Jude the Obscure (Wordsworth Classics)

Hardy's last novel before public indignation forced him to give up book writing (for poetry) really uses passion as a destructive force. As he takes his most likable male character in Jude and basically ruins him against his 2 least enjoyable female leads in Arabell and Sue. Sue more than anything is infuriatingly fickle and will either make you yell at the book or wish for her early exit. She's a real struggle to cozy up to and yet she becomes the voice for Hardy to express his disgust with social conventions and public morality and what is right and what isn't. etc... Probably contains his harshest plot twists. And as well, his most damning indictments against a rigid world dominated by rules and tradition. Jude is at once trapped and alive with his choices but eventually even his last ounce of love for Sue does him in. Since she's enough to drive even a saint to madness. Hardy really made her as exasperating as possible. Jude becomes a brave soul just for putting up with her... Each chapter takes place in a different location, perhaps to symbolize the characters' indecision. The more than unstable ones who can't seem to make up their minds. PS: a pig killing sequence is especially disturbing.

Jude the Obscure is easily one of the best-written stories I have read in a long time. You will probably think Jude and Sue are so weird they are from another planet. In a way, you are right.

It may help you understand it a bit better if you think of it this way:
Jude has Asperger's syndrome. Sue is a "Highly Sensitive Person" (HSP).

On top of these problems, Jude is a young boy ready to have sex but not mature enough to be married and have responsibilities. His cousin Sue is a young girl ready to "be loved" but unready to have sex.

Life repeatedly rushes Jude and Sue into the very things they are unprepared for and things get VERY bad quickly. The author, who obviously has baggage, is trying to make a case against marriage.

I found myself caring for these characters, even though I knew that the story could not possibly end well. I found myself vomiting when the murder takes place.

Do not read this book unless you are willing to have your traditional values unseated very painfully.

More than most novels I have read, JUDE THE OBSCURE consists of an extraordinary number of reverses of position, changes in thought, and zigzags of principle. With a background of rural England or smaller towns such as Oxford, (called Christchurch here) this dark story describes the tragic lives of two people who dare---far before our time---to consider love and marriage in a different way. Jude Fawley aspires to be a scholar or even a minister of God, but wanders into an unfortunate conventional marriage with Arabella, a barmaid with an eye for the main chance. He becomes a stone mason, but pores over Latin and Greek texts by night. Despite forewarnings of the unhappiness in marriage which runs in his family, he falls for a cousin, Sue Bridehead, an ethereal, philosophically-inclined woman, who loves Jude in return but marries a dry schoolteacher despite that. Later, as Jude's wife has run off to Australia and as Sue regrets her decision, they come together at last, only to go through a series of extraordinary vicissitudes. One cannot help but wonder if Sue is not more than a little mad. Rain, wind, dark church towers, and damp stones fill this story with atmosphere, but the constant changes in direction and convenient appearances of previous characters at propitious moments may prove a little aggravating. Though these can be taken as criticisms on my part, I admired Hardy's last novel as an attempt to do a very difficult thing---to show the lives of two ordinary people who at some moments transcend their ordinariness with sublime courage, only to lose their way and sink back into the sordid murk of daily existence and terrible tragedy. The characters, in the end, achieve nothing, yet they lived, they too reflect the extraordinary variety of the human condition. Jude, the character, reflects on his life, saying, "...it was my poverty and not my will that consented to be beaten. It takes two or three generations to do what I tried to do in one; and my impulses-affections-vices perhaps they should be called-were too strong not to hamper a man without advantages, who should be as cold-blooded as a fish and as selfish as a pig to have a really good chance of being one of this country's worthies." Hardy's condemnation of middle class hypocrisy and the narrowness of "scholars" comes through constantly. Set against the entire array of world literature available, perhaps JUDE THE OBSCURE is not at the top of the scale----Hardy's indecision as to the direction of his plot prevents that---- but it is still a good novel.

Ah, the novel that made Thomas Hardy stop writing. When this novel was first published, it was so controversial it is said that the Bishop of Wakefield publicly burned it. I can definitely see why. This novel questions not only marriage and the laws of the time, but also religion, the class system, and society in general. Add suicide to that and you have yourself quite a book for 1895. Although shocking at times and still relevant today, it doesn't quite have the impact now that it did then. It would be too hard to give a brief summary without giving away some major plot points, so I won't even try. I will say that I'm not always fond of the classics that I've read, but I think this one is a really good book. The old writing style gets a little annoying at times, but the storyline makes up for it. This is a not a book for the faint of heart. It's sad, depressing, and tragic. If you're looking for something light and happy, don't choose this one.

The edition of "Jude the Obscure" that I believe you're seeing on this page -- the Signet paperback, with the two horses on the cover -- first came out in '61 and hasn't been touched since then (except to add a bibliography in 1980). There is a helpful 11-page afterword by Al Alvarez, but that's it. Signet has just been reissuing and reissuing the same thing for over four decades.

With the Signet, though, there are no footnotes; you're just getting the bare text. That means that you'll have zero help with Hardy's rustic or ecclesiastical terms, not to mention the abundant Latin.

In short, get this one: Jude the Obscure (Oxford World's Classic), in which said defect is remedied. And unlike the Signet, in which the text has adjusted to reflect modern spelling and pronunciation, the Oxford's World's Classics is Hardy's original text as he saw it published.

Jude the Obscure is a sad book of legendary proportions. Not until reading did I realize how utterly depressing/tragic it is. This doesn't mean it's bad; Tess of the d'Urbervilles (also by Hardy) is also depressing yet it is moving, and is an excellent read. Jude the Obscure, at least for me, falls short of the mark.
Jude the Obscure is about a man who wanders (..literally across all southern England) looking for happiness in marriage and life. He's a deep-thinker who is incredibly naive and, due to bad luck and the social neurosis of the Victorian era, finds himself moving further away from his objectives with each passing...page! Just when you think Jude's life is about to turn for the better it turns horribly tragic. While similarities to Tess of the d'Urbervilles abound, Tess's tragic turn was expected and plausible. Jude's misfortune comes from nowhere, and so it seems like Hardy is playing a cruel trick on the reader.
So I disagree with the strongly opinionated reviewers before me. Jude the Obscure is neither great nor terrible. I find it to be rather formulaic Hardy, which for many readers will be reason enough to read over and over again.

Without a doubt, "Jude the Obscure" is a depressing book. Jude, a lower class Englishman who craves knowledge and higher learning, dedicates his life at an early age to better himself through education. Not born with the monetary or social means to acquire this learning, he does it on his own, while working, burning the candle at both ends (at times, literally). After a disastrous first marriage, he meets Sue, the love of his life and obvious soul mate. Together, the two of them buck the conventions of the day, living a carefree, happy life together without being married, a heresy that has devastating effects on Sue's philosophically inquisitive psyche.
In Jude and Sue, Hardy has created the progenitors of the 60s Hippie Movement. While not espousing free love or revolution, Jude and Sue nonetheless swim against the tides of their day. Jude yearns for higher learning that people of his status normally do not attain, nor even strive for. Sue is a free thinker, dangerous as is, doubly so because she is a woman. Through them, Hardy criticizes the religious and social mores of Nineteenth Century England, and even though the lovers' actions result in a series of tragic and thoroughly depressing events, it is obvious where his sentiments lie.
While in no way an uplifting book- a lot of bad stuff happens to Jude and Sue- Hardy's concise yet powerful writing coupled with his pointed attacks on conformity, marriage, and social conventions sweeten the otherwise sour narrative. Hardy quit writing after witnessing the vitriol this book produced, but it is a worthy and memorable last novel- one of his best.

Hardy wrote Jude the Obscure at the height of his career. Does the book reflect his mastery? Or does it fall short of his capability? At the time of its publication, Jude (like Tess) received critical admonition from the public: The blatant sexuality and the unfulfilled/unheroic main character won over fanatics and made enemies of literary elites.
I picked up this book out of boredom, believing I'd put it down after a few pages. I enjoyed Tess from High School, but Jude for leisure? I was wrong: Hardy's poetic melancholy and rythmic cadence drew me in yet again. I was mesmerized by Jude, Arabella, and Sue. Though their conversations seem forced and some of their characterics unnatural, I felt sympathy for their deterioration and sadness. And in my feeling this, Hardy has accomplished a great poetic influence.
I really believe that Hardy could have written a greater Jude the Obscure if he was unhindered by the public. Though his true passion lay in poetry, he had much potential in prose. Too bad this was his last novel...

Jude The Obscure is a true literary masterpiece that examines multiple issues including class , marriage, hypocracy and Hardy does so by creating unforgettably tragic figures in the characters of Jude Fawley and his cousin/lover Sue Bridehead. These two are soulmates that are caught up in a tragic web that is partially forced upon them by the social conventions of their time. Equally tragic is the unrealized ambition and yearning for a formal education that Jude carries as a cross throughout his life as he ultimately becomes resigned to his station as a working class laborer who will never be accepted in the halls of higher learning which he so reveres.

Hardy's writing typically is critical of late Victorian values and his characters frequently suffer tremendous burdens that result from being at odds with what were considered societal norms. None of his characters suffer more than the cousins in this book and the tragedy is one that will haunt the reader for years.

