mother could receive money from Filth is because if she takes care of him and obeys his desire by making Tess obeys Filth, she would receive money from him.
She also creates her own rule by forbidding the punters to penetrate Tess‟ intimate organ. She has her reasons for doing this. First, it could lead to physical
evidence in Tess‟ intimate organ, even if the men had used condom. The second reason is that it could cause trauma towards Tess. If trauma occurs towards Tess,
mother is afraid that Tess could not keep calm and exposed the sexual abuses she received to the public. This indeed could create problem for mother, since her act
of selling her daughter to the punters is against the law. Another evident that Tess‟ mother sexually abuses Tess occurs when her
mother tries to calm her when she orders her to visit the punter‟s house again.
„Oh, don‟t worry about that,‟ said Mother, waving a hand. „It‟s sorted. I put the fear of God in him.
If he tries that again, I‟ll have his guts for garters. He can go so far and no further, know what I
mean?‟Stevens, 2008: 145-146 From the quotation above, it could be interpreted that Tess‟ mother tries to
calm Tess after she feels uneasy since she is trauma of the sexual abuse she receives from this punter. Tess remembers that this punter whom is the dress
designer have done awful sexual abuse that made her felt disgusted. At first, Tess refuses her mother order, but then her mother tries to convince her that nothing
awful would happen to her agai n. Tess‟ mother told her that she had put the fear
of God in the punter so the punter would not do that again, and mother would punish him if he dares to do that again. Her mother added that the punter could
only touch her above the waist not below. This e xplanation shows that Tess‟
mother is involved in the planning of the sexual abuses committed to Tess. The
way she convinces the safety of Tess is only a strategy to make Tess obeys mother‟s wish to visit the punters again.
3. Neglect
Neglect is the third type of abuse experienced by Tess. According to Olive 2007: 67, there are five types of neglects; physical, medical, educational, motor,
and emotional neglect. In the case of the neglects experienced by Tess, there are only three types of neglects which could be found; educational, emotional, and
physical. The first type of neglect experienced by Tess is educational neglect. It can be seen from the quotation below.
We were sitting in the kitchen, me and Mother.
She‟d kept me off school again, to clear up after one of her parties,
and we‟d sat down for a break. Mother made the tea and I broke out a packet of custard creams. Of
course I didn‟t dream of saying no to Mother, and as ever I enjoyed being with her, but I didn‟t like to Miss School. Stevens, 2008: 119
From the above quotation it could be interpreted that Tess is being neglected by her mother in term of education. Her mother keeps Tess off from
school again in order for Tess to help her tidy up the house after the party which was held last night. From the text above it could be interpreted that Tess does not
want to miss school again, but she has no choice since she wanted to receive the love and trust from her mother by fulfilling her mother‟s wish. This neglect does
not only occur once or twice, but often. It wasn‟t long after this that Mother showed how much she cared for me,
by sticking up for me. It was at school, of all places. Mother had never set foot in my school, had never gone to meetings or seen the teachers
or anything like that. She hadnt even come to prize-givings when Id
‟on a prize. She took no interest at all. I took home all my school reports, which were pretty good on the whole, but I don‟t think
Mother even looked at them, let alone kept them. As for school photos: „Waste of money. I know what you look like‟Stevens, 2008: 189
The second neglect in term of education is shown by Tess‟ mother by
being neglectful towards Tess‟ school life. She never goes to Tess‟ school meetings or to see the teachers in order to get information ab
out Tess‟ education progress. She also does not pay any interest when Tess won a prize in prize-giving
by not coming to school on that day. When Tess takes home her school reports to show her mother her good grades, her mother does not pay any attention at all.
Then, when Tess asks her mother in order to get permission on taking the school photos, she refuses to give Tess permission since it is a waste of money according
to her. It could be concluded that Tess‟ mother is totally neglectful in term of education in all aspects, starting from keeping her off school until not allowing
her to take school photos. The second type of neglect experienced by Tess is emotional neglect. She
receives this neglect also from her own mother. It could be seen from the following quotation below.
Well, I thought, he has, and I‟m glad of it. I‟d hoped Mother would be pleased for me, and
it hurt a bit that she didn‟t seem to care one way or the other,
but at least she hadn‟t said anything against it. Stevens, 2008: 171
It could be seen that mother does not care nor show any interest in Tess‟
relationship with Victor. When Tess tells mother about Victor who wanted to marry her, mother does not say much. She does not show any interest. This
neglect in term of emotion hurts Tess‟ feeling. From the quotation above, Tess describes her feeling by saying “I‟d hoped Mother would be pleased for me, and it
hurt a bit …” Stevens, 2008: 171. This emphasizes that the neglect makes her
disappointed with her mother. The last neglect experienced by Tess is physical neglect. It could be seen
from the quotation below. I didn‟t care if I woke up my brothers and sisters. I had to get out. To my
relief I could hear footsteps in the hall. Even if it was mother, up early for once, it would be worth having a slap just to reach the toilet in
time.
