End of "The Maiden"

Now that I've read a bit further, I don't think you are supposed to believe that she was forced upon; in fact, I think she welcomed it. The book seems to be trying to give a sort of commentary on freedom of sexuality, and so the fact that she jumps on Angel when she agrees to marry him shows that she has at least a bit of experience in the arena. I'm not at the point of their wedding night, however, so maybe I'll change my mind.

It's unclear.

Here's a pretty good discussion, but it gives away some information further along. http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/novel_19c/hardy/rape.html

I think, especially from how Tess later acts in the novel, that it falls to somewhere in between. I doubt it was a violent forcible rape, but I would guess that Alec forced himself on her to some extent and as a result, she "gave in" to his advances.

I think that her guilt throughout the novel demonstrates that, at least in her own mind, it was to some extent her fault, a lapse in judgment, perhaps, or a response to fear, but given how she condemns herself (with not nearly as much contempt as her contemporary social morals and religious education would otherwise dictate), and later Alec (who does receive the full force of her anger), she demonstrates how she finds more fault with him as the pivotal factor in her "fall."

More important than whether or not Tess was raped is that she is the victim. That the occurrence was inevitable is clear. The D'Urberville crest or motto is "It was to be" as Hardy quotes later (and may be written in the mausoleum). Also the situation which lead to Tess being carried off was such that fear for her well being forced her hand in a reckless move to jump up to Alec's horse. As the horse galloped away, one of the drunken party-goers whispered something to the effect of "out of the pot, and into the frying pan." Her match with Alec was inevitable from the moment her father learned that he was descended from nobility.

I think that Hardy intentionally cloaked the true nature of the act so that the reader would be forced to look at the other factors surrounding the incident and Tess's choices further along in the novel. We don't see Alec as a true villain and likewise we don't see Tess as an innocent victim; it's gray. Further, this one act changes the course of Tess's life, and further alters her character. It's at this point, that Tess no longer makes conscious decisions. She sort of backs into them, almost as if she no longer has free will, but responds to outside forces by instinct.

Furthermore, (and this may be a huge stretch) it appears that this act seemed to have expelled her from the laws of society. Tess, being ostracized from society no longer conforms to (but does feel bound to) those rules, but instead complies strictly with laws of nature. She no longer is battling for happiness, but survival. Hardy often compares her actions to those of an animal. Later she has lazy content days at a dairy farm, and similar to a sleepy cows, she drifts from day to day serving her purpose than moving along. Her relationship with Angel parallels this because she is so uncertain about moving again into society, which a marriage to a well off family would require. She stalls their relationship over and over and when it culminates in a marriage she again flings herself out of the parameters of social law. At the end of the novel, with her most animalistic action (and arguably the single most instinctive animalistic action available) yet, she forces herself back into the laws of society.

Are we to assume that Tess is raped in the fog? Alec doesn't seem the sort.