Thomas Hardy has much to offer the reader in this, his final novel before he committed himself full-time to poetry. It caused a storm of controversy when it was first published before the end of the 19th century. With its frank (but not graphic) descriptions of sexuality and its emphasis on the fact that only the two people involved need to consent to a relationship--not their priest or minister, not their families, and certainly not society as a whole--"Jude" shocked the public. It stands now as a beautifully sustained character study of a broken man and his steadfast love for the unsure Sue. Jude is a rock and it is fitting that he makes his living carving stone. Sue is birdlike, dainty, emotionally unstable and absolute catnip to Jude. Beyond this, they are distantly related and that adds a certain fillip to their interactions. The impatient reader will have difficulty understanding Jude's unwavering devotion, but it is evidence of Hardy's skill that he makes Jude make sense.

Jude Fawley, is an orphan trapped in poverty and a narrow working class paradigm, but in spite of these limitations, he dreams of a scholarly life in the university town of Christminster.
Jude is smitten by Arabella, who tricks him into marrying her. After a short time Arabella leaves Jude to go to Australia. Shortly after Arabella leaves him, Jude moves to Christminster to pursue his dreams.
While in Christminster he meets his cousin Sue. Jude had fallen in love with Sue when he first saw her picture. Now he is in Christminster where he can pursue his dreams of becoming a scholar and meeting Sue. The conversations between Sue and Jude, despite their differences, bring them closer together and they quickly become friends. Sue deflates Jude's dream when she marries the schoolmaster (the same man at the beginning of the book, who had promised Jude some books but never fulfilled his promise).
Even after Arabella comes back into the picture, Sue and Jude get divorced from their respective spouses and live together without marriage. In the years that follow, because the couple is not married, they face a lot of difficulties and become social outcasts. In spite of their difficulties, they still love each other and the family they are raising together. An extremely tragic event shatters the family. The consuming guilt, brought on by the tragic event, leads Sue and Jude back to their former hated lives.

It was a desperate try on Sue's part to say no to customs she didn't believe in, and a desperate try on Jude's part to live the peaceful life he wanted with the woman he loved, but just as life didn't grant him his dream of an education, Society denied him acceptance of the relationship he wanted with Sue. The shocking end was Hardy's way to convey his thoughts on love, sex and the institution of marriage, at a time when talking about love, sex, and criticizing the marriage constitution was taboo.

Hardy was criticized for creating complex, overtly sexual characters like Sue and Jude who would act against established norms of marital and sexual behaviors. Sue, recognized her intellect but still used marriage as a way of having the career she wanted, She could not force herself to be attracted to her older husband, who was understanding and gave her a divorce, after which she was free to pursue Jude. Jude loved Sue deeply, but knowing that she was married, he still slept with Arabella, when she came back, because she was still his legal wife.

Reading the entire 500 plus pages of Jude the Obscure was totally draining. The emotional torment that Jude experienced throughout his life left me depleted. Each and every person in Jude's life played a little role in aborting his dreams of happiness: the schoolmaster who didn't pay attention to a promising ambitious little boy, Arabella who was a totally self absorbed narcissistic woman, whose character along with Jude's character is clearly revealed during the pig killing ritual, Sue who truly loved Jude, but her love was a selfish love that was centered around her own demons of guilt and doubts. Even Jude's older son, was another extension to Jude's obscurity.

In the end Jude became completely obscure to the people for whom he cared. I don't think Hardy himself totally understands the canvas he has painted and perhaps that is the reason Hardy turned to poem after Jude and wrote no other novels. It wasn't the controversy that took place in Great Britain and the United States over the scandalous nature of the book, which led him away from novels to poetry. But rather Hardy left part of his heart in Jude and was unable to retrieve it.

I read this rather difficult novel in one weekend. The story of Jude Fawley's rather turmultuos life is engrossing and memorable. It seems that some people in life always make wrong decisions, and things never really go their way. Jude is one of those people. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the idealistic young man who only hoped for one thing, to study at Christminster and live a life in the church or university as a scholar.
If I only had half the enthusiasm and drive that Jude started out life with, I would be successful beyond my wildest dreams. Yet Jude was never able to benefit from his hard work and study. He was constantly held back by family obligations, work, society and poverty.
As depressing as Jude the Obscure is, I loved it from beginning to end. I felt that there are some valuable lessons to be learned from the book. Unconditional love, the ability to look beyond financial boundaries, and the value of hard work in order to achieve goals are some of the things that today's readers can walk away with.

This book is a classic about the effect on people's lives when they choose to engage in behavior that is totally against society's norms.

Story: The story itself consists of a number of vignettes. Each vignette is compelling and shows how the characters mature (or don't) well. The pacing dragged out a bit, but that is to be expected in a character driven story such as this one.

Characters: This is where I am most conflicted. Hardy does a masterful job with the characters of Jude and Sue. Despite having many faults and maddening defects, I was able to feel sympathy for each character as the story progressed. Hardy's secondary characters are less impressive. Arabella is a stock villain, tempting and trapping Jude with no remorse. Phillotson is a stereotypical martyr character. If Phillotson and Arabella would have had some of the same complexities as Jude and Sue, I would have enjoyed this book a great deal more.

This is a very depressing book. Jude's outlook is bleak at the beginning, and it never really improves. Still, it is a commentary on society and living in sin that is still applicable to today's world.

One hates to start a book review with a commentary on his other reviewers....but, in this case, one has no choice: Will you AP English students who haven't even had a chance to take the class yet please cease your activities. I just finished reading too many reviews that sounded like Keanu Reeves monotoning, "Yo man, like,this book was a total downer. Go catch some waves instead." But, as they say, it's a free country and, if you want to make fools of yourselves, who am I really to stand in your way?
Hardy was a great lover of the poet Shelley. In fact, after Jude the obscure, he devoted the rest of his life to writing poetry based on his poetic model. In this book there are so many references (for those familiar with Shelley's poem Epipsychidion), and even one whole page particularly referencing the poem by name and giving quotes from it, that I was astounded that nobody even mentioned it. I just figured that it was you numbskull AP students again (sorry, guys, hang in there), but then I thought back to MY AP teacher and reconsidered. Even she would not have picked up on it. "Epipsychidion," in Greek, means "soulmate." It was one of Shelley's last poems before he committed suicide by drowning at the age of 30. I could cite several examples of it in Hardy's novel, but the last few paragraphs of the fifth section of the "At Shaston" chapter where the poem is mentioned by name and several lines from it are quoted will suffice. This book is really Shelley's poem in novelistic form. As such, it is to be praised mightily. "Epipsychidion" is essentially the story (though the narrative breaks down in parts) of the poet seeking his heavenly vision of love here on terra firma: To find that vision in Earthly form. What greater meaning on Earth is there (Shelley and Hardy would ask)? There are moments (fleeting) when Jude and his new love do seem to achieve this happiness envied by the gods. But all too soon they are thrown into despair, their dreams lieing in tatters around them, shattered by the conventions and prejudices of the world. Shelley's poem was never finished. His drowning of himself got in the way.....So what are we to gather from all this failed love, cruelty, murder,suicide and misery....THIS, that the world is a terribly unkind place for intellectual visionaries. They are the best and the brightest among us and their visions are REAL, the most beautiful things we can experience. But their attempts to implement them repeatedly result in cruel failure. The Judes of this world will never be successes, more often miserable failures....But in other worlds?...

Although Jude The Obscure may see somewhat depressing dark, and gothic I did enjoy the story of the character Jude. He admired his schoolteacher as a boy and wanted so bad to go to Christminister and become a scholar. The fact that Jude is a gentleman allows women like Arabella and Sue to stray him far of the path towards his goal. It makes me wonder what would have happened to him if he hadn't run into Arabella. After being away from Arabella he starts to fall in love with his cousin Sue. All Jude wanted was to marry her, however she did not want to conform to society after being married once before. The end of the novel is sad, however I really sympathized with Jude and felt like he did the best he could with his life.

Supposedly, this book was burned by the Bishop of Wakefield when it was first released, and Hardy's wife was furious at him because people would think it was autobiographical. The response to the book was the final nail in the coffin that caused Hardy to stop writing novels.
Jude Hawley is born into a changing world-- a world that's changed enough that a poor boy can dream about a university eduction and a professional future. However, it hadn't changed enough for that dream to yet be realizable. Hawley instead is entrapped into a hasty marriage and sacrifices his dreams of further education. Even after the marriage is dissolved by the wife removing herself to Australia, Jude continues to be haunted for the rest of his life by his early mistake-- dooming himself and his true love to a lifetime of misery.
The book is bleak. The characters (Jude and Sue, primarily) can't live with the choices that law and religion demands, but they can't live outside them either and their attempts to do so only drive them down deeper. The central thesis of the book, and the one that was so shocking a the time, was that these moral and legal strictures prevented people from fulfilling their dreams and living happy lives. Jude the Obscure challenges the sanctity of marriage by building a tragedy about people trapped by its convention.
An important and challenging book. It continues to be relevant today.

This is the second Hardy novel that I have read. The first was Tess of the d'Urbervilles, which I enjoyed despite that fact that it was a tragedy. I found Jude the Obscure to be much darker and to the point that I didn't particularly enjoy it. I did relate to the character of Jude, and could understand his reaction to his situations. The reactions of Sue later in her life highlighted the danger of an incorrect understanding of the mercy of God, repentance and forgiveness of oneself.

Recommended for lovers of tragedy. If you want to be uplifted, don't read this book.

