Summary
Jude the Obscure, published in 1895, is Thomas Hardy's final novel and considered one of his most controversial and forward-thinking works. It follows the ill-fated ambitions and relationships of Jude Fawley, a working-class stonemason with dreams of scholarly pursuits. Tackling themes of class, education, marriage, and religion, Hardy's novel shocked Victorian audiences with its frank depictions of sexuality and criticism of social institutions. Though initially met with outrage, Jude the Obscure is now hailed as a masterpiece of English literature. The story was adapted into a 1996 film starring Christopher Eccleston and Kate Winslet.
Plot
Jude Fawley, a working-class young man in southern England, dreams of becoming a scholar at Christminster, a city modeled after Oxford. As a youth, he taught himself Greek and Latin while working in his aunt's bakery. However, his plans are derailed when he is seduced by Arabella Donn, who tricks him into marriage by pretending to be pregnant. The marriage fails, and Arabella leaves Jude, eventually emigrating to Australia.
Jude moves to Christminster to pursue his studies while working as a stonemason. There, he meets and falls in love with his free-spirited cousin, Sue Bridehead. Sue marries Jude's former teacher, Mr. Phillotson, but soon regrets it and leaves him for Jude. The couple lives together unmarried, facing social ostracism and financial hardship. Meanwhile, Arabella returns and reveals that she had Jude's child, nicknamed “Little Father Time,” whom she sends to live with Jude and Sue.
As Jude and Sue have two more children together and expect a third, their situation worsens. Driven by despair, “Little Father Time” kills Sue's two children and himself, leaving a note that reads, “Done because we are too menny.” This tragedy leads to Sue's miscarriage and a drastic change in her beliefs. She returns to Phillotson, while Jude remarries Arabella. After a final, desperate visit to Sue, Jude becomes ill and dies within a year in Christminster, his scholarly ambitions unfulfilled.
Themes
Class barriers and social mobility
Education and intellectual aspirations
The institution of marriage
Infidelity and divorce
The stigma of illegitimacy
Love and sacrifice
Religious hypocrisy and loss of faith
Gender roles and women's rights
Rural vs urban life
Fate and determinism
Setting
Set in the late 19th century, Jude the Obscure unfolds against the backdrop of Thomas Hardy's fictional Wessex, a region inspired by the rural southwest of England. The story primarily takes place in small villages and towns, with the city of Christminster—a thinly veiled representation of Oxford—serving as a central location and symbol of Jude's unrealized ambitions.
The novel vividly portrays the social and cultural landscape of Victorian England, a time of significant change and tension between traditional values and emerging modern ideals. Hardy's Wessex is a world where class distinctions, religious conventions, and societal expectations heavily influence the characters' lives and choices.
While the narrative moves through various locations in Wessex, including the villages of Marygreen and Alfredston, it is Christminster that looms largest in Jude's imagination. This idealized city, with its dreaming spires and hallowed halls of learning, represents both the protagonist's deepest aspirations and the insurmountable barriers of class and circumstance that ultimately thwart his dreams.
Characters
Jude Fawley: The protagonist, a working-class stonemason who dreams of becoming a scholar but faces numerous obstacles in life.
Sue Bridehead: Jude's cousin and love interest, an intelligent and free-spirited woman who struggles against societal norms.
Arabella Donn: Jude's first wife, a sensual and manipulative woman who tricks him into marriage.
Richard Phillotson: Sue's first husband, an older schoolmaster who initially mentors Jude.
"Little Father Time": Jude and Arabella's son, a somber and troubled child who becomes a tragic figure in the story.
Aunt Drusilla: Jude's great-aunt who raises him after his parents' deaths and discourages his scholarly ambitions.
Mr. Highridge: The Dean of Admissions at Christminster, who rejects Jude's application to study at the university.
Physician Vilbert: A quack doctor who sells fake medicines and briefly employs Jude.
Quick facts
Jude the Obscure was Thomas Hardy's last completed novel, published in 1895.
The book was originally serialized under the title The Simpletons.
Jude the Obscure caused great controversy upon publication due to its criticisms of marriage and religion.
The novel was burned by the Bishop of Wakefield for its perceived immorality.
Hardy claimed the book contained very little autobiographical material, though many parallels exist with his own life.
Jude the Obscure is considered one of Hardy's most pessimistic works.
The character of Sue Bridehead was seen as a prototype of the “New Woman” emerging in the late 19th century.
Hardy stopped writing novels after the negative reception to Jude the Obscure, focusing on poetry instead.
The book explores themes that were taboo for the time, including sex outside of marriage.
Jude the Obscure has inspired numerous adaptations for stage and screen, including a 1996 film starring Christopher Eccleston and Kate Winslet.
About the Author
Thomas Hardy was an English novelist and poet. His work was sharply critical of many aspects of Victorian society, particularly the declining status of rural people and the rigid view of morality. Often featuring tragic characters struggling against their passions and social circumstances, his novels include Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), The Woodlanders (1887), Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891), The Pursuit of the Well-Beloved (1892) and Jude the Obscure (1895).
Born in Dorset, a hamlet near Dorchester, in 1840, Hardy was homeschooled by his well-read mother until the age of eight and later attended a local academy, where he excelled in Latin. His formal education ended at age sixteen, because his family lacked the means for a university education. He was apprenticed to a local architect, and in 1862, moved to London to study architecture. While working for a noted architect, he began to write poetry. Despite his professional success, he never felt at home in London due to his keen awareness of class divisions and his social inferiority. After five years, he returned to Dorset, settling in Weymouth, and decided to dedicate himself to writing.
In 1870, he met his first wife, Emma Gifford. Over the next 30 years, he published more than 900 poems and his epic drama in verse, The Dynasts, as well as several acclaimed novels. After a long and bitter estrangement, Emma Hardy died in 1912. Paradoxically, the event triggered some of Hardy's finest love poetry. In 1914, he married Florence Dugdale, a close friend for several years. In 1910, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Merit and nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was nominated again for the prize 11 years later and received a total of 25 nominations until 1927. Hardy died on January 11, 1928. His ashes were buried in Westminster Abbey and his heart at Stinsford in Dorset.