Stevens, 2008: 9 From the quotation above it could be seen that Tess and her siblings is
being locked by mother in their room. Because she is being locked in the room for hours, she has to endure herself from wanting to urinate. This is considered as
physical neglect. The desire to get out of the room has defeated her fear of her own mother. She defeats her fear by trying to get out of the room to reach the
toilet. She does not care if mother would be furious and slaps her; Tess‟ desire to
go to the toilet has washed her fear away. “Even if it was mother, up early for once, it would be worth having a slap just to reach the toilet in time.
” Stevens, 2008: 9.
4. Physical Abuse
The last abuse experienced by Tess is physical abuse. Tess experiences physical abuse by her partner, teacher, mother, caregiver, and grandmother.
He drew back his arm and gave me one punch between my eyes, smashing my nose. Then he punched me again and again, till I fell to
the floor. He kicked me in the belly. „My baby‟ I thought, and curled up
on my side to protect it, choking on the blood pouring from my nose. Now John was kicking me in the back, again and again.
Stevens, 2008: 291 The first worst physical abuse Tess experienced is done by her partner.
Before the incident happens, Tess and her partner, John was having a fight
because Tess saw a lipstick mark on the side of John‟s face. Tess starts the scene by showing her anger towards him. Then, John cannot control his emotion and
then punches Tess on the face continuously until she falls to the floor. Then he kicks her belly and her back continuously. This abuse gives the fear towards Tess
since she is still pregnant, and she is worried about her baby‟s condition. This abuse is considered as the worst abuses occur to Tess since it caused her to bleed.
The second worst physical abuse Tess suffers is launched by her school teacher. It could be seen from the quotation below.
She grabbed my arm and shook it hard. I jerked away, g oing, „No, I
won‟t‟ Then she suddenly cracked me one right across my face, slapped me really hard.
„You can and you will‟ she shouted. I was stunned. The slap hurt all right, and a stone in the ring she was
wearing had scratched me, so that was stinging. On top of that, I was
shocked that she‟d hit me round the face. Teachers could hit you, but not round the face, I was sure of that. Stevens, 2008: 190
Tess is being abused by her school teacher, Miss Judd. Tess is being
abused at school when she is having sport lesson. Before the incident happens, Tess is being force by Miss Judd to run the hurdle again after she tripped. Tess
refuses to retry running the hurdle since she is trauma in doing it again. Since Tess refuses to retry running, her teacher grabs her arm, shook it hard, and slaps her on
the face, leaving a mark of the ring on Tess‟ face. The third worst physical abuse suffered by Tess is launched by her mother.
Tess‟ mother abuses Tess by slapping her across the face, hitting and punching her on the head and shoulders. It could be seen from the quotation below.
„How many times have I told you to keep your fucking mouth shut, you little cunt‟
Mother was slapping me hard across my face, this way, that way and this way again.
I staggered back against the front door, shocked to the core. It was the next evening. Me and Victor had come back from the pictures, and I was just
lifting my hand to the door knocker when the door was hurled open, and Mother was standing there like an avenging angel.
„You never ever ever say anything to anybody about this place‟ Now she was hitting me, punching me, on my head and shoulders.
I shrank against a wall, trying to protect my head with my arms. As Mother ranted
and raved, walloped seven bells out of me, there was one tiny thought at the back of my mind, behind the awful shock and the pain. Stevens, 2008:
182
Mother physically abused Tess just because Tess tells her neighbor about what her neighbor‟s wife did in Tess‟ house. Tess is actually innocent in this case,
because she is in a condition where she cannot refuse to be asked by her neighbor about his wife‟s activity in Tess‟ house. In other word, her neighbor forces her to
speak by frightening her. The fourth worst physical abuse is launched by Tess‟ caregiver, Mrs.
Danvers. From the quotation below, it could be seen that Mrs. Danvers physically abuses Tess and Buddy. Tess is being whacked by Mrs. Danvers after she wanted
to defend herself and her brother from her. “But she got in first and whacked me too. Both me and Buddy were crying our eyes out.
” Stevens, 2008: 28 The last physical abuse suffered by Tess is launched by her grandmother.
It could be seen from the quotation below.
„So that‟s why she didn‟t like me‟ I said. „I remember sitting under her kitchen table, and every time I tried to get out she‟d kick me. All I
could see was a little black boot, one of those old-fashioned ones with buttons.‟ Stevens, 2008: 101