The relationship between Jude and Susannah is one of the most beautiful (and codependent) in literature. Two well-intentioned (though impulsive) people are lost to public censure and their own consciences (trying to cope with unbelievable trajedy and explaining it as God's retribution--Susannah becomes a believer, but in a most horrible and self-sacrifical way). Their downward spiral is difficult to witness, yet Jude's love for Susannah makes the read bearable. Thomas Hardy is a person whom I wish I could have known---uncanningly intelligent, at times seems to channel the voice of the higher power--clairvoyant and insightful, and yet cynical--full of tales of worst case scenarios and victims of circumstances.

"Jude the Obscure" is the story of the self-destructive foolishness of the highly gifted Jude Fawley (ryhmes with 'folly'), which gradually takes him from a chance to become an Oxford scholar in spite of his provincial upbringing to a pitiful death it is better not to mention. This book is a well drawn example of a tragic waste of life and of great gifts, and as such it can be seen as a masterpiece of moralism in literature. It is hardly one of my favorite books, protraying as it does the brutal self ruination of high promise, but it does not lack in quality what it is missing in consolation.

Jude's life is short and miserable. His aspiration of becoming a scholar is thwarted when he is trapped into marriage by Arabella. But even without Arabella's manipulations, he is trapped in time, born many years too soon for the reality, instead of only the dream, that someone of a working class background can attend an institution of higher learning.

He remains a stonemason and eventually unites with Sue Bridehead, not in a legal marriage, but one of heart and mind. Jude is ahead of his time, again, for this type of union to be socially accepted. Their rejection of a marriage contract turn them in social outcasts and their hardships culminate into a horrific event that affects Sue profoundly and causes the separation between her and Jude.

For me, Sue is the character who leaves the most lasting impression in Jude the Obscure, even though it's not in a wholly positive sense. She is indecisive and at times so annoying that I clenched my teeth as I was reading. But the scene where she jumps out the window when Phillotson accidentally enters her bedroom is priceless and forever ingrained in my mind. She cannot force herself to accept him as a husband. Others, less free-spirited and emotional than Sue, might have been resigned or indifferent to being the wife of a dull, older man. Not Sue. Her spirit rebels because she wants to be with Jude, until she is shocked and overwhelmed by grief. Then she transforms into someone who can overrule her own will and submit herself to Phillotson. In the end she is crushed and as dead as Jude in his coffin.

Jude the Obscure is bleak, but also surprisingly fast-paced with good dialogue and memorable characters. If the book had been more favorably received by critics upon its publication Thomas Hardy would almost certainly have continued writing novels. But he was discouraged by the cries of outrage and turned his attention to writing poetry. We'll never know what great books he might have written but the masterpiece Jude the Obscure is an exclamation point as a last novel.

In "Jude the Obscure," Thomas Hardy masterfully balances his narrative between an incisive criticism of many of England's entrenched cultural institutions and a thoughtful portrait of the "love square" of Jude, Arabella, Sue, and Phillotson. Instead of being a bleak work of social realism in which each character is grotesquely locked into his or her social milieu, "Jude's" characters are passionate and articulate, despite the conditions that plague them. Additionally, Hardy does not offer the reader a mere snapshot of his characters' lives: each main character matures and struggles with his or her beliefs, thereby developing a vitality, which, again, I feel is unique for a novel that addresses such a breadth of social issues, from education, to alcoholism, to the conventions of marriage, to the sense of being thrown into the world. One of the best novels I have read in a while, "Jude the Obscure" has a mature, balanced vision that can be appreciated from a variety of perspectives, each reading possessing a singular fullness.

This book really affected me. First of all, I could really commiserate with the main character through the tribulations of the first half of the book as he fell into the most basic conundrums of the human condition. I was also right there with him as he ranted against the social norms and institutions of his day. Everything was going so great, and then fate reached out its phantasmagorical knife and cut Jude's artery open, bleeding his life out upon the pages like the Pig from the opening chapters. I could only read in horror as Sue talked with "little father time" premeditating his actions, and watch as, by perplexingly inexorable steps, that which you hope against hope to not happen becomes reality.

An interesting book relating the life of Jude and his two wives, Arabella and Sue. Jude aspires to achieve more than his common orphan upbringing allows. Toiling as a stone-mason, he studies in order to enter a Religious profession. Unfortunately, the cards of fate are stacked against him: his troubles in work, love, and society keep him from his lofty goals. Still, he makes his way as best he can. He is a resilient character, even against insurmountable odds, nefarious relatives, and restrictive social norms.

Some of the writing is difficult and roundabout to decipher (possibly due to reading occupying a different place in peoples' lives in 1895). But, it is not completely inaccessible. I found myself occasionally thinking and talking in a way that was definitely enhanced/modified while reading this book....in a good way. It kind of negates the easy internet/TV way of talking people have lapsed into. A welcome change, if you stick with it. The language becomes easier as you read.

Also, this book presents a picture of countryside life as it began to feel the later effects of the Industrial Revolution. Some customs are detailed, and the social norms of the day are a huge aspect of the story. The bygone ways of life portrayed in this book are very interesting, especially to a person with an interest in history.

A recommended read, but not for everyone. Having an enthusiasm for classic literature helps. This isn't a Tom Clancy novel. BE SURE TO GET A COPY OF AROUND 450 PAGES, OR YOU WILL BE SHORTCHANGED.

- ever, ever, ever, ever, ever! I have never felt this intensity of pure love for a person who I'm told is fictional? He stares out at you, so real you could touch the stubble on his chin. You'll take each loss so personally, and feel each disappointment with such ferocious, physical pangs! Oh, his poor judgment. His bad, impetuous, foolish choices (like mine!), hard knox, followed hard upon by brittle, fleeting true love.

The details of the characters make this book great. I loved reading about Jude's struggle to learn Latin. I loved his whimsical sympathy for the hungry rooks. I loved his simultaneous attraction/revulsion for Arabella. I loved the description of her slaughtering the pig, and then later her removing her hairpiece. I loved Jude's tribulations as a mason in the great Cathedral. I loved the complexity of his feelings for Sue. I loved his defiance and obstinacy in the face of death. Oh, he was so brave and stupid and romantic and deluded and smart and thwarted and alone. Read it for Jude!

Jude The Obscure goes against the normal strain in its treatment of topics ranging from marriage, ambition, dreams, and class-society. The book takes shocking twists and turns, and even though the subjects are often depressing, the sheer shock of what has just happened makes you want to read more. Hardy's main character is Jude, a poor, parentless boy whose ambitions far exceed the restrictions his class would put on him. Throughout his childhood he pushed himself in the studies of academia, he would always be seen with Latin books while delivering bread to the villagers. Eventually, as Jude grows he decides to move to Chirstminister-Jude's dream starting from his very early days of youth. Christminister is the center of all academic pursuit and home to the greatest colleges of learning. We follow Jude's adventures there, along with all of his attempts to being admitted into one of these institutions. This is not easy for a young man who has no money or family status behind him. One of Jude's great battles is between his burning desire to achieve higher learning, and his weakness towards women which draw him away from this goal. The elements which Jude's eventual children present, make an outlandish story even stranger by their actions. Certainly Hardy intended the children to present us with some additional lessons to consider while contemplating the book.
The book was difficult for me to read, as mentioned in other reviews, the depressing subject matter and gloominess is not inherently an inviting thing. However, by unfolding the story as Hardy did, following the dreams and failures of young Jude, I learned some lessons that I do not think I could have otherwise. I received a strong personal impression in the importance of not giving up on yourself. That even if your opportunities are not optimal, or you environment is not perfect, that you still have the ability to reach for your dreams. And at all costs you should not give up on your dreams, or believe that you are not capable of accomplishing them. I also thought a lot about the acts the society would have us perform, which are not securely right. Having read the book forced me to reflect about the daily choices I make, how many of those are really mine, and how many are artificial restraints institutions would have me believe I must make.
While I have read more entertaining books, I would have to recommend this one because of the unique perspective it presents. Hardy message allows us to think about important issues in a light not often seen through.

Before reading Jude the Obscure I had read Tess of the D'ubervilles. Being pretty young, the writing style of Hardy was a little bit hard to follow and I floundered during so many inferred scenes of the book. i.e.when Tess all of a sudden just has a baby. I think that was freshmen year in High school the first time, but I have since read it again, and along with Jude, I quite enjoyed it. I learned to love the scenes that made you infer, or guess. I love his language and it is beautiful to know that almost every person, every thing and place has significance and has been thought about.
As morbid and sad as Jude may have been, I thought it was an amazing book. Hardy makes you think long and hard after he hits you tragedy and fate. It seems that Tess and Jude could be brother and sister books, there were so many characters and ideas that paralelled, which made Jude so much more interesting to read. I think one of my favorite parts of the books is the fact that although a lot happens from start to finish, it is the simple emotions and lives that make the story. I like thinking about symbols like the pig in Jude and the birds in Tess, it is also amazing to me how Hardy can bring everything back together through these symbols. On page 386 Arabella says, "You couldn't kill the pig, but you could kill me." I like how consistent Hardy is in his meaning behind symbols, and also how reliable it is to know that every cities name and every characters name has been thought over and has meaning to the story.
When I finished Jude, I wasn't quite sure what to think. The results were so extreme and tragic, that it was hard to place the exact meaning. I think though, what I got from it was the difference between true love and lust, also the debate between fate and choice, not to mention, what the book said about education, religion, marriage, and society. For my own sake of sorting things out, I'll go through each of these and what I understood of them. Education; Jude's education and love of knowledge seemed to be a constant thing that he strived for. He dreamt about Christminister, and when he finally got there, he was told he shouldn't be there, yet through his entire life he never gave up on the idea of education and books, he ended up dying in the city he loved, and on his last walk through the town he saw the men he'd always wanted to be, their spirits were laughing at him. Next, religion, there was not nearly as much written about God and religion in Jude as there was in Tess, but there was still many conotations to it. It seems that many of he and Sue's defining moments take place in a chapel. There is also the characters directly related to religion, Mr. Phillotson, and the name Jude is the name of a saint. I've run out of time, but I loved the book, I love to read Thomas Hardy. I cannot even begin to imagine putting together so many characters and situations and ideas into such beautiful words and images.

