Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy is a critique of Victorian society. But the major and universal idea he criticizes is the existence of true love. Through the relationships that Tess has been in, as well as the times that Hardy has lived in, it has become apparent that there will always be a flaw in romance. To begin with, Hardy wrote realistic literary works. To escape the “fantasy” of Romantic works, realism was a response in which the true social characteristics of life were illustrated. This is evident in Tess of the d'Urbervilles, where Tess is depicted as admitting the state of our planet, "a devastated planet" (40). By admitting that life and the Earth are decaying, Hardy showed that things could be better, a major view of other social writers of his time. But in addition to being a novelist, Hardy was also a noted poet. In his poem "Between Us Now", Hardy again demonstrates the characteristics of a realistic writer: "Let the truth be at last / Even though despair" (lines 7, 8), meaning that he will accept both the truth and its consequences. Therefore, Hardy is very capable of depicting social issues, and he does so in Tess. Now the first major relationship Tess is in is with Alec D'Urberville in which she is subjected to abuse. One of the most obvious examples of how Alec treats Tess in the garden, in which he gives her strawberries while she was "in mild distress" and even smokes in front of her, although she claims it doesn't bother her bothers “not at all”. (52). The clearest example, the abuse of strawberries, alludes to the rape that occurs later in the novel. She is forced to eat the strawberry even though she prefers to “take it in [her] own hand” (52), clearly showing a brutal refusal. Additionally, Alec shamelessly smoked around her, which is not only disrespectful but dangerous. to his health. The “narcotic mist” (52), which permeated the rooms Alec and Tess were in, acted as enigmatic amnesiac clouds of death. Not only did they limit visibility, but they suffocated Tess and ultimately damaged her later. This also parallels his rape in that the damage Alec caused remained invisible for a long time in both cases. Later in the novel, Alec quickly converts to a devout Christian but is "tempted" by Tess, whom he calls a "dear damned witch of Babylon ».” (377).