Both Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Rebecca are texts in which social class proves to be a factor in relationships between lovers. Tess is born into a poor, lower-class family, which significantly alters the outcome of events in her life. In contrast, in Rebecca, the narrator marries into a different social class, which puts a strain on his relationship. Despite this, it is evident that social class is not the most important factor in relationships between lovers, as other factors in the novels prove to be more significant. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In both Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Rebecca, the female protagonist is of a lower social class than their male partners. In Rebecca, the narrator considers herself "rude" and in Tess she is described as "plain Tess Durberyfield", which portrays the low social standing of both characters. Their partners, in contrast, all belong to upper social classes, Alec's family lives in a place where "Everything looked like money" reflecting his wealth and high social status. Angel's family is also described as "middle class people" and when Angel describes Tess, he says "she is not what in common parlance is called a lady". depicting that Angel also recognizes Tess's lower class. Similarly, in Rebecca, Maxim's class is clear from the start, when Mrs Van Hopper asks the question "I suppose your ancestors often entertained royalty at Manderley, Mr de Winter?" These stark contrasts between the lovers' social classes are a common occurrence in novels of this era: men were typically presented as the stronger (and therefore richer) characters and women as the more vulnerable (and therefore poorer) characters. . The social divisions between the lovers in both novels cause tensions that would not exist without these divisions, and social class is therefore portrayed as an important factor in relationships between lovers. It is debatable, where Tess is concerned that Alec's social class was the reason for Tess' rape. Tess, due to her social class and position as a woman in the 19th century, felt as if she could not fight back or resist Alec. Even after the rape, Alec demonstrates that he is entitled due to his social class, such as when he tells Tess, "Remember, I was your master once!" I will be your master again." Since Alec's rape is Tess's greatest demise in the novel (everything after seems to be a downward spiral for Tess), this shows that social class is the most important factor in relationships between lovers .In contrast, in Rebecca, it is not Maxim's social class that pays the greatest toll on the narrator, but rather the class of Maxim's ex-wife, Rebecca. The narrator becomes increasingly paranoid that she is not good enough for Maxim to because of her social position. Maxim's sister tells her that "you are very different from Rebecca." which leads to the narrator's eventual self-hatred , grace, beauty, intelligence - Oh, all the qualities that mean the most in a woman - she possessed them". This portrays social class as a major factor in relationships between lovers as it caused extreme paranoia and hatred for the narrator's selves in the novel. As presented by Hardy, Tess is encouraged by her mother to be with Alec because of his social class. Had she not done so, it is arguable that the rape might never have occurred, nor even Tess's ultimate death. Tess's passive nature, instilled by her class, also played a role in the.