Original Text(~250 words)
XXI There was a great stir in the milk-house just after breakfast. The churn revolved as usual, but the butter would not come. Whenever this happened the dairy was paralyzed. Squish, squash echoed the milk in the great cylinder, but never arose the sound they waited for. Dairyman Crick and his wife, the milkmaids Tess, Marian, Retty Priddle, Izz Huett, and the married ones from the cottages; also Mr Clare, Jonathan Kail, old Deborah, and the rest, stood gazing hopelessly at the churn; and the boy who kept the horse going outside put on moon-like eyes to show his sense of the situation. Even the melancholy horse himself seemed to look in at the window in inquiring despair at each walk round. “’Tis years since I went to Conjuror Trendle’s son in Egdon—years!” said the dairyman bitterly. “And he was nothing to what his father had been. I have said fifty times, if I have said once, that I _don’t_ believe in en; though ’a do cast folks’ waters very true. But I shall have to go to ’n if he’s alive. O yes, I shall have to go to ’n, if this sort of thing continnys!” Even Mr Clare began to feel tragical at the dairyman’s desperation. “Conjuror Fall, t’other side of Casterbridge, that they used to call ‘Wide-O’, was a very good man when I was a boy,” said Jonathan Kail. “But he’s rotten as touchwood by now.” “My grandfather used to go to Conjuror Mynterne, out at...
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Summary
A broken butter churn at the dairy becomes the backdrop for deeper revelations about love and loyalty. When the butter won't form, Dairyman Crick tells a humorous story about Jack Dollop, a womanizer who hid in a churn to escape an angry mother seeking justice for her deceived daughter. The story devastates Tess, who sees parallels to her own experience with Alec, while everyone else finds it entertaining. Later that evening, Tess discovers her three roommates—Marian, Izz, and Retty—are all secretly in love with Angel Clare. They watch him from their window, discussing their hopeless feelings with surprising honesty. They acknowledge that Angel prefers Tess, but accept that none of them have a real chance with a gentleman's son. This discovery creates a new torment for Tess: she knows she could win Angel's heart, but believes her past makes her unworthy of marriage. She faces an agonizing choice between protecting her friends' chances at happiness and following her own desires. The chapter explores how trauma isolates us from others' experiences and how guilt can make even love feel like a betrayal. Tess realizes that having what others want doesn't bring joy when you believe you don't deserve it.
That's what happens. To understand what the author is really doing—and to discuss this chapter with confidence—keep reading.
Terms to Know
Conjuror
A local wise person who claimed to have magical powers, often consulted for healing, fortune-telling, or solving practical problems like failed crops or sick animals. In rural communities, these folk healers filled gaps where formal medicine or solutions weren't available.
Modern Usage:
We still turn to alternative healers, psychics, or folk remedies when conventional solutions fail us.
Dairy hierarchy
The strict social order in Victorian farm work, where dairymaids ranked below the dairyman's family but above field workers. Your position determined your living quarters, duties, and marriage prospects.
Modern Usage:
Every workplace has its pecking order that affects everything from who gets promoted to who sits where at lunch.
Gentleman's son
A man from the educated upper class who didn't need to work with his hands for survival. Even if he worked on a farm, everyone understood he was there by choice, not necessity, making him off-limits romantically to working-class women.
Modern Usage:
The boss's kid who works summer jobs knows they have a safety net the other employees don't have.
Courtship expectations
Victorian rules about how unmarried men and women could interact. Public socializing was acceptable, but private relationships required serious intentions toward marriage. A woman's reputation could be ruined by the wrong kind of attention.
Modern Usage:
We still have unwritten rules about dating and relationships, though they're much more flexible now.
Shame culture
A social system where your worth depends on community approval and your family's reputation. One person's scandal could destroy opportunities for their entire family, especially women who were judged more harshly for sexual behavior.
Modern Usage:
Social media can create similar dynamics where one mistake gets broadcast to everyone you know.
Class consciousness
The constant awareness of where you stand in society's hierarchy and how that affects every interaction. People knew their place and rarely expected to move between social levels, especially through marriage.
Modern Usage:
We still notice economic differences in education, speech, and opportunities, even when we try to ignore class.
Characters in This Chapter
Tess
Protagonist
She's tormented by Dairyman Crick's story about Jack Dollop because it mirrors her own experience with Alec. While others laugh, she sees herself as the deceived girl seeking justice. Later, she discovers her roommates all love Angel, creating new guilt about her own feelings for him.
Modern Equivalent:
The coworker carrying a secret that makes innocent conversations feel like personal attacks
Angel Clare
Love interest
He's the object of desire for all the dairymaids, though he seems unaware of their feelings. His status as a gentleman's son makes him simultaneously accessible (he works alongside them) and impossible (he's from a different class).
Modern Equivalent:
The attractive manager who's friendly with everyone but completely out of their league
Dairyman Crick
Authority figure
He tells the Jack Dollop story for entertainment, completely unaware of how it affects Tess. His casual storytelling reveals how normalized male sexual behavior was, while female victims became punchlines.
Modern Equivalent:
The boss who tells inappropriate jokes without realizing they're making someone uncomfortable
Marian, Izz, and Retty
Fellow dairymaids
They openly discuss their hopeless love for Angel with surprising honesty and acceptance. They recognize that none of them have a real chance with him, but they can't help their feelings. They also notice that Angel prefers Tess.
Modern Equivalent:
Work friends who all have crushes on the same unattainable guy and bond over their shared hopelessness
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to identify when shame creates false hierarchies where we rank ourselves as less deserving than others.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you think 'they deserve this more than me'—ask yourself who decided that ranking and whether your struggles actually disqualify you from good things.