When you watch movies nowadays, more than often you see many of the female characters portrayed as extremely weak in one form or another. In an intense battle scene where our hero is in trouble and needs someone to kick the gun a little closer so he can shoot his enemy, what is the he loves girl doing? Screaming her head off. She nearly ruins the happy ending by her inability to be useful.
I found Jude the Obscure to be somewhat of a literature version of this classic movie scenario. The main female characters did move the plot along, but only in a downward direction. Jude starts out as a young man aspiring to achieve greatness in the learned city of Christminster. Soon, he is lured into a relationship with Arabella, for which he begins ignoring his hopes of high education. While this relationship is not entirely a manipulation of Jude by Arabella-he falls for her pretty hard, even without her trickery-Jude is ready to get out and head for Christminster when Arabella reveals her "pregnancy" and they are quickly married, to comply with the social expectations. Before long, Jude learns that Arabella is by far a much different woman than he first thought. His pushed-aside dreams of Christminster are mocked and trampled by her, and of course he must find a practical job to support them. It doesn't take long for Arabella to get tired of the situation-of Jude's sensitivity to the world, his hopes for education, and his all-around "sissy-ness"-and she heads off to Australia with her parents.
Jude does end up moving to Christminster, where he meets his cousin Sue. For some reason, he falls in love with her. He decides that he likes this girl long before he actually talks to her. Love? Sounds more like attraction. At any rate, through a long and complicated set of events, Sue is married to Phillotson (ironically, the man from whom Jude got his love for learning), and later separated and divorced. Jude also obtains a divorce from Arabella. Jude and Sue develop a friendship, while she keeps him at a distance, knowing of his feelings for her. Arabella returns from Australia and comes to talk to Jude; Sue becomes jealous, and decides to have a "more than friends" relationship with him.
Social expectations dictated that they should be married, and Jude is all for it. Sue has issues, though. She feels that marriage is nothing more than a ceremony that puts bounds and chains on something intangible, and although she and Jude go several times to be lawfully wedded, she always backs out. Without giving away too much of the plot, eventually it's more harmful to her and Jude to NOT be married than to go through with the ceremony. When tragedy strikes the family they have made together, Sue becomes our well-known female movie character. As Jude attempts to pick up the pieces of their broken life, Sue is unable to do anything more than repeat the same ideas over and over-it's a sign, this is wrong, we're sinning, religion is the answer. Quite the opposite from her earlier thoughts in the book, where Jude was planning to be a priest and she constantly disagreed with his religious and moral views. I honestly think that Jude and Sue could have pulled through their hardships if she would have done something more than just "scream." Instead, she chickened out big-time. By her own uselessness at that critical point, Sue led to Jude's eventual death-she couldn't just kick the gun a few inches closer, and the enemy triumphed. Interestingly enough, I think Sue was the enemy. She was Jude's downfall.
Despite all that (in fact, probably because of it), Jude the Obscure is a very good book. The characters are an adventure to become familiar with, and although for me it was frustrating, it was a good read as Jude's life went "down the tube" more and more rapidly. Best of all, you can't actually hear the annoying high-pitched screams I talked about in movies-you'll just have to imagine it.

There are several novels written in the Victorian era about the life of common people and the struggles they encounter. Jude the Obscure is on the top of many best-seller lists and appears on many Great Literary Works lists, not to mention my own personal list of favorites. Jude the Obscure is a great novel to read if you are looking for complicated characters, emotional injustices, a complex story line, and unexpected events in each chapter. The novel Jude the Obscure, written by Thomas Hardy, portrays the life of Jude Fawley and his relationships with women, his religious obstacles, and other problems faced by a common person in the Victorian times.
Jude is a stonemason who appears to be very religious. His list of faults includes a drinking problem, his ignorance of women, problems dealing with stress, and his inability to decide what to do with his life. In fact, when Jude is not able to deal with the issues in his life, he stops everything that he is doing and thinks only about the problem at hand. After this thought process, he begins to drink and hope that the problem will disappear when he becomes sober. Throughout the novel, there are two women who corrupt Jude in some way, either by turning him away from his religious ambitions, by degrading him in a social atmosphere, or leading him away from his dreams by putting their own first. The women in his life, Sue and Arabella, put Jude at an emotional high of loving him unconditionally or tearing him down to the point of causing him to drink. His two wives (which he has a different times) simply play on his emotions like a roller coaster throughout the novel and use him to get what they want out of life, which they too, are incapable of deciding. Several plot events explain Jude's religious beliefs and how he struggles to sustain those same beliefs in the relationships he has. It is his religious faith and the interactions Jude has with Sue and Arabella that shape the novel and the course of events.
The author, Thomas Hardy, does a great job in illustrating the religious beliefs social expectations of the Victorian period. Hardy uses both women in the novel to portray the ideals of different classes of women on religion and worthwhile. He uses Jude and Phillotson to portray the differing ideals of religion among varying classes, but also to paint the social expectations of men in the Victorian period. Hardy uses the different social classes of the men to as an excuse for their behaviors. For example, Jude does not cheat on his wife while she is away for a year because they are still married. Because Jude values the bond of marriage both from the church and socially, he is faithful while his wife, who does not have the same moral standards, is off getting married to another man. There are several examples in the novel from all four of the main characters that will give insight into various aspects of life and the ideologies of people in different social atmospheres. Hardy also does a great job in describing each of the characters in a way that their description matches their personality traits or their ideals on life. Hardy also brings to life the scenery in which the novel takes place, allowing the reader to visualize the setting of the events. By drawing the reader in visually, he creates more of an emotional appeal and the reader becomes more involved with the events of the novel.

A thought provoking book about the troubles of life in the real world (especially regarding marriage), Thomas Hardy's "Jude the Obscure" is a worthwhile read. The story is quite good in its own right, though I thought the end to be too abrupt and a little too cynical. I have never in any of Hardy's writings, however, known him to end on a happy note.
The book begins with Jude's childhood, when his schoolmaster leaves their small town for the city of Christminster, a college town renowned for learning, where the schoolmaster hopes to become a student. The boy Jude soon resolves to follow his schoolmaster, and obtaining several texts on Greek and Latin (the languages spoken in the colleges of Christminster), he begins his studies with a feverish fascination. As he gains proficiency in these languages and as he slowly obtains books, he expands his studies. Then one day when he is a young man apprenticed to become a stonemason, he meets a young woman named Arabella, who convinces him that he loves her. They have a romantic relationship until Arabella tells Jude that she thinks that she is pregnant. Being honorable, he marries her for the sake of the child, but there is no child after all, and Jude is married to a girl that he soon discovers that he does not love. She makes him neglect the studies he holds so dear and soon they both begin to be quite miserable. Finally, she asks Jude to let her leave him, which he consents to. She moves to Australia and he to Christminster, where he meets another woman who captures his heart. Sue is his lasting love, and though she is his cousin (they had never before met), they fall in love.
The book is ultimately one focused around romances. First, there is Jude's romantic and unrealistic dream of going to the city of Christminster and becoming a scholar. And secondly, there is his romance with Sue, a young, intelligent, and independent woman. The first question Hardy asks deals with the first romance and goes something like this: "Why does social position stop a man that is otherwise eminently qualified from achieving his dreams?" And the second question is "Is it better to remain unmarried-always in the state of a lover, giving rather than expecting anything from your companion, or is it better to be married, bound to each other for all of life in order to gain acceptance of men?" Jude and Sue are constantly frustrated by the society they dwell in as they try to live out their very unconventional lives together in peace and happiness, taking care to harm no one.
The book is very well written, and I enjoyed it more than "Tess of the D'Ubervilles," another book that I have read that was written by Hardy. I'd recommend this book for deep thinkers and people not afraid of a disappointing ending. Jude and Sue's unconventionality causes you to question what you once held for granted. A careful analysis of those institutions seems necessary after reading "Jude the Obscure." I hold that to be one of this novel's greatest values within the world of literature.

