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Synopsis

‘I’m an outsider to the end of my days!’

Jude Fawley’s hopes of a university education are lost when he is trapped into marrying the earthy Arabella, who later abandons him. Moving to the town of Christminster where he finds work as a stonemason, Jude meets and falls in love with his cousin Sue Bridehead, a sensitive, freethinking ‘New Woman’. Refusing to marry merely for the sake of religious convention, Jude and Sue decide instead to live together, but they are shunned by society and poverty soon threatens to ruin them. Jude the Obscure, Hardy’s last novel, caused a public furore when it was first published, with its fearless and challenging exploration of class and sexual relationships.

This edition uses the unbowdlerized text of the first volume edition of 1895, and also includes a list for further reading, appendices and a glossary. In his introduction, Dennis Taylor examines biblical allusions and the critique of religion in Jude the Obscure, and its critical reception that led Hardy to abandon novel writing.

Reviews

Critic Review:

'His style touches sublimity'
T.S. Eliot

'The greatest tragic writer among English novelists'
Virginia Woolf

Critic Review:

'His style touches sublimity'
—T.S. Eliot

'The greatest tragic writer among English novelists'
—Virginia Woolf

More

Student review by Kimberley Chen, studied at Queen Mary University of London

‘This weakness of character, as it maybe called, suggested that he was the sort of man who was born to ache a good deal before the fall of the curtain upon his unnecessary life’

Thomas Hardy’s novel, Jude the Obscure, caused an immense deal of outrage upon its publication in 1895. One such passionate reaction to the novel was from a bishop who resorted to igniting the book in flames. Another unfairly dubbed the book, ‘Jude the Obscene’. This critical reception to his book played a major part in Hardy’s decision to retreat away from novel writing, and to devote the remainder of his life to poetry and plays. So what incensed the Victorian readership to such a great extent? Well, Hardy’s novel is an assertive, daring and courageous voice which sharply questions the educational system, class structures and marital values of its time.

Jude Fawley sets his hopes on the University of Christminster, the city of light, the flourishing tree of knowledge, the glistening, luminous place of magnificent spires and grand domes. Yet, his ambitious plans are thwarted by what is essentially an elite and snobbish institution, which bars its doors from those of a working-class background. The arrogant Head of the college advises Jude in an acerbic manner that ‘remaining in your own sphere’ is the best course of action. Jude also finds himself trapped in a regretful marriage to self-interested, scheming and practical Arabella Donn. However, Jude eventually becomes desperately in love with his cousin, Sue Bridehead, but unconventionally decides to have a sexual relationship outside the bonds of marriage. Their refusal to abide by the strict social laws which govern their community means they are met with intense scorn and a devastating conclusion.

Hardy passionately attacks the institution of marriage on many grounds at a time when society had rigid and unbending views on such a topic. The novel shows strong disapproval of the marriage contract itself, for its cold, mechanical, business-like layout: ‘“Names and Surnames of the Parties” –  (they were parties now, not lovers, she thought). ‘Condition.’…’Rank or Occupation.’– ‘Age.’ – ‘Dwelling at’ – ‘Length of Residence.’– ‘Church or Building in which Marriage is to be solemnized.’– District and County in which the Parties respectively dwell’. A criticism is also made on the requirements of the wedding service for a patriarchal figure to give away the bride to the groom. The insinuation is that the groom has the privilege of making an intelligent choice about who he will be joined together with in matrimony, but the bride supposedly lacks the ability to make this same decision. The novel complains: ‘Somebody gives me (the bride) to him (the groom), like a she-ass or she-goat, or any other domestic animal’. Yet, perhaps Hardy’s greatest quarrel with the idea of marriage is that a marital union should cease to be if this relationship becomes disagreeable to either partner. A marriage that becomes despicable to either husband or wife cannot be considered a marriage at all in moral terms, Hardy forcefully protests. This is one of Hardy’s finest pieces of writing, deeply moving, utterly tragic and incredibly provocative.

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