Ahem. Excuse me while I try to recover. Jude the Obscure ripped my heart out and left me feeling devastated and sad. Needless to say, I absolutely adored it, right? 😉
Everything seems to come together in Jude the Obscure; strong themes, great character portrayals and excellent storytelling.
Poverty and social mobility is a defining theme throughout. Jude’s working class background doesn’t prevent him from striving for academic achievements and he studies relentlessly to become a scholar at Christminster, which is a fictional version of Oxford. Needless to say that working class guys without money or connections are not admitted as scholars. Hard work and talent seem to be secondary qualities and Jude’s dream of becoming a scholar never materialises.
“Only a wall divided him from those happy young contemporaries of his with whom he shared a common mental life; men who had nothing to do from morning till night but to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest. Only a wall – but what a wall!”
As a young man, Jude runs into Arabella, who is the daughter of a local pig-farmer. Or “runs into” is probably the wrong phrase, actually Arabella catches Jude’s attention by throwing a pig’s penis at him. I thought that was quite an appropriate introduction of Arabella. This single action says a lot about her character.
Arabella is practical, earthbound and unsophisticated. She can produce fake dimples on command and is an excellent schemer, who lures Jude into marriage against his will. Marriage as a means to a comfortable existence is Arabella’s goal in life.
Sue, with whom Jude later falls in love, is in many ways the antithesis to Arabella. She is an idealist, who values spiritual love over physical love and thinks marriage is a hindrance rather than a support for a happy relationship. I’ve seen her described as a fickle primadonna who plays with Jude’s feelings, but I didn’t get that impression at all. Sue is a free spirit, who is constantly struggling between two opposing forces. Sometimes her own individuality, which is strongly at odds with the morals standards in the Victorian era, wins. Other times she reluctantly gives in to the pressure and tries conforming to the prevailing norms, even if it makes her suffer.
Despite the different characteristics of Sue and Arabella, I recognised that both are restricted by the limited opportunities for women in the Victorian society and both are trying to cope as well as they can given their temperament and circumstances. It is easy to blame the two women for Jude’s miserable life, but I understood their motives and felt sorry for them. Especially, I felt a lot of empathy with Sue, who in some ways reminded me of myself. It’s a good thing, I wasn’t born in the Victorian era.
“I can’t bear that they, and everybody, should think people wicked because they may have chosen to live their own way!”
The message is bleak. No matter what you do, you won’t be able to break out of the circumstances you are born into. And if you follow your heart and do what feels right, disregarding societal standards, you will be punished.
With its outright criticism of the establishment, including the church, the institution of marriage and higher education, Jude the Obscure caused huge controversy when first published. The harsh reaction resulted in Hardy focusing on poetry and Jude the Obscure became his last novel. I thought that was a sad aftermath, which directly mirrors Hardy’s morale in the novel: Don’t go against the prevailing norms in society, it won’t end well!
Jude the Obscure was my first Hardy, but I can guarantee it won’t be my last and I even think Hardy has the potential to become a favourite author.
“But nobody did come, because nobody does; and under the crushing recognition of his gigantic error Jude continued to wish himself out of the world.”
Title: Jude the Obscure [1895] Author: Thomas Hardy Format: Audiobook, narrated by Stephen Thorne Genre: Classics
Jude the Obscure is part of my project, reading the British classics. It is number 23 on BBC’s list of the 100 Greatest British Novels.
Oh, what a wonderful review! I read Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy and loved it, still have Jude the Obscure to look forward to. I’ll be reading Tess of the D’Urbervilles sometime soon and have already been warned to keep the tissues handy. Like you, I can see Hardy becoming a favourite author.
Thanks Rose! I look forward to hear your thoughts on Tess, when you get to it. Quite a few readers have mentioned Far From the Madding Crowd as a good place to start with Hardy, so that might be my next one. Glad to hear you loved it. Apparently, Jude is the most bleak of his works, so at least now I know what to expect.
Hardy is reliably depressing, and I’ve always shied away from Jude because I’d gathered that this one made his other books look light-hearted. I still don’t know whether I can bring myself to read it. Your review suggests to me – not this week.
