domingo, 1 de febrero de 2009

Tess la de los d'Urberville





"He listened. The wind, playing upon the edifice, produced a booming tune, like the note of some gigantic one-stringed harp. No other sound came from it, and lifting his hand and advancing a step or two, Clare felt the vertical surface of the structure. It seemed to be of solid stone, without joint or moulding. Carrying his fingers onward he found that what he had come in contact with was a colossal rectangular pillar; by stretching out his left hand he could feel a similar one adjoining. At an indefinite height overhead something made the black sky blacker, which had the semblance of a vast architrave uniting the pillars horizontally. They carefully entered beneath and between; the surfaces echoed their soft rustle; but they seemed to be still out of doors. The place was roofless. Tess drew her breath fearfully, and Angel, perplexed, said... "What can it be?"
Feeling sideways they encountered another tower-like pillar, square and uncompromising as the first; beyond it another and another. The place was all doors and pillars, some connected above by continuous architraves.
"A very Temple of the Winds," he said.
The next pillar was isolated; others composed a trilithon; others were prostrate, their flanks forming a causeway wide enough for a carriage and it was soon obvious that they made up a forest of monoliths grouped upon the grassy expanse of the plain. The couple advanced further into this pavilion of the night till they stood in its midst. "It is Stonehenge!" said Clare. "The heathen temple, you mean?" "Yes. Older than the centuries; older than the d'Urbervilles! Well, what shall we do, darling? We may find shelter further on."
But Tess, really tired by this time, flung herself upon an oblong slab that lay close at hand, and was sheltered from the wind by a pillar. Owing to the action of the sun during the preceding day the stone was warm and dry, in comforting contrast to the rough and chill grass around, which had damped her skirts and shoes.

(…)
"What is it, Angel?" she said, starting up. "Have they come for me?"
"Yes, dearest," he said. "They have come." "It is as it should be," she murmured. "Angel, I am almost glad--yes, glad! This happiness could not have lasted. It was too much. I have had enough; and now I shall not live for you to despise me!" She stood up, shook herself, and went forward, neither of the men having moved. "I am ready," she said quietly."

Tess of the d'Urberville
Capítulo 58
Thomas Hardy (1891)


Tess, Roman Polanski, 1979
Se estrenó en Estados Unidos el 12 de diciembre de 1980

2 comentarios:

Athena dijo...

Esta novela es de las que también he pensado a veces leer, ¿merece la pena?

Wunderkammer dijo...

Se me ha borrado todo lo que había escrito...

Decía que la novela la leí hace tiempo y me gustó aunque es demasiado deprimente. Te caen mal todos los personajes menos Tess que, a pesar de la adversidad, se levanta una y otra vez. Pero está muy bien escrita. Me gustaría retomar a Hardy y leerme a Jude el oscuro.

Aquí adjunto la dirección de la novela on-line, aunque está en inglés. De ahí he cortado y pegado el pasaje que he colgado:

http://www.online-literature.com/hardy/tess_urbervilles/

Tengo mucho más reciente la película de Polanski porque la tengo en DVD y la he visto muchas veces. Es de esos casos en los que casi prefiero la película al libro. Además Natashja Kinski lo hace muy bien y está guapísima.