Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles is a criticism of Victorian society. But the main, universal idea he criticizes is the existence of true love. Through the relationships that Tess has been in, as well as the era that Hardy has lived in, it has become apparent that there will always be a flaw in romance. To begin with, Hardy wrote realist literary works. To escape the “fantasy” of romantic works, realism was an answer in which the true social characteristics of life were illustrated. This is evident in Tess of the d'Urbervilles as Tess is depicted admitting the condition of our planet, "desolate" (40). By admitting that life and the Earth are decaying, Hardy demonstrated that things could be better, an important point of view of other social writers of his time. But as well as being a novelist, Hardy was also a poet and a renowned one at that. In his poem "Between Us Now" Hardy once again demonstrates the characteristics of a realist writer: "Let there be truth at last / Though despair" (lines 7, 8), means that he will accept both the truth and its consequences . Therefore, Hardy is perfectly capable of depicting social issues, and he does so in Tess. Now, the first major relationship Tess has is with Alec d'Urberville in which she is subjected to mistreatment. One of the clearest examples of Alec's treatment of Tess in the garden, where he fed her strawberries while she was "slightly distressed" and even smoked in front of her, even though she claims she "didn't mind at all" (52 ). Now the clearest example, the abuse of strawberries, alludes to the rape that occurs later in the novel. She is forced to consume the strawberry even though she would rather "take it in [her] hand" (52), obviously showing rejection in a frank state, on top of this Alec has been blatantly smoking around her, which is not only disrespectful but dangerous to the his health. The “narcotic haze” (52), which permeated the rooms in which Alec and Tess were located, acted as enigmatic amnesiac clouds of death. Not only did they limit visibility, they suffocated Tess and ultimately harmed her later. This also parallels her rape in that the damage caused by Alec 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 damn witch of Babylon”.” (377).