 Tess has been seen as a personification of nature and her association with animals throughout the novel emphasizes this idea.Tess's misfortunes begin when she falls asleep while driving Prince to market, and causes the horse's death; at Trantridge, she becomes a poultry-keeper; she and Angel fall in love amid cows in the fertile Froom valley; and on the road to Flintcomb-Ash, she kills some wounded pheasants to end their suffering.However, Tess emerges as a powerful character not because of this symbolism but because "Hardy's feelings for her were strong, perhaps stronger than for any of his other invented personages".