,
And he was found on bed without making any move.
The news through every corner of the watering-place spread,
Like a wildfire that a visitor to the town was stabbed,
In his bed and from his wound he died.

The impurity upon Tess Alec once brought,
Which will exist as long as he lives,
Angel once told Tess that how can he be her husband,
When that man by nature her husband lives,
Now with the death of that husband by nature,
Dead by the hand of a woman who impure he made,
Took her to the first step of purity,
Every woman at birth blessed with.

To be continued…….

Here are the previous phases.

Tess Of The D’Urbervilles. Phase The First–The  Maiden.

Tess Of The
D’Urbervilles-Phase The Second–Maiden No More

Tess Of The
D’Urbervilles-Phase The Third–The Rally.

Tess Of The D’Urbervilles Phase The Fourth–The Consequence.

Tess Of The D’Urbervilles Phase The Fifth–The Woman Pays-Part 1.

Tess Of The D’Urbervilles-Phase The Fifth-Part 2-The Plight, In Tears And Hope.

Tess Of The
D’Urbervilles-Phase The Sixth–The Convert-Part 1.

Tess Of The
D’Urbervilles-Phase The Sixth–The Convert-Part 2.

Here is the original text I followed to write this part of the Novel as a poem. Tess Of The D’Urbervilles-Phase The Seventh-The Fulfillment.

Here is the BBC-ONE production videos of Tess Of The D’Urbervilles Honestly I did not liked the actor who performed as Angel Clare. Roman Polanski got the perfect Tess and Angel. But Roman Polanski made a mess of the story towards the end of the movie. This one the ending is good. they show a little extra but I can live with that. The girl who acted as Tess though not pretty as Natassja Kinski or Justin Heyden but still did a remarkable job. The serial don’t exactly follow the book and some of the changes they made are stupid. Still if you have about 4 hours yeah watch this.