This tragic book brings forth issues relating to class, love, and marriage. Hardy illustrates the ties they have to one another and the different ways they trap individuals. In the early stages of his life, being in a lower class sets the stage for the traps that Jude will find himself in through out his life. He is limited in the things that he can do, but still he continues to have a goal reaching towards an education, even though it is next to impossible. The desire and the potential preside in him, but the situations he encounters quickly throw his dreams of gaining an education aside. The class barrier once again blocks his path when he falls in love with Sue. At first she marries another as a way to get ahead socially in life. After suffering through that marriage, she turns to Jude. The two never marry and the people of the town find their relationship to be inappropriate, and that situation doesn't better its self after Sue bears two children. The social class barriers that prevail during this time period trap Jude and don't allow him to move on and find the life that he searches for.
Jude struggles with relationships and marriage all the way through this book. His affections and marriage to Arabella never have a chance of working because they only touch the surface of true emotion. Arabella's social status is even lower than Jude's so she only marries into a higher social class to benefit herself. There is no true affection, and that results only in misery. His relationship with Sue has the potential to be a great one. But, there are many factors that lead to the deterioration of their relationship. When Arabella returns claiming that Jude has a son that begins to tear apart the relationship that has already been ridiculed by the town people. The attempts to keep their relationship are shattered by the murder and suicide of all Jude's children. Sue leaves Jude and returns to her ex-husband to live out her life in misery and sorrow. Jude's life is ultimately run by these relationships and keeps him trapped until his death.
Although I have never read Hardy before, it seems as if his views on marriage are very negative. Every single marriage in the book falls to pieces. None of the characters seem to realize the divinity in marriage. Marriage is just a thing that people do. It's a social trap. At one point in the book Arabella compares her ring to a padlock. From this work it shows that Hardy doesn't even believes that marriage works. None of the characters marry for love; they all marry for social reasons. The thought of giving yourself for the relationship and to build it, never even crosses their minds. I wonder if this same theme crosses over into other of Hardy's works. The never ending mishaps in this book frustrate me. In some ways I felt sympathy for Jude because he couldn't release himself from the women that in a sense hold him captive. But in the end Jude the Obscure is a great tragic tale of a man that never gets the courage to stand up for himself and get what he wants.

Reading this novel, it seems that Hardy is putting women and the organization of marriage down. But at the same time as reading this novel I was also learning that in Hardy�s time women were sex-crazed harlots and men the picture of virtue who were deceived by the evil women. This helped me to understand that Hardy wasn�t exactly putting down women, but that he was depicting them as the world saw them at that time. As for the whole marriage issue, Hardy just slams that into the ground. He uses the characters in happy times and in sad times to show how distasteful marriage is. One of the biggest things that points out how Hardy thinks of marriage is how others look upon those who are married and those who are simply a couple. Sue sees that those who are not yet married are happy with one another and still find joy in each other�s presence. But when she looks upon those who are married she sees that they no longer are happy and find joy in other places. Arabella also sees this when she comes upon Jude and Sue together without their knowing that she is there. She is told that they have supposedly been married, but when she sees them she thinks that they are not because of how they hold hands and still wish to be with each other. This is rather ironic because she and her husband are at the same event but prefer to go their separate ways. By this example Hardy shows that happiness need not be found in marriage.
Further he shows some of the consequences of a bad marriage through little Father Time. This boy comes to thinking of himself as a hindrance since he could understand what a hindrance was. If he had been born into a good marriage he would have felt loved and he would have felt as though he belonged. However, he was born to a mother who did not want him and a father who did not even know that he existed. Because he was not raised in a healthy home-life, he began to see the world before he was ready. His death portrays an extreme end to an unhappy marriage, but it all shows what can happen to those who are not wary. Father Time also helps to go back to Hardy showing how evil women were considered at that time. Today many people would consider it very immoral to simply leave their child to another to care for, whatever the circumstances may be. Arabella does not seem to mind though, she only cares when it seems that he has been with these people too long. So instead of taking him back, she simply sends him to Jude. Hardy portrays Sue as evil through Father Time by her talk with him right before his death. She tells him that it would actually be better had he and the rest of the children never been born at all. Now, she may not have meant it in quite that way, but that is how he took it, and so the passing away of the children soon after.
There may have been something good about marriage and women in the book, but if there was it was hidden well. As a story it is good, but it is not something that I would want to be judged by, or to base my life on.

Thomas Hardy's book Jude the Obscure follows a common theme like his book Tess of the d'Urbeville's. This theme is conventionality verse morality. Hardy's subtitle of Jude the Obscure says it all, "the letter killeth." This interprets to the letter of the law killeth, the social conventions of the Victorian Age figuratively and literally breaks Jude. The basic story line is Jude is first married to Arabella. Arabella tricked Jude into marrying her. Jude is in Christminister and meets Sue, whom he falls in love with. However, Sue gets married to Phillotson. After some time both Sue and Jude get a divorce and end up living together (and never marrying each other).
It is evident in the text that Sue and Jude's relationship is looked down upon (they have trouble receiving lodging because they are not married). Despite the fact that the book shows marriage in a negative light and both women in the book have undesirable qualities this book is not an anti-marriage book. Also, this book could suggest the importance of marrying the right person, so that, one can be happy, but the overall theme is not to promote the importance of marrying the right person.
Hardy uses marriage as the means to manifest the social conventions of the time. By convention Sue and Jude should not have had divorces even though they were participants in unhappy marriages. Even though they both had legal divorces the church shuns them because of their divorces. It is almost an unspoken rule, even though divorces are legally allowed socially they are not approved.
Also by convention, they should not have been living together. Even Jude's son is pressured into the conventions of the time and in the end of the novel hangs himself and Jude and Sue's two sons. In a moral sense Jude and Sue tried to be true to their heart and defied the conventions of the time and attempted to live together. They do not go far enough, they should get married. Jude and Sue are still tied down by the social conventions and can not take the last step to break free of the conventions of the time. Jude and Sue are constantly "on the run" to avoid the stares and shuns from their neighbors.
Hardy is clever in his use of symbolism. The name of the town is "Christminister." This is town, which Sue and Jude have trouble finding lodging. People should be showing Christ like love; however they shun Jude and Sue. There is an abundant amount of irony with the church. The church should help and attempt to understand Sue and Jude but the church neglects the two.
This book is an excellent example for the critique of social convention versus morality. The examples are poignant and the distressing end for the characters makes the criticism of social conventions self-evident.

Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure, is rather compelling, but not a book you can't put down. Where its grip on the reader lacks, its attacks on a repressive social structure dedicated to conforming to religion make the story applicable to any time and place.
Jude, the main character, begins his life as a lower class boy with aspirations to become a great scholar in the illustrious universities of Christminster. Jude puts his heart and soul into a dream he believes attainable, but society and his vices derail him. Hardy shows even an honorable high hoping young man cannot reach the heights of society unless he conforms to its traditions and obligations.
Marriage is the example that demonstrates the main characters obligations to society. Jude can't pursue an academic career because of his requirement to please society by marrying Arabella. Jude and Sue are unable to pursue their truest desires because society thwarts them due to their unconventional relationship. The story seems to attack marriage, as none who impart in it are happy, but Hardy is really trying to say that it is society's regard and adherence to tradition that only allows for a mainstream view of life. Society would rather have a man and woman living miserably under marriage vows than living happily but unconventionally in a stable but unmarried family. It is society's harsh judgment that ruins people; not marriage.
The book starts off with some sensual action and then moves a bit more slowly as it delves into the interplay between characters that exemplifies the books theme. The pace finally picks up again as the events at the end of the book become more feverish and intense.
Overall, the book compresses the reader as he feels the graveness of society's judgment upon unconventionality. It is also intriguing to see the characters fight for what they believe is right despite society's heavy hand upon them.

One of my favorites - even by today's standards, Hardy's novel is wildly forward-thinking and shockingly real. The character of Sue Bridehead is one of the most complex and intriguing characters in Victorian literature. Torn between tradition and modernity, she cannot reconcile the world she lives in with the one she envisions. She and Jude are alike in that way, and it binds them to each other in a way that is inevitably tragic.

JUDE THE OBSCURE examines what few novels dare to explore, and none as eloquently: the undeniable link between superstition and religion; the absurdity of entering into a marital contract; and the cruely of a society that breaks those that do not fit within its mold. Heart-breaking and narratively unmatched, Hardy's novel is a cautionary tale that, more than 100 years later, shows us how much as a society we have yet to overcome.

A very good book.It is shocking and disgusting but that is the beauty of the book.The initial part seems like another story of ambition but the twists in the plot shocks you.I started the book thinking it would be another mediveal romance like Hardy's Tess of d'uberviles or Far from the madding crowd but....
In fact it is a good book for anyone.Even for those who are quite familiar with the mediveal stereotyped plots, the book is a releif.It is surprising that the book is not so much discussed as many others which are said to be surrealistic.Though the plot is not at all surrealistic, the story would sent us to a sort of frenzy by its sheer twists showing us how irrational rationality can be.It is a must read for anyone intrested in serious literature.Whatever be the contentions against the work , it acts as a link to the Victorian era .Not just the story but the reactions to the book, seen in the victorian era is quite enlightening about the life and times then.
Hardy is different here.So a Hardy enthusiast should read this book to get to know another face of the author.The book must be approached with caution and certain level of academic intrest and knowledge about the era.Only then a reader can appreciate the work to its fullest.On the academic viewpoint , i would say on a personal note that even for a non-english, non-european and non-litearture student the book went a long way in giving a glimpse of the life and times of an era and aroused my intrests.Thomas hardy pulls me towards England - to see the great cathredals, to walk throught the moors, to see the rural England. Of course i dont hope to the see the same England that he saw but i can see it through his words and that is enough for me.Probably once i visit, who knows, my dreams might be shattered....