Reliably depressing – what a reputation to have 😉 . I quite like depressing books, so maybe my prediction that Hardy could become a favourite, will prove correct. Jude is indeed very bleak, so best to read it, when you do have the mental capacity to cope with 300 pages of misery. It was a good book, though, so I would recommend it!
One day. I simply can’t cope with 30 pages of misery just now, let alone 300.
Fair enough. Definitely not the right book for you just now. Hope you can find something more cheerful to read – that is if you have time to read at all.
Oh, I’m finding plenty of time to read – not all cheerful, but the odd bit of relief is required!
Wonderful review!
Thanks Nicki!
I’m glad you enjoyed Thomas Hardy. I read Return of the Native forever ago which was one of his most controversial works. And, yes, there was no going against social norms in the Victorian age. That’s one of the most intriguing aspects of that time, I think. Excellent review!
Thanks Tessa, I agree about the Victorian age – very happy not to be born during that time. If I continue to get on with Hardy, I’ll get to Return of the Native sooner or later. I think my next one will be Far From the Madding Crowd, though. A lot of people seem to have that one as their favourite.
I haven’t read Jude and was thinking about which one to read next, now I know! I’m not surprised he caused controversy, how ironic (and sad) that his main theme was mirrored in real life . The last one I read was Far From the Madding Crowd which I absolutely adored and thoroughly recommend.
Yes, it was indeed ironic and sad, that Jude became his last novel. It seems like a lot of people have Far From the Madding Crowd amongst their favourites. Apparently, it isn’t quite as bleak as Hardy’s other novels. I will get to that one next!
I’m intrigued.
It’s a great story, but be prepared for concentrated misery!
I am so happy you loved it. Hardy is one of my favourite authors. His books are among the world’s best. I do not consider Jude Hardy’s strongest book, but comparing his books is like comparing one masterpiece to another, an impossible task. If it is your first Hardy, I am also jealous you’ve got this whole Hardy world still to explore 🙂 Tess of the D’Urbervilles, The Woodlanders and Far from the Madding Crowd are possibly my favourite Hardy books, though The Mayor of Casterbridge was also quite brilliant.
It sounds like I have something to look forward to, especially when you don’t even consider Jude the Obscure his strongest work. Let’s see how I get on with his other books, but I suspect Hardy could turn into a favourite author for me as well. Far From the Madding Crowd will be up next.
Wonderful review! Not read that book but can recommend ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’ one of what I call Hardy’s social commentaries from his Wessex novels which were originally serialised so perhaps an early version of a TV drama series 🙂 Gretchen.
Thanks so much! I have heard of The Mayor of Casterbridge and will hopefully get to that at some point. If I continue to enjoy his novels, I will probably work my way through most of them. Yeah, I think serialised storytelling was quite popular at that time, I’ve read quite a few on that format (including Dickens’ novels). Thanks for stopping by!
Wow great review. It seems you’re getting into the classics these days. I’d like to read more Hardy and should add this one to my list. It seems to have a tragic reckoning with society & class.
Thanks so much! Yeah, I think tragic is the right word describing Jude the Obscure. It’s an excellent story, but don’t say I didn’t warn you! 😉
Thank you for the introduction to one of Hardy’s work. I’ve never heard of his books but this sounds fantastic, wonderfully realistic too. Love the central themes explored in it too. Great review!
Thanks Lashaan! I’d heard a lot about this author as well. Don’t know why it took me so long time to finally pick up one of his books, since I do have a soft spot for depressing reads! 🙄 Jude the Obscure certainly lived up to that…
Hello there. I know I read something by Hardy many years ago, either in high school or college. Can’t recall which novel. In any case, maybe I’ll take a look at some of his novels the next time I’m at the library. Have a good day.
I do feel sorry for youngsters in high school who are forced to read Hardy. Probably, one is able to appreciate his books better, when being a bit more mature. Anyway, I hope you’ll get on in case you decide to give him another try. Just be prepared that his novels aren’t particularly joyful! 😉
It is an extraordinary book. Glad you were able to appreciate it. I think Hardy was way ahead of his time.
I believe he was ahead of his time, which isn’t always easy. Will definitely pick up more of his novels, apparently I started with the most miserable one.