“Remember, my lady, I was your master once; I will be your master again. If you are any man’s wife you are mine!” p.352
This is a quotation from the sixth phase in the novel. It is a conversation between Alec d’Urberville and Tess. Alec gets extremely mad with Tess after she slaps him over the face with a leather glove. His moods towards Tess have been laid back, but after this incident, his unleashes himself. He tells her that he is her master and will always be her master. I think that this quotation is important, because Alec finally gets mad at Tess and reminds both him and her of their bad past, and tells her that he could relive that past by doing it again, any time he wants. I think that this gives Tess the message, that Alec is not playing around anymore, and that he is serious.