Jude the Obscure is a well-written book. It flows well and is interesting. In it Hardy explores the nature and parts of marriage. The characters struggle over the nature and power of marriage, and their obligations that they must each fulfill. For some time Jude Fawley is kept from creating a relationship with his cousin, Sue Bridehead, because of his legal marriage contract with another. Even though his wife had long since left him and moved to Australia, he could not bring himself to carryout a relationship until he received news that his wife had divorced him. Sue, however, struggled not with the legal issues, but the moral issues. At first she felt that it was most important to be with the man she loved, even though she was legally bound to another. She explicitly asked her husband's permission to leave him and live with Jude, because she realized she did not love him, but only enjoyed him as a friend. He agrees, and later divorces her. She and Jude join each other, but she will not get herself to legally marry Jude, as she feels it devalues the moral contract of marriage. But after a traumatic event, she realizes that she should not have left her past husband, and leaves Jude to remarry him, even though she still does not love him. Jude's past wife also shows up, and upon finding that Sue has left him, drags him into marriage again. Despite both Jude and Sue being unhappy in their situations, Sue continues to insist that it is best to honor the original moral obligation. Even though by law neither she nor Jude were bound to their past spouses, she feels that morally they always have been.
Much of the story is overshadowed by unhappiness or discontentedness. The book does not leave the reader with a pleasant feeling after finishing it. However, it is interesting, and certainly well written. And not all books are written to make the reader feel good, but some to make the reader think. This is the case with Jude the Obscure.

Jude the Obscure was a very interesting novel, but I would not call it enjoyable. Hardy illustrates many different ambivalent characters, none of whom carry any heroic or acclaimed traits. The characters consist of Jude who has great potential, and aspirations but most of them are largely crushed by the way he handles his life and decisions. He lets the two female characters of the novel twist him and turn him in any, and every direction. He carries no stability and does not resemble any type of human being that has nobility. He has so many dreams and he works so hard to achieve them, but often he lets outside forces influence him and sway his priorities. This is the character that Hardy bases the book around, a man who has goals but they are continually cut down throughout the book. It also irritates me that the two characters who have this great amount of influence on him actually have no honor themselves. Arabella, his first wife is a woman who gets her way through life by dishonesty. She lies about anything and everything that will get her what she wants. In the beginning she gets Jude's attention by throwing pig lard at him showing from the start her lack of refinement. She is the first character that sways Jude from his long time dream of becoming a scholar, doing this through her many lies and deceptions. The second character that contributes to the degradation of Jude's character is Sue. This woman who is in actuality his cousin not only contributes in the detour of Jude's many dreams, but she also ruins the small reputation that he has. By teasing him, and refusing to marry him she creates a relationship that causes a great deal of controversy in their society. She continues to drag Jude's emotions until the very end never coming up with any achievements, and helping Jude do the same.
Although I didn't particularly enjoy any of the characters that the novel consisted of, there were some major issues that are important especially looking at the time period that the novel was written. Having been published in a time period where sensitive issues were rarely spoken about such as the ones that are addressed made the book very unique. At that time period rarely topics were addressed like they are in Jude the Obscure. The book ventures into a great deal on the issue of society and it's constrictions. Having society be one of the main topics was not what caused the most uproar at the time. The references of the church and education probably did not attain a pleasant reaction preventing many of the readers from observing the more major theme of the novel. No I did not enjoy the book, but I do not thoroughly understand the time period that the first publication occurred at, or the type of society that it was released to. Knowing that such information would probably make the book a little more appealing to me, but overall I can not say that it was an uplifting read.

Thomas Hardy... I wonder what his life must have been like in order for him to write such a tragic book. For those considering it, this book is a romantic tragedy of the highest degree. If your looking for a happily ever after, look elsewhere. But if your looking to run the gamut of human experience in books, this is one you will want to take up, I've never read a book that has taken such a sentimental turn for the worse than this. I hope this helps.

Regardless of what some uneducated or shallow people might say about this novel, it IS a masterpiece. For one, the way Hardy writes is wonderful. He does not give it to you easy, but he gives it to you. To recomed a Dickens novel in place of this is tragic. For one, Dickens was a man of the people and wrote for the people, often changing his endings and tittles to better suit audiences. Hardy obviously does not do this. Jude is clearly a late Victorian Age novel and even though it was not accepted during this time, Hardy's portrayal of 19th century England, the view points of sociey at that time, etc should be read now for not only historical reasons alone, but for the unique way Hardy presents them. Too, this novel is very sad. This is one reason it was not accepted at the time. However, readers should note that due to the publication of this novel, education was made more readily availible to people of lower socioeconomic classes. For me, that, meant that this novel made a diffrence, thus making it even more spectacular. Overall, for all those interested, Jude is by far a classic masterwork and should be read and appreciated by those who can fully grasp its power. More importantly, though, it is a true drama of the mind and of human existance and emotion.

Poor Jude, literally and figuratively. He is the ultimate trapped man waiting and hoping for redemption that never comes. He wants education, love, and a future for his children. These are all thwarted by both society and individuals. This book is wonderfully sad and depressing, perfect for a rainy weekend ALONE. This is not the book to read in the throes of love and optimism. Hardy's language draws you in and keeps you reading. I threw down the book five times in anger and frustration but HAD TO keep reading to find what happens next, I finished it within two days! The writing evokes the mood of the novel and the people involved so vividly that I could almost smell the pigs, hear the stonemason's tapping and feel the cold fog of Christminister.

An opening word of caution: if you've ever winced at a movie where the bad guy won, leave Jude the Obscure on the library shelf. Because we're not talking about a book where the protagonist merely loses. He loses spectacularly. If you feel cheated because you just found out the ending, don't worry: the first half of the novel will leave you so full of pessimism that you won't be able to accept anything but a tragic conclusion. It is hardly surprising that author Thomas Hardy gave up novel-writing due to the almost universal displeasure voiced by his conservative English readers.
The story outlines Jude's progression from ambitious young boy to hopelessly distracted and troubled young man. However, his problems are not used by Hardy to ridicule human weakness, but rather to take pot shots at selected targets, namely women, marriage, and the upper class. Jude himself seems to bear little blame for his misfortunes when the story is finished.
The plot and pace of the book often resemble a rookie driver's first attempt at operating a stick shift. Certain parts grind along, taking significant amounts of time without a critical purpose. Others race ahead without warning. The majority of the time period of the central relationship in the story is summarized with a single sentence: "Two whole years and a half passed thus." Dialogue seems to be strongly favored to narration, and at times significant energy will be required for the reader to plow through the elaborate conversations of certain characters.
The characters themselves are generally convincing, although often maddening. As suggested earlier, Jude really winds up as a tragic hero. While his weaknesses for alcohol and women are hardly ignored, they only serve to emphasize his humanity and evoke greater sympathy. The beginning of the book sets us up for a stereotypical feel-good, rags-to-riches story. As Jude fails in one aspect of life after another, it simply reinforces to the reader that the vast majority of us are condemned by our averageness to lives of mediocrity. Perhaps even more compassion should be poured out to Richard Phillotspon, Jude's childhood mentor and eventual competitor for a woman's love. He makes a very selfless and thoughtful decision on behalf of the said woman, and then suffers a mighty backlash from society. Despite this, he does not regret his choice or complain about having made it.
Our two male heroes are sharply contrasted by the feminine presence in the story. Sue Bridehead, the most significant female, makes horrendous decision after horrendous decision throughout, and despite her uncommon education and knowledge, she offers limited justification for any of them. However, her weakness is almost loveable when juxtapositioned with the blatant evilness of Arabella Donn. This woman dupes Jude into marriage by the basest means imaginable at the beginning of the book, and her reappearance at the end of the story only reinforces her true wickedness.
Despite his biases, Hardy should be given full credit for his ability to evoke sympathy. The plot, while bordering on being too neat and tidy, is believable enough to give credibility to his arguments. While taking significant time to develop, the storyline is carefully manufactured to defend largely indefensible positions and blame scapegoats in a compelling manner. It seems that Hardy wrote this work to create irritation within the reader, and direct it at the targets of his choice. If this is the case, then his mission is accomplished. In light of that fact, it is pretty obvious why it was not wildly popular at its first publication. However, if you are one who enjoys being irritated, this book is definitely for you.

Jude the Obscure, written by Thomas Hardy, is the story of Jude Fawley and Sue Bridehead. It follows the development of their love for each other and then their demise as lovers. I did not enjoy this book. I found its characters to be feeble and its theme twisted.
Jude Fawley is a penniless orphan raised by his aunt in a small English village. He is inspired by his schoolmaster Mr. Phillotson to pursue a goal of attending one of the great universities in the town of Christminster. His dream is crushed when the universities reject him because he was not properly educated, and more importantly because he is not of the upper class. While in Christminster Jude falls in love with his cousin Sue Bridehead who is a rogue in society. Sue is well read and opinionated. Before becoming acquainted with Jude, She had lived with a young scholar that loved her. The two were never married because Sue desired to live as comrades and not sweethearts because she did not love him. The entire novel follows the love affair of these two outcasts of society.
I found that I could not become emotionally attached to these characters. Jude and Sue constantly assumed the role of victim. For example, Sue promises to marry Jude's old school master Mr. Phillotson. She tells Jude that it is Mr. Phillotson's plan that Sue will complete a teacher training school, and then the two, as a married couple, will take a position at a double school (a school for both boys and girls). Sue acts like the victim of Mr. Phillotson's planning; she does not even consider that she could reject the plan just like she rejected the young scholar of her early days. After several of these incidents, I became desensitized to the suffering of the characters. Hardy lost his ability to manipulate my emotions by creating weak characters that never reacted to their surroundings, but were only acted upon by society.
Thomas Hardy must be given credit for building consistent characters. Both Jude and Sue remain predictable throughout the novel. This quality leant credibility to the characters, because everything they did fit with their personality. I could believe that the characters were truly spineless human beings. They never surprised me by doing anything bold or courageous.
I also found this novel to be distasteful due to the fact that I was left in a quandary as to the theme of the book after I had completed my reading. It appears Hardy was writing a criticism of the institution of marriage, but that can be debated. For example, Hardy pens the following statement by Sue as she and Jude attempt to marry in the Superintendent Registrar's office: "Jude-I don't like it here! I wish we hadn't come! The place gives me the horrors: it seems so unnatural as the climax of our love! I wish it had been at church, if it had to be at all. It is not so vulgar there!" (284) From this statement I would assume that Hardy is against marriage. But at the point in the novel that this statement is made, Jude and Sue had been living together for some time. It can thus be argued that this sentiment arose from not performing the marriage ceremony at the proper time. The theme of the novel would then be that marriage is necessary and must be done properly. I must confess that Hardy forces the reader to think and ponder in order to derive the themes from the novel. But I prefer a theme that is not so debatable.
I rate this novel as deserving two stars. Thomas Hardy creates consistent and credible characters. He also provokes the mind of the reader to ponder his novel. But his characters were cowardly and his theme unresolved, which is unsuited to my taste in literature.

Could a poor stonemason educate himself and rise to college and a profession? Could an educated woman of unusal intelligence find a partner relationship that is not humiliating? Hardy takes these people through their lives in his last and greatest novel. The book is so startling and soul wrenching that he refused to write another the rest of his life.

After finishing Jude the Obscure, the reader is left with many questions that ask how Jude's life could have gone so haywire. He is caught in a love triangle with two unstable women, who ultimately keep him from his life-long dream, of receiving an education in the town of Christminster. He finally comes together with the woman he truly loves, yet she constantly pushes him away, not ready to give him her entire heart in return. One of Hardy's themes in Jude the Obscure, is that of love, but the primary focus and theme in the book is on marriage.
Jude marries the trampy Arabella in his early 20's. She is in an even lower social class than he is and doesn't understand or care about Jude's educational goals in Christminster. Their relationship is mainly based on physical attraction and is void of any real commitment and mutual respect. Arabella leaves Jude, fleeing to Australia, leaving Jude the opportunity to set his sights on Christminster.
In Christminster, Jude falls madly in love with Sue, his cousin and a schoolteacher. Sue resists Jude's affection at first, and marries Phillston, as a way to boost her education and career. Her marriage to Phillston is miserable. Sue is completely repulsed by him, and refuses to even sleep in the same quarters. Phillston grants Sue the option to leave and they divorce. Jude's divorce with Arabella is also finalized, thus leaving Sue and Jude free to marry. Yet they never do.
The town is very judgmental and unaccepting of Jude's and Sue's relationship, especially when they have two children out of wedlock. At around this time, Arabella comes crawling back to Jude and says that they have a son. So, Jude and Sue then take his son in their care, while Arabella runs off again. Father Time, Jude's son, is very insecure and disturbed. In his situation, what kid wouldn't be? Yet, Jude and Sue fail to realize the extent of his depression and insanity.
Sue walks into the house one morning, to find that Father Time has hanged their two children as well as himself. This horrific event makes Sue believe that her relationship with Jude is cursed and that the deaths of their children was a punishment from God. To do penance for her immoral behavior, Sue leaves Jude and goes back to Phillston, believing she doesn't have a right to be happy. Jude returns to Arabella, becomes sick and dies, heartbroken.
Hardy obviously isn't a fan of the instiution of marriage and makes that clear in Jude the Obscure. Marriage is a trap for both Jude and Sue. Perhaps it was Sue's horrible marriage with Phillston that made her so reluctant and unwilling to marry Jude. In the end, both felt tied down to their previous spouses and forced to return to their own unhappy marriages.
I really didn't like this book, perhaps I'm somewhat an idealist and believe that Jude and Sue could have gotten their lives together, as a couple. Jude is such a pushover. He never really stands up for himself, or does what he wants. His life is run by two unstable women, who never think much about anyone else but themselves. If you like tragedies, you'll love Jude the Obscure, which is a series of tragedies one right after the other.

Jude the Obscure is a novel typical of those written in its time period in England. When I had read fifteen pages into the first chapter, I turned to the title page to see the date-1895. That's correct, this is the time period of The Scarlet Letter fame. For those who are unfamiliar with The Scarlet Letter, it was written in the mid-1850s. The Scarlet Letter would have made an excellent short story of about twenty-five to thirty pages. It made for an extremely dry, slow novel. Jude the Obscure impressed me immediately as following after the same tradition. The difference: Jude the Obscure is twice the length.
Remarkably, however, Thomas Hardy manages to salvage his style. Before too long, I was actually drawn into the tragic story of Jude. He began as a character I could closely identify with. He was born into a working-class family, and he had lofty dreams of a life of distinguished intellectual greatness. He taught himself almost everything that he knew of higher learning, and planned to move to a place where he could be formally trained.
Of course, none of this works out; otherwise, it wouldn't be much of a story. To cut it short, Jude fell in love with Arabella (whom he met when she threw pig parts at him), got her pregnant, and gave up his childhood dreams for a marriage with her. After all, Jude says, "it was better to love a woman than to be a graduate, or a parson; ay, or a Pope!" The remainder of Jude is largely a recounting of his tragic sexual and marital relations with his cousin Sue and later, with Arabella again.
It is difficult for me to sympathize with the pathetic Jude or even credit him as a character by the end of the story. Here is a man who is so determined that he teaches himself languages; he studies tirelessly in an effort to prepare for university. His character is strong. Yet in a matter of weeks he decides that he doesn't care anymore. I've seen men distracted by women before, but he wholeheartedly dumped his dreams and ambitions in favor of a pretty woman with a pig bladder. From there he proceeds rapidly downhill for 350 pages, personifying every possible malfunction of marriage.
This malfunctioning marriage seems to be the sole unifying theme of Jude. Yet it is difficult to put a finger on just what Hardy is trying to say with his story. If he were trying to display all of the shortcomings of marriage, why would Sue, who self-righteously opposed marriage as an unnecessarily binding bunch of paperwork, wind up back sharing a bed with her first husband? If he were using the trouble that came to Sue and Jude by trying to live out of wedlock as a tool to show the power and security of real marriage, why is Sue portrayed as being so unhappy to return to Phillotson, her first husband?
All in all, Jude the Obscure was just not my kind of book. I visited the local paperback exchange a week ago and picked up a few novels by Isaac Asimov. In the author's note, Asimov stated what has become an inspiration to me in my writing (many will recognize this as similar to a famous saying by Twain):
"I made up my mind long ago to follow one cardinal rule in all my writing-to be clear. I have given up all thought of writing poetically or symbolically or experimentally, or in any of the other modes that might (if I were good enough) get me a Pulitzer Prize. I would write merely clearly and in this way establish a warm relationship between myself and my readers, and the professional critics- Well, they can do whatever they wish."
If only Thomas Hardy could make up his mind on what he wants to say and say it, I think we could all be spared an incredible and thought-stifling novel.

Jude the Obscure is a depressing book. Thomas Hardy portrays the main character, Jude, as a man with no morals and no backbone. The novel is full of immorality, beginning when Arabella reveals she is pregnant just to get Jude to marry her. Later in the book, Jude and Sue live together and have children, but they do not marry. These instances highlight the immorality and wickedness portrayed in the novel. Another quality Jude possesses is the lack of a backbone. He lets women run over him and tell him what to do. They also trick him and lie to him.
Another thing I do not like about this book are the characters in general. None of them seem to have any redeeming qualities. There is no character that I liked. Each character has many evil things about him or her, and they lack positive traits. Arabella can be described as a "woman of the world" without feelings and sympathy. Sue appears at first to be a good, moral person, but she turns out to play with Jude's thoughts. Jude is just a miserable man who lacks courage.
This book is full of tragedy and misery. It is inevitable the reader will feel sorry for Jude. I caught myself saying "Awww, poor Jude" many times throughout the novel. Then at times I would remember he brought much of the tragedy on by his own actions.
Hardy's attitude to his novel is unclear. When reading the book, we are taken through Jude's life, and we witness many things that seem to only affect Jude. Even though we are allowed to enter into the consciousness of the other characters, their motivation seems based on selfishness. The book is full of lies and deceptions. There is no serenity, peace, or understanding in the novel. It seems like the world is moving so fast, and when Jude attempts to comprehend what is going on, he is left behind.
Love has the power to create suffering or happiness. In this book, the tension of the love relationship is increased when a third party comes into the picture. Without the presence of Phillotson, Jude and Sue's relationship may have been quite simpler. She may have seen marrying Jude as the right thing to do. They could have gotten married and could have been a happy couple. Hardy did not let this happen; he chose to leave the reader with the dark view of love.
The only thing that redeems this book in any way is one of the themes it contains. This is the marriage theme, which is ambiguous in the novel. One could suppose Hardy's view of marriage is one of abhorrence. This may be because of Jude's cynical view of the issue. On the other hand, marriage can also be seen as a good thing because if Jude would have gotten married for the right reasons and if he really wanted to, he would not have married Arabella in the first place. Plus, great tragedy comes from the decision not to marry Sue, but to live with her and pretend they were married. I agree with the second view of marriage. I like how Hardy leaves it up to the reader to decide which view he has of marriage. This is probably the only thing I like about the book.

Interestingly, this is the last book Thomas Hardy wrote because it was received so poorly. In his introduction, Hardy writes that the publication of this book cured him of any thought he might have entertained about writing more. It is in Hardy's typical style of marriage gone terribly wrong.

Hardy challenged the laws and even religion of his day. Characters on more than one occasion remark that their consciences go against everything they have been taught mainly by society and religion.

Jude is an aspiring scholar who doesn't have enough money to go to the university in Christminster. He spends his childhood and young adulthood preparing for a chance to go. Jude is tricked into a marriage, but before long his wife leaves him. He eventually moves to Christminster, but finds he is unable to attend because of social prejudices and lack of money. Jude falls in love with his cousin, who married a school teacher. eventually, she returns his love and moves in with him. I will not tell the rest of the story for fear of ruining it for you, buy it, it is worth reading for yourself/.

I just returned to this novel after twenty-five years: I first read it as an undergraduate and found it rather depressing, even slightly morbid. Well, it's still pretty dark, but the drama of thwarted desire and misplaced passion resonates, for a middle-aged reader, in a way I never imagined as a teenager--when the future seemed limitless. Then, too, there is the language, the ebb and flow of sentences, the rythmic exactitude of descriptions. If nothing else, Hardy reminds you that even the most critically-acclaimed novelists currently writing in English are still just kidding around.

Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy is an intriguing book. It is the story of a young man named Jude who aspires to be a religious preacher. In Jude's pursuit of this goal, he is faced with opposition.
Jude is a poor orphan boy who lives with this aunt. He works by day and studies by candle light to get into Christminster, a special college for theologians. All seems well until a voluptuous woman distracts one Sunday from his studying. Before he knows it, he is not longer studying and married to a woman he does not love.
Jude falls in love with another young woman. Society frowns on them for she belongs to another.
Through the credible characters of Jude, Arabella, Sue, and Philloston, Hardy shows the effect society has upon the weak individual. Some would have you believe Jude the Obscure is an awful book, but it is not. It is a book that makes you think. When I was done reading it, I though, "Now what has that got to do with anything?" It has a lot to do with everything. It covers the subjects of God, love, fate, and society. What Hardy has to say should be heard. I recommend reading Jude the Obscure.

This novel is a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions and if you're looking for happy endings, this isn't the story for you. The central theme surrounds the defiance of cultural norms and the consequences of same. Sue is the love of Jude's life. The main obstacle: Sue's flightly, unpredictable and unconventional nature. It's her liberal critical thinking that attracts Jude to her, but it's also his (and her) ultimate undoing.

As a reader, I found Sue's actions maddening: she leads Jude on, then spurns him, then leads him on again. She leaves her husband for him...yet she refuses to marry Jude for fear that the conventions of marriage would sully thier "pure form" of love. This see-saw relationship goes on for hundreds of pages. I knew I was engaged in the book when I shouted at Jude for not waking up and running away from this obvious kook of a woman. Then again, his willingness to put up with her unbearable behavior made me think they were made for each other: two loons together in a world of stiflingly normative behavior.

As if this wasn't unsatisfying enough, Hardy really pours on the tragedy in the last 100 pages. I won't ruin it by spreading the details here, but you'll basically be begging the author to let you off of the emotional wrestling mat by page 450. In the end, I conclude that the author's point is that (1) don't buck the system too strenuously lest you be smacked down, and (2) life's miserable; don't go thinking that you can escape it because your love is powerful or your mind is open. That's Great English Literature for you, right there.

Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy, shows that to follow the social and religious pressures of the world only brings sorrow and misery. This theme is proven by the misinterpreted religious acts of Sue, the lack of morals in Arabella, and social pressures that keep everyone from happiness. The story focuses on the life of Jude Fawley, a poor dreamer. He is unlucky to find himself, at an early age, in the care of his embittered aunt: who does not encourage or help him to hope for a brighter future. His dream, ever since he was eleven, is to go to the town of Christminster and study among the intelligent and fantastic scholars, however this dream is never found because of the mistakes and obscure actions that Jude, or those around him, take to follow the social norms.
Throughout the book, Jude rarely loses his dream of being educated at Christminster, but because of obstacles along the way he finds himself more unhappy than before, and worse off. His dream is first detoured because of the untimely "courtship" with Arabella. Although Jude had no intention of remaining with Arabella, he would not let his honor, or his social façade, be ruined by not marrying a woman who carried his baby. Since the first day of their marriage, Jude regrets having been succumbed to the pressures of society. The legal action of marriage, which is forced by social pressures, only caused misery in Jude's life. He was unable to go to Christminster, and once he met Sue, the relationship was severely delayed because he felt he must be loyal to Arabella. Arabella, on the other hand, did not live according to social pressures. Although she married Jude, she left him quickly for Australia where she seemed to be content. She had another husband in Australia and no doubt other "one-night stands" with other men that she was able to seduce or get intoxicated. But, because she had the courage (or stupidity) to disregard the society's negative opinion on a woman being disloyal to a husband she was able to live freely. Even in the end of the novel, after she realizes Jude is dead, she goes to the boat races-disregarding what a normal member of society would have done. Although her actions are not moral or virtuous, she is able to live the life of her own choosing because she does not take to the extreme religion, social pressures, or moral obligations that others do.
On the other hand there is Sue. Sue through parts of the book is able to receive full happiness by ignoring social and religious pressures, but still living a virtuous and moral life. In the eyes of society, one must be legally married to engage in intercourse, but because of Sue's fear of marriage her and Jude only take on the appearance of marriage. During this time she had happy times with Jude and the children; but as soon as she would start to think about "right" in the terms of others she would become upset. Whenever Jude and Sue attempted to get married, a socially pressured action, Sue would become upset and emotional. And as soon as her children died she became frenzied and looked to strict religion as the answer to her problem. If anything in her life went "wrong" from there on out it she believed it was her duty to suffer for the cause of religion. After not accepting religion for awhile, she became the complete opposite and punished herself by marrying and having intercourse with Phillotson. Her emotions against herself and her new belief that she needed to live a strict religious life, full of pious actions only cause her sadness. She was held back from love and made miserable by the pressures of society and religion that were around her.
Between these two women, the burdens of society, and the standards of the church-going world Jude was trapped. While he studied and dreamed of going to Christminster he was laughed at by the world around him because they all knew that a poor low-class man would never be allowed or able to attend there. From the beginning there was no hope for him to become an educated man because of his place in the society. The people around him and the rules that created the society kept all the people in the level of society that they already inhabited. Then because of Jude's relations with Arabella, he was forced, by society pressures to marry her-crushing his dream of going to Christminster. Although Arabella eventually leaves, he is still linked to her emotionally (because of his upbringing) and cannot fully enjoy life. Once he meets Sue, he is once again, held back by the pressures of society. Sue is his cousin, and at first, they feel that a relationship together might be wrong; then Sue goes and marries Phillotson creating more social, and now religious, barriers. Throughout the entire story Jude continues to be blocked, broken, and torn apart by social and religious pressures slamming down on him. Whether it was his unfulfilled dream of going to Christminster, his chains of marriage with Arabella, or his heart breaking relationship with Sue, Jude was not able to get past the social and religious barriers to have a happy life.

I am a huge fan of Victorian literature, specifically Thomas Hardy, and I believe this is by far his most brilliant novel, although not as well known as Tess of the d'Urbervilles or the Mayor of Casterbridge. The story, though tragic, is beautifully told and skillfully developed without all of the useless hype of today's John Grisham and Tom Clancy novels. The thoughts, surroundings, and lives of the characters become the focus of the story rather than intense action or contrived suspense. You are drawn into the characters' lives; Hardy forces you to care for them, cry for them, and mourn for them. This novel is not for the empty-hearted or those looking for a light read. But for those interested in the emotions and lives of people, this book will be a fast favorite, despite its somber tone and tragic story.

Jude the Obscure is an interesting book, but it is, like most classics, depressing. That is one of the things that makes Jude the Obscure so rich. If it had been a happy love romance it wouldn't be considered a classic. It instead challenges the readers to question the them which is on marriage. Hardy attacks marriage from every angle making the reader feel that there is no hope.
Jude the Obscure has a rich plot that pulls you into the story. You feel for the characters in the book. You want Jude to be able to obtain his goals. You feel frustrated when he once again gets sidetracked from his goal because of his one weakness-women. If you like the classics, especially tragedies, than you will appreciate Jude the Obscure. It is good literature, has great symbolism, and the ending scenes will leave a poignant impression that won't be easily forgotten.

Unfortunate life and endless sorrows
And Fractured dreams with gaps between
Life and bestowed Wonderings of tommorow
Unfortunate life! And—endless sorrows
Instead of life long goals this day and morrow
With lowly goals instead of dreams
Unfortunate! Life! And endless – sorrows
And Fractured dreams with—gaps? Between

Thomas Hardy has accomplished a miracle with this novel. He has written a novel equal in the strength of the ideas, the beauty of the writing, and the compelling nature of the story. If he had only done one of the three well, the book would be worth reading, but having done all three so beautifully has resulted in a masterpiece.

I first read Jude about 10 years ago and recently re-read it. I was even more delighted after reading it again, and plan to read it a third time.

Some of my literary compatriots have been put-off by what they characterize as stiff language in Hardy in general and Jude in particular, but I would encourage anyone to persevere...after a few chapters, it wears-off and then you will thoroughly enjoy the reading!