You have the foundation. Now let's look closer.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"The butter would not come."
Context: The chapter opens with this mechanical failure that paralyzes the entire dairy operation
This simple statement sets up the theme of things not working as they should. Just as the butter won't form properly, the social and romantic relationships in the dairy are also failing to develop naturally.
In Today's Words:
When the main thing you're supposed to do just won't work, everything else stops too.
"And he hid himself in that there churn through the churning, till the old woman had gone away."
Context: He's telling the story of Jack Dollop hiding from an angry mother seeking justice for her deceived daughter
This story-within-a-story shows how men's sexual misconduct was treated as entertainment rather than serious harm. The fact that everyone laughs while Tess suffers reveals how isolated trauma can make you feel.
In Today's Words:
He hid in the equipment until the angry mom left - and everyone thinks it's hilarious.
"They all three were looking at the window upstairs."
Context: Tess discovers her roommates watching Angel Clare from their bedroom window
This moment reveals the hidden emotional lives of working women who have little control over their circumstances. They can only watch and want from a distance, knowing their feelings are futile.
In Today's Words:
All three of them were staring out the window at him like lovesick teenagers.
Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Unworthy Desires - When Guilt Makes Love Feel Like Theft
When past trauma or shame convinces us that others deserve happiness more than we do, leading us to sabotage our own chances at love or success.
Thematic Threads
Guilt
In This Chapter
Tess feels guilty about potentially taking Angel from her roommates, believing her past makes her less deserving of love
Development
Evolved from shame about Alec to broader self-punishment that affects all relationships
In Your Life:
You might feel guilty pursuing opportunities when you think others are more qualified or deserving
Class
In This Chapter
The dairy maids accept they have no real chance with Angel because he's a gentleman's son, showing internalized class limitations
Development
Continued exploration of how class consciousness shapes romantic possibilities and self-worth
In Your Life:
You might automatically assume certain jobs, relationships, or opportunities aren't 'for people like you'
Trauma
In This Chapter
The butter churn story devastates Tess while others laugh, showing how past experiences create different realities for different people
Development
Deepened from her initial assault to ongoing isolation and inability to share others' perspectives
In Your Life:
You might find yourself triggered by stories or situations that others find harmless or funny
Female Solidarity
In This Chapter
The three roommates honestly discuss their shared feelings for Angel without turning against each other
Development
Introduced here as contrast to Tess's isolation and guilt
In Your Life:
You might find strength in honest conversations with others facing similar challenges or feelings
Self-Worth
In This Chapter
Tess believes having what others want doesn't bring joy when you think you don't deserve it
Development
Evolved from external shame to internalized unworthiness that poisons potential happiness
In Your Life:
You might sabotage good things in your life because you don't believe you deserve them
Modern Adaptation
When Everyone Wants the Same Thing
Following Teresa's story...
At the dairy processing plant, Teresa discovers her three roommates—Marian, Izz, and Retty—are all crushing on Jake, the shift supervisor who's been extra kind to everyone lately. During their lunch break, they watch him through the break room window, each confessing their hopeless feelings with surprising honesty. They all acknowledge Jake seems to prefer Teresa—he always assigns her the easier stations, brings her coffee, asks about her day. The other women accept they don't have a real chance with someone who went to community college and could probably get a better job anywhere. But instead of feeling lucky or competitive, Teresa feels sick with guilt. She knows she could encourage Jake's interest, but her past with Marcus—the assault that everyone at her last job whispered about—makes her feel unworthy. How can she take what her friends want when she's damaged goods? They deserve someone clean, someone without baggage. Teresa faces an impossible choice: protect her friends' chances at happiness or follow her own heart, knowing she doesn't deserve love anyway.
The Road
The road Hardy's Teresa walked in 1891, modern Teresa walks today. The pattern is identical: when shame convinces us we're fundamentally damaged, even love feels like stealing from those who 'deserve it more.'
The Map
This chapter provides a map for recognizing shame-based worthiness hierarchies. When you catch yourself thinking others deserve good things more than you because of your past, question who created that scorekeeping system.
Amplification
Before reading this, Teresa might have simply stepped aside, believing her friends were more worthy of love. Now she can NAME the shame hierarchy, PREDICT how it limits her choices, and NAVIGATE toward recognizing that healing makes her worthy—not unworthy—of happiness.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Why does the story about Jack Dollop affect Tess so differently than it affects everyone else at the dairy?
analysis • surface - 2
What does Tess's reaction to discovering her roommates love Angel reveal about how shame affects our thinking?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today believing others 'deserve' good things more than they do because of their past?
application • medium - 4
How would you counsel someone who feels guilty for wanting something they think others deserve more?
application • deep - 5
What does this chapter teach us about how trauma can make us feel like outsiders even in moments of connection?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Challenge Your Worthiness Scorecard
Think of something you want but feel you don't deserve—a relationship, job opportunity, or personal goal. Write down the specific reasons you think others deserve it more than you. Then rewrite each reason as if you were defending a friend who had your exact same background and circumstances.
Consider:
- •Notice how much harsher you are with yourself than you would be with a friend
- •Pay attention to whether your 'reasons' are actually facts or shame-based assumptions
- •Consider whether your struggles might have given you valuable qualities others lack
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when shame convinced you to step aside for someone else. Looking back, what would you tell your past self about worthiness and second chances?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 22: The Garlic Hunt and Self-Sacrifice
The coming pages reveal small problems can reveal bigger relationship dynamics, and teach us self-sacrifice in love often backfires. These discoveries help us navigate similar situations in our